Motorists urged to check their vehicles for defects

21 December 2017

Vehicle light defects were the most common faults discovered in road checks undertaken jointly, throughout 2017, by Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) in conjunction with the States of Jersey Police, Customs and Excise and the Honorary Police from the 12 parishes.

Out of the 10,654 vehicles that went through the checks at various locations around the Island, the owners of 336 were issued with defect notices instructing them to rectify the faults and to represent the vehicle to DVS within seven days.

There were 236 vehicles with lighting defects.

11 vehicles were impounded to DVS for further inspection which resulted in the vehicles being scrapped and the owners being charged and asked to attend a Parish Hall inquiry and then submitted to the Police court.

The Inspector of Motor Traffic, Gordon Forrest, commented “I am seriously concerned that some drivers are prepared to drive a defective vehicle, putting themselves and other road users at risk. It only takes five minutes to check on things like lights, worn tyres, corroded bodywork, windscreen washer and wipers.  Any defect is the responsibility of the owner or the driver of the vehicle. Failing to carry out these basic checks could result in the vehicles being impounded and possible prosecution."