Private vehicle test facilities still have higher pass rate

Vehicles tested at privately-owned authorised testing facilities and designated premises still have a lower failure rate than those tested at stations operated by DVSA, according to the latest effectiveness report published by the government agency formed from the merger of VOSA and the DSA earlier this year.

This phenomenon is repeated across trucks, trailers and passenger vehicles and continues the trend of previous years. Seventy-one per cent of vehicles across all three classes are now tested at private facilities as DVSA continues with its programme of test station closures.

In 2013/14 trucks tested at private premises had a 21.4 per cent initial failure rate, compared to 21.9 per cent failures at testing stations. For trailers the figures were 14.6 compared to 15.8 per cent. The differential was most marked for coaches and buses where only 15.6 per cent failed at private premises compared to 22.2 per cent at DVSA stations. The tests themselves are carried out by DVSA personnel, irrespective of whether they are undertaken at a government-owned test station or a private premises.

The trend across all sectors is for a higher first-time pass rate, reflecting the OCRS system that penalises operators who present unroadworthy vehicles for annual test.

Since 2011/12 the average first-time failure rate across all three classes has fallen from 21.8 per cent to 19 per cent in 2013/14. This is an improvement of 0.8 per cent over 2012 /13.

The test figures also indicate a small increase in the national fleet. A total of 404,036 trucks were tested in 2013/14, compared to 403,162 in 2012/13. We have yet to see a return to the 413,579 tested in 2011/12, however. Trailer tests show an increase of 2,454 from the previous year and passenger vehicle tests are up by 911.