Activities
The Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Mr. Leo Varadkar, T.D. published new legislation on Thursday 5th April, 2012, which will see the functions of local authorities in relation to the roadworthiness testing of commercial vehicles (light and heavy goods vehicles and buses) transferring to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
The Bill also reforms the way Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness (CRV) testing centres and authorised testers are licensed, as well as providing greater powers of enforcement through targeted roadside inspections and inspections of commercial operators’ premises.
The Bill is available to view on the Oireactas website.
As part of the CVR program the RSA has conducted several consultations with many stakeholder groups.
Details of any further consultations will be posted on this web page.
CVR Objective
This reform programme will drive a “step change” in the roadworthiness standards of commercial vehicles operating on Ireland’s roads, with the:
Purpose:
of saving lives and preventing injuries by reducing the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles on Ireland’s roads.
Benefits:
of reducing congestion and other economic costs to the State; creating a “level playing field” for Ireland’s operators through targeting those who choose not to maintain the roadworthiness of their fleet; enhancing testing and testing efficiencies for Ireland’s network of commercial vehicle & ADR test centres (which test roadworthiness of vehicles carrying dangerous goods); and ensuring greater compliance of commercial vehicle annual testing.
Background on CVR
It was announced in February 2010 that the Minister for Transport has approved proposals from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to reform the Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness (CVR) system following a comprehensive review. This will see the RSA take over responsibility for the future management and operation of the Commercial Vehicle Testing system from Local Authorities. It will also result in a major overhaul of the system itself.
The review on the CVR was completed in 2008, and the transformation process to implement the recommendations contained in the report is currently underway.
The CVR contains twenty five recommendations for improving the testing and enforcement regimes, the majority of which require immediate action. These recommendations relate to such matters as test centre operations, supervisory arrangements, scope of testing and will include an integrated IT system for the entire Vehicle Testing Network