Vehicle history experts Cartell.ie are calling on the Irish Government for urgent legislation to combat previously written-off vehicles returning to the road. It's estimated that a shocking 200,000 written off vehicles are currently being driven in Ireland. Indeed, it's estimated that 3,000 of the 36,000 cars written off by Irish insurers each year are returned to the fleet for a second time. This push from Cartell.ie has gained particular urgency as it's now estimated that six deaths a year are directly attributed to previously written off vehicles in Ireland.
Cartell.ie says proper legislation is needed in the wake of the tragic case in the UK of Sadie McGrady. A 2013 inquest was told that the child of six died from head injuries when the previously written off Vauxhall Corsa her mother was driving was struck. She was unaware that the car had been previously written off and "sub-standard repairs" undertaken, which contributed to the child's death.
Experts say that key safety items such as airbags may not deploy. There is also concern expressed over bodged repairs, leaving the vehicle structurally venerable in the event of an accident. This may prove fatal where previous defects only manifest themselves at the point of a subsequent accident.
Improved sharing of data between the government and insurers is also called for. This is especially the case, as the National Car Test (N.C.T.) does not include tests for structural defects. Use of the Association of British Insurers Category system is suggested to identify vehicles in categories A to D. The aim is to prevent Category A and B (scrap or beyond salvageable repair) vehicles from ever returning to the road.
Anything else?
Cartell.ie has had success with similar initiatives in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Progress was made in tracking down category A and B write-offs and taking them off the road. And in 2010, Cartell.ie initiated the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR) - a cross-border database that stores information from Irish Insurers on vehicles written off within the State.