Road traffic accidents due to defective vehicles (FOI)

​Request

How many deaths and serious injuries have been caused in Jersey over the last five years by defective motor vehicles?

Not speeding, drunken, careless or dangerous driving but solely due to a motor vehicle having been suspected as being defective, thereby causing the accident. Then the suspect vehicle having been inspected by DVS Traffic Officers and found to have been defective, then subsequently in court or at an inquest the vehicle has been found to have caused the accident resulting in death or serious injury? How many such vehicles in the last five years?

Response

There have been no fatal road traffic collisions (RTC’s) during the past five years where the condition of the vehicle has been considered a major contributory factor. On two occasions, defective tyres were noted but this was not considered the cause of the collision.

In the past five years, there have been 20 RTC’s in which a defect was recorded as a possible contributory factor. As a result of these collisions, 23 people were injured, three of them seriously.

• Ten of the casualties, including two of the serious casualties, were not driving/riding the defective vehicle.
• Four, including one of the serious casualties, were under the age of 18.

In serious injury/fatal RTC’s, the vehicles involved will automatically be sent to DVS for examination.
 
Following an RTC, a driver/rider of a vehicle can request an examination if they believe the collision was caused by an unknown mechanical defect beyond their control. This occurred in eight of the above cases, however such a defect was only found to be the contributory factor in three cases and deemed beyond the control of the driver. In five of the cases, no defect was found.

Of the 20 recorded incidents above, only two were determined to have been caused by a pre-existing defect. These matters proceeded to court or Parish Hall.

Seven other cases went to court or Parish hall for driving offences such as driving without due care and attention. Some of these included offences identifying defects on the vehicle, although in these cases, the defect was not found, after examination, to be the cause of the accident.