There are around 13 million cars on South Africa’s roads, most of which are privately owned vehicles and station wagons. Alarmingly, legislation requires that these cars be tested for roadworthiness only when ownership changes.
This means that the roadworthiness of our vehicle population is in no way guaranteed – and it shows in the unacceptably high number of accidents on South African roads.
That’s why RMI, MIWA, and VTA, have been campaigning for the introduction of periodic testing. We renewed our calls last year when Minister Lydia Chikunga took over the Transport portfolio. We requested that vehicles older than 10 years should have a roadworthiness test every two years.
This request has been outlined in the amendment to the National Road Traffic Act – however, government has not yet taken action to implement it. We will therefore be reaching out to the minister once more this year to gain further clarity around this issue.