State Highway 16 full of slow moving morning traffic as the sun rises. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
New data has found a large number of cars in New Zealand don't have the registration and WoF up to date.
Among everyday vehicles, nearly half are overdue for either their Warrant of Fitness (WoF) or their registration, according to a vehicle management app.
Bonnet, an app that links to NZTA data, crunched the numbers for 21,500 vehicles, both privately owned and fleet operated.
It found we are not good at getting our WoFs in time. The Bonnet data shows in Northland, 66 percent of warrants are overdue, in Auckland around 16 percent have expired, but that was down to just 8 percent in Otago.
Automobile Association's principal policy advisor Terry Collins had some questions around the data.
He believes the figures are inflated due to the definition of expired.
"Their registration might expire on a certain date which could be Saturday, but you paid on Thursday, so they wait until Thursday to pay it and that payment's back dated to Saturday. So, it was expired, but really the payment's made."
He said AA previously thought 20 percent of WoFs in Northland were overdue, which is believed to be one of the worst in the country.
Collins said that is due to people unable to afford to get them done, as well as vehicles not being driven.
He said it is important that cars are registered because it contributes to the ACC fund, which covers injuries on the road.
"Those people who are not paying their registration are being funded by the people who are," Collins said.
The government is looking at changes to the WoF system, including less frequent inspections for some vehicles.
Proposed changes include less frequent WoF inspections for some light vehicles, a simplification of heavy vehicle requirements and new safety features for imported vehicles.
Under the proposed changes, the first WoF for new light vehicles would be issued for four years. Vehicles between four and 10 years old would be required to get a new WoF every two years, while those older than 10 years would still need a yearly inspection.
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