Guernsey 'could struggle with vehicle test scheme'

James Larbalestier says he is concerned about extra workloads for vehicles not regularly visiting a garage

A scheme to test vehicles in Guernsey is likely to be delayed until at least 2026, despite "significant" progress made in the last political term, according to the president of the Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure (E&I).

Under the new scheme, the majority of vehicles more than five years old would need tested once every three years.

But there is concern in the motoring industry members could struggle to keep up with demand. James Larbalestier, managing director of JL Innovation, said there were "a lot of vehicles on the island that won't meet the standards required".

Senior politicians said technical guidance was being written before a policy letter was submitted to the States.

Mr Larbalestier said: "There's probably a lot of people who maybe do their own servicing, or, to be honest, probably a lot of people that don't do the servicing they should be doing at all.

"All of those vehicles are going to need to be checked, inspected and repaired as well, so my concern would be the extra workload for vehicles that aren't currently regularly visiting a garage."

Mr Larbalestier said his garage was already seeing a nearly two-month wait for work on vehicles and "there's a bit of a lack of techs on the island at the moment".

The States voted to introduce periodic technical inspections in 2019.

Deputies voted to sign up to the Vienna Convention, requiring a periodic check on vehicles.

The initial timeline for the introduction of checks was 2022, but it was set back due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

E&I President Adrian Gabriel said the drafting of the technical guidance documents was under way and then a policy letter would be submitted to the States for debate.

Robert Cornelius, president of the Guernsey Motor Traders Association (GMTA), said there had been "really, really positive" conversations with E&I.

He said: "We've given them a lot of information on hopefully how a system can work and the sort of checks that we think are necessary for Guernsey.

"That will assist everyone, including the dealers, the customers... meet the obligation."