THE BOSS OF the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has hit back following allegations over flaws in NCT tests.

A special RTÉ Investigations Unit programme last night claimed that there are faults in the way that cars’ shock absorbers are tested.

It focused on a test that measured a car’s suspension in ‘Mahameters’, with anything above 80 Mahameters – independent experts in the programme said – enough to require shock absorbers to be replaced.

During the programme it was shown that cars with Mahameter readings in excess of 80 were passing their NCT tests.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, RSA Chief Executive Moyagh Murdock said: “There isn’t an agreed international measurement for the Mahameter reading.”

Asked about comments made by independent experts, she said:

We would disagree with their opinion. You cannot make that assumption. That is why there is no agreed measurement at this point in time.

Currently a vehicle’s suspension is tested in two ways – through a visual test for spilt oil and a test for balance. The Mahameter test looks at how wheels move vertically on both sides of a vehicle.

Murdock went on to say that the NCT was one of the most sophisticated in Europe and had greatly contributed to saving lives on Irish roads.

“In 2015 we tested over 1.49 million vehicles,” she said, “the largest number ever on record. And out of that number we took over 6,000 vehicles off the road we deemed dangerously defective as a result of that NCT test.”

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