Inspections
European technical inspection
Within the framework of the free movement of people in the European Union, the transit of vehicles between states has increased from one year to the next. Although the technical inspection rules have been harmonized at the level of all EU states, and the standard of technical inspection of vehicles is the same in all states of the Union, there are still many vehicles driving in other states with expired technical inspection. Personally, I have been in this situation several times, without the possibility to correct this omission.
The MOT date is not a calendar date for vehicle owners to keep in mind like a birthday or Christmas. Furthermore, for vehicle combinations such as a truck pulling a trailer or trailer, the MOT date of the truck may differ from that of the trailer.
There is often the possibility that a vehicle leaves the country where it is registered, to another country of the European Union before the deadline for the technical inspection, and the purpose of the journey is successively changed with multiple destinations and for a longer period of time than the one originally proposed. In this way, that vehicle could exceed the margin of 30 days in which the technical inspection is valid, without the possibility to carry out this inspection on the territory of another state and for it to be recognized in all EU states.
It is true that some states accept roadworthiness tests for vehicles registered in other states, but this inspection will only be recognized in that state, and if that vehicle has to travel several states to the state in which it is registered, it is practically impossible for that vehicle to arrive in his state with a valid technical inspection certificate. In this situation you can find cars, vans, caravans, trucks, trailers, semi-trailers, motorcycles and other vehicles.
The technical inspection of vehicles should not be a barrier to the free movement of people and goods within the EU. Vehicle technical inspection assistance and certification should be internationally recognised, at least for technical inspections carried out in workshops in European Union states, when this inspection is carried out following a standard verification procedure in the EU.
As long as the states of the European Union recognize the roadworthiness test carried out for a vehicle registered in the state in which the vehicle is registered, the roadworthiness test carried out in one state should also be recognized for vehicles registered in other states. In this way, the possibility and conditions are created for all vehicles to circulate on European roads in technical safety conditions.
And because I told you that I was several times in the situation of driving on the territory of a state with an expired technical inspection in the state where the vehicle was registered, I want to draw attention to the fact that the control authorities of the states can be fooled due to language barriers. A traffic or border policeman will not know what are the documents that certify the technical inspection of vehicles from a more distant state than, perhaps, those in the vicinity, and even in this case he is not sure that he is well informed.
In this way, it is possible for vehicles registered in other states to circulate on the roads of one state, with technical problems that cannot be detected by simply viewing the vehicle, but which are extremely dangerous for traffic safety. A defective or worn telescope (shock absorber) can cause a vehicle to skid, a faulty braking or steering system can cause serious accidents both in towns and on highways where traffic speed is higher, etc.
Controls and filters at the border, or within the states are not effective, that is why special attention is needed on the technical inspections of vehicles traveling internationally, and these inspections should be able to be done and recognized by all states, for all the vehicles. As long as the states recognize technical inspections made for vehicles registered in those third countries, and the procedure is identical for all states, a Directive to recognize technical inspections of vehicles, no matter in which state it was done, and a community database, which to record informations with the inspection of all vehicles by registration number, or by vehicle identification number would be very useful for all those involved in road safety.