MOT centre at Newbuildings to start testing from today September 1
Testing for some vehicle groups resumed last month.
The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) will now resume MoT testing for additional vehicle categories including four-year-old cars and motorbikes.
Three-year-old light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, trailers and buses are also to be tested from today.
Customers have been sent reminder letters with details of how to book a test.
The DVA is also to resume practical car and lorry driving tests from Tuesday, initially prioritising those requests from key workers followed by those customers whose tests were cancelled due to lockdown.
MoT tests were suspended in January after faults were detected in some of the lifts.
Testing was further disrupted by the pandemic, with some centres subsequently being used as Covid-19 testing centres.
The agency issued temporary exemption certificates (TECs) for some vehicles so that motorists could stay on the road.
However on Monday, July 20, the DVA reinstated MoT testing for:
priority groups not able to avail of TECs including taxis and buses due a first time test;
vehicles not previously registered in the North of Ireland;
vehicles whose MOTs have expired by more than 12 months that includes vehicles under a statutory off road notification (SORN);
and those sold by car dealerships.
Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) testing for priority vehicles was also reinstated to ensure supply chains and the health service continue to be supported.
Announcing the resumption of driving tests, Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said: “The DVA will continue to work with staff and trade unions in the coming weeks to ensure testing is conducted in line with public health advice and guidance to ensure the safety of all.
“It is anticipated that there will be a significant demand for driving tests when all services are reinstated and while the DVA will endeavour to facilitate appointments at the earliest opportunity, it is likely that initial waiting times for driving tests will be longer than usual.
“This remains a difficult and uncertain time for everyone and like all Covid-related measures, we continue to keep planning under review in order to ensure we can take steps when it is safe to do so.”
Jeremy Logan, acting chief executive of the DVA, said there was a limited capacity still of “approximately 30-35%” at centres as the DVA complied with public health guidance.
“As restrictions relax we would hope to bring more vehicles forward, so some vehicles in October or November may be issued with a TEC.
“However, if we have the capacity to test at that time, they will be issued with a reminder notice and at that stage they will be called forward at that time,” he said.
“So at this stage, the customer doesn’t need to do anything, they will be notified by us if they are due for a test and if they are not due for a test and they are going have a TEC applied, that will be automatically applied by DVA and updated on the DVA system.”
He said that people should remember that no hard copies of TECs are issued and that motorists should check the position on the status of their MOT online.
Mr Logan also confirmed that “the figure is around 3,000” for driving tests cancelled between the months of March and June due to the pandemic and that waiting times for a practical test would be impacted as a result.
“I would imagine, and we will do our best to facilitate tests at the earliest opportunity, but I think you are in the ballpark of, realistically, three to four months, of when you would normally expect to get your test, but we will have to look at that very carefully,” he said.
“I would imagine that we should be able to get through that backlog (of key workers and cancelled tests) within the next few months and thereafter we would hope to open up our services for all other customers.
“I’m hoping by the end of October, we should be able to open up that booking service for all other customers and sooner if we can, we will do our best to get through those priority groups as quickly as we can.”
Tags: