Safety Under The Spotlight As Committee Visits Mot Centre

Committee Chairperson, Michelle McIlveen, MLA (right) hears about the safety issues associated with the car lifts used for MOT tests.

The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Infrastructure today visited the Boucher Road MOT test centre in Belfast. The visit enabled the Committee to speak to Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) officials and staff about the safety issues associated with the car lifts used in MOT tests.

Chairperson of the Committee, Michelle McIlveen MLA said: “The Committee and I wanted to see for ourselves the problems facing MOT testing due to the safety issues with the lifts.

“We spoke with the officials about their plans to mitigate this situation and we have received assurances that they are implementing measures to minimise the impact of not having working lifts in place.”

The Committee were shown the lifts in question and heard from the officials on their plans to use vehicle check pits to continue testing vehicles. Officials assured the Committee that they will be increasing the hours that the test centre is open, with centres open for seven days a week. Both of these strategies aim to keep the backlog to a minimum until the situation can be more permanently resolved.