Do people still think WOFs are "for our safety"?

[Ixion]

I do not see how any criticism can fairly attach to the police, or the WoF issuer. The police have no right to demand that a boot be opened because they want to see if there are beer bottles in there. They stopped the car, breath tested the driver (completely sober) , checked seatbelts , WoF etc. What more should they be expected to do? Seems to me , they did their job.

A WoF inspection is an inspection of the vehicle at the date presented. It cannot be expected to predict that after the inspection parts may wear, or modifications be made , as was apparently the case here .

Someone, at some time, consciously modified the vehicle , possibly in an unsafe manner (I'm a little hesitant about that, there is a tendency for police to assume that if a modified vehicle crashes then it must have been due to the modifications, which may not be always true). It was the responsibility of the person doing the modifications to ensure they were safe. If the car got a WoF with dodgy unsafe mods, then fair enough to come down on the issuer. But if the vehcile as presented was safe, then that's all the AVI can check.

Someone got behind the wheel, drunk , and drove. He wasn't driving when the police stopped them. How can the police be blamed for that ?

[Scuba_Steve]

What a stupid statement.

Maybe you should stop getting your WOFs from down the pub.

To be honest I cant ever remember VTNZ having a bar?.
But its not a stupid statement is it, you give the WOF place money they'll (all going well) give you a sticker & a piece of paper saying "well it looked kinda safe at the time". Do you not want you money to give you a proper inspection & actually guarantee (best as possible) your vehicle IS safe rather than just "looked safe".

If building inspectors worked like WOF inspectors, they would come round when your house is complete look at it & as long as its standing and doesn't fall at the time hes there declare it safe (after all it "looked" safe right) despite the fact all the internal bracing could be made out of paper mache & super glue (what he cant see doesn't hurt right?).

[sidecar bob]

Its called a "non invasive inspection" Safety at Reasonable cost, (to you the owner). If it was about money, wouldnt a WOF be more like an airworthy on an aircraft, with all parts being "lifed" & replaced regardless of condition.
Get your head out of your arse, if it is all about money, its all about fuck all money.

To be honest I cant ever remember VTNZ having a bar?.
But its not a stupid statement is it, you give the WOF place money they'll (all going well) give you a sticker & a piece of paper saying "well it looked kinda safe at the time". Do you not want you money to give you a proper inspection & actually guarantee (best as possible) your vehicle IS safe rather than just "looked safe".

If building inspectors worked like WOF inspectors, they would come round when your house is complete look at it & as long as its standing and doesn't fall at the time hes there declare it safe (after all it "looked" safe right) despite the fact all the internal bracing could be made out of paper mache & super glue (what he cant see doesn't hurt right?).

[imdying]

Complete inspection eh...

"Sure, we can book your FXR150 in, we have a spot 3 months from now, and at $80 an hour, motorcycles are 5 hours to fully inspect, that'll be $400... cash or credit sir?"

If building inspectors worked like WOF inspectors, they would come round when your house is complete look at it & as long as its standing and doesn't fall at the time hes there declare it safe (after all it "looked" safe right) despite the fact all the internal bracing could be made out of paper mache & super glue (what he cant see doesn't hurt right?).

How often is your house inspected again?

[Ixion]

Does that include the Xray of the frame for cracks?

[imdying]

I don't think they x-ray houses for cracks? I was thinking more strip the fairings, tank and airbox to inspect the frame.

[Latte]

To be honest I cant ever remember VTNZ having a bar?.
But its not a stupid statement is it, you give the WOF place money they'll (all going well) give you a sticker & a piece of paper saying "well it looked kinda safe at the time". Do you not want you money to give you a proper inspection & actually guarantee (best as possible) your vehicle IS safe rather than just "looked safe".

If building inspectors worked like WOF inspectors, they would come round when your house is complete look at it & as long as its standing and doesn't fall at the time hes there declare it safe (after all it "looked" safe right) despite the fact all the internal bracing could be made out of paper mache & super glue (what he cant see doesn't hurt right?).

No, if Building Inspectors worked like Wof inspectors they'd be looking at your house for defects every 6 months. there'd also be other inspectors that check your house the 1st time it comes into the country, and some other inspectors that check your model of house has been through all the safety standards and tests required by the govt. before it's allowed on to be sold/used/etc

[scott411]

If building inspectors worked like WOF inspectors, they would come round when your house is complete look at it & as long as its standing and doesn't fall at the time hes there declare it safe (after all it "looked" safe right) despite the fact all the internal bracing could be made out of paper mache & super glue (what he cant see doesn't hurt right?).

if building inspecting process worked any good maybe we would not have billion dollar bills for leaky homes

[Rogue Rider]

I might not get much agreement on this opinion, however in my view WOF's aren't really worth the paper they are printed on. It's fairly easy to find someone who will pass an inspection, and the standards are certainly not consistent across the industry.
I deliberate avoid VTNZ and the like who specialize in just doing WOF's for the one reason I probably should go there, because they are thorough and fussy, and have a very safety conscious mind.
Instead I go to a mechanic or wreckers who are always busy and don't really want to waste too much time looking in depth when they can make better $$$ doing there existing work.....
Why, because I don't really want to spend money, is it in my best interest, well no as these people could be cutting corners in return risking my safety.....
If you want to keep yourselves and your family safe, it's really your responsibility to do so by keeping your vehicle serviced and checked by a mechanic regularly every 6 months or yearly. It's a vehicle owners responsibility to make sure they know their vehicle and that it is in a road worthy standard.
I think WOF's should be every 12 months to two years. Boy racers should be accountable for there actions, and there illegal modifications should be dealt with by a CRUSHER.

[Scuba_Steve]

if building inspecting process worked any good maybe we would not have billion dollar bills for leaky homes

touché

It seems alot of you like the current WOF system & maybee think I'm against WOFs? I'm not against the idea, just the practice like I've said WOFs should be guaranteeing the safety of the vehicle & should be consistent & accurate, not passing cars with defects like the one in the article (yes in case anyone missed it the car WAS passed with at least one of the defects).

[imdying]

WOFs should be guaranteeing the safety of the vehicle & should be consistent & accurate, not passing cars with defects like the one in the article

Good luck building your Autonomous WOF Inspection Robot, because without, that idea is never gonna float

[scumdog]

Full Stuff "reporting" can be found here http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3689...a-modified-car

but a summary of points

* John Langeveld later admitted he had ordered the car to be taken off the hoist (April 9 last year), but said he believed the car was roadworthy because it had a warrant of fitness.
-- Isn't this why we are told we pay for WOFs?

* Serious crash investigator Senior Constable Alistair Crosland said the car had several modifications, which affected its handling, including suspension set so low the car rested on its rubber bump stops.
* NZ Transport Agencyvehicle inspector Warrick Andrews said the car also had loose and worn steering joints, insecure brake hose and low-profile tyres, which contacted the body of the car.
-- And yet it passed at least one Probably 2 WOF inspections

* 45 minutes before the fatal crash The car was checked for "obvious defects" and the warrant of fitness was also checked but found to be current.
-- Yet a garage had called the car unsafe a year before hand, still it passes WOF

Again & again the WOF system proves itself to be unreliable & inaccurate. It offers NO protection, NO assurance & No safety guarantee. It does very little other than take our money.

WOFs should be a complete inspection & only done a maximum of every 2yrs after the first 10 & every 5yrs before.

Bollock or troll.

[Flip]

Bollock or troll.

I think its both with a dose of stupidity thrown in.

[davereid]

Again & again the WOF system proves itself to be unreliable & inaccurate. It offers NO protection, NO assurance & No safety guarantee. It does very little other than take our money. WOFs should be a complete inspection & only done a maximum of every 2yrs after the first 10 & every 5yrs before.

What a great idea. Lets just ignore the fact that vehicle defects cause less road deaths than heart attacks or aliens.

Lets introduce a through vehicle test. A proper one, pull everything off and have a look. Say, 8 hours and you have to do it every six months.
That will stop both vehicle defect related accidents that the WOF system missed last year.

Come to my workshop, including diagnostic tests on the ABS, EBS, etc, I would get you through for under $1000.

Unless you failed.

[Katman]

Fail him, fail him!!!