The NSW Motor Traders' Association’s push for banning repairable write offs was given a further boost following a crash test of a poorly repaired car.
Former NSW roads and transport minister David Campbell announced the introduction of legislation in NSW to outlaw the repair of written off vehicles using a badly-repaired Toyota Corolla as the backdrop. It is understood the new roads minister, David Borger, is supporting the legislation.
That Corolla has since been crash tested at the NSW RTA’s Huntingwood facility in western Sydney and the results showed thet car was a death trap.
When the vehicle was crash tested, the results showed that both the driver and the occupant of the passenger seat would have sustained fatal injuries.
The late-model Corolla had been in a heavy hit and written off. It was repaired and put back on the road, and the new owner "got a bargain" at about $2000 less than the market value.
However, things turned back for the owner. A subsequent minor indecent meant the car was returned to a body shop.
When the repairer stripped down the vehicle, the poor quality of the previous work was evident.
The vehicle was put back on the road – and registered – with no bumper bar support and no air bag. The airbag mechanism had been rewired and the void where the back should sit was stuffed with rags.
The extent of the initial hit was evident through a fold in the fire wall and the obvious displacement of the suspension strut.
The welding quality was inferior and wiring in the engine bay incorrect.
In a statement following the crash test of the Corolla, the MTA said: “It should come as no surprise to anybody connected to the motor body repair industry that there has been very real and grave concerns for many years with the way in which the Management of written of vehicles has been handled.
“MTA has long been advocating the total ban of these vehicles so they can never again affect the safety of the general public.
“MTA’s crash test endorses NSW’s Government stand on banning repairable write off’s.”
When the Corolla was crash tested it failed both the Driver Safety Evaluation and the Occupant Safety Evaluation, with the result fatal.
“It now needs to be made absolutely clear to all involved in the motor body repair industry that due to the rapid advancement in vehicle design, manufacture and safety systems that it is vital that there is no more important obligation than to ensure that vehicle repairs are carried out to ensure that the safety and structural integrity of those vehicles are maintained to manufacturer’s specifications,” the MTA statement said.
“Failing this responsibility put’s people’s lives at risk.
“Insurers and repairers across Australia have already and voluntarily agreed in principal to this course of action. This is the one area where we in NSW have accepted and taken the responsibility fore, but sadly, for other Australians in other parts of our country, it is still only a voluntary measure.
National repair law
In NSW, the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Code of Conduct is law, under the NSW Fair Trading Act.
This means insurers and repairers that authorise and repair motor vehicles are bound by this law regardless if they are signatories to this code or not.
At the very heart of this law is the protection of the general public, this law is based upon key principals designed to return the vehicle back to the manufacturers specifications ensuring the safety, structural integrity, presentation and utility of the vehicle post repair.
Interference in this area leads to severe safety and structural integrity degradation, as the results from the MTA crash test fatalistically demonstrate. It was no mistake that this voluntary national repair standard is based upon manufacturers specifications.
“Our charge is now is to ensure that all Australians have the same level of protection through a national repair law,” the MTA has stated.