Monash university accident research centre report documentation page

All four surveyed interstate taxi regulators reported that periodic taxi and hire car roadworthiness checks are conducted in their respective state/territory. In the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, periodic inspections are conducted annually. In New South Wales inspections are conducted every four months for metropolitan taxis and every six months for country taxis whereas hire vehicles are inspected annually and in Tasmania, taxis over 12 months of age have a roadworthiness inspection every 6 months and a full safety inspection every 6 months or 10,000 kms or whichever comes first. The frequency of vehicle inspections was not reported to increase with the age of the vehicle in any of the states surveyed.

Across all groups, respondents were more likely to believe that the frequency of ‘annual’ inspections is about right. A third of hire car operators and half as many taxi operators and industry personnel thought that the frequency of these inspections should increase. Most taxi and hire car operators did not believe that the frequency of vehicle inspections should change with the age of the vehicle, whilst most taxi/hire car industry stakeholders believed that it should.

About half of all respondents provided explanations about their perceptions of the effectiveness of the current annual vehicle inspection regime along with suggestions about how it could be improved. Most respondents felt that the annual inspection process is important for ensuring a minimum standard of safety and maintenance by taxi/hire car operators. Some respondents felt that without the inspection process some operators would fail to adhere to minimum safety standards, contributing to a reduction in passenger safety and/or to a poor public perception of the industry’s commitment to customer safety and satisfaction.

A small proportion of stakeholders felt that annual inspections are more about providing a public perception that safety is being monitored because there is currently no evidence for their effectiveness in terms of maintaining and/or improving safety. A large proportion of respondents thought that the inspections only provide a ‘snapshot in time’ of the safety of a vehicle, potentially allowing operators to overlook problems that arise at other times. This view was more common among hire car operators and taxi/hire vehicle inspectors who were of the opinion that annual inspections are unnecessary for operators who service and maintain their vehicles on a regular basis. It was suggested that more frequent targeted inspections should replace annual inspections to allow continuous monitoring of vehicles, particularly those with previously identified safety issues. With respect to this issue, some operators felt that the inspection process needed to be more efficient as there was a tendency for some inspectors to focus on non-safety related issues (such as a missing sticker or moisture in the camera) and/or to find faults where they did not exist.

Some of the taxi industry stakeholders pointed out that the level of stringency and objectivity applied during inspections varies between licenced vehicle testers, with some testers failing to adequately inspect vehicles to the required standard. A large proportion of respondents suggested that a more standardised annual inspection process would help eliminate inconsistencies in vehicle testing procedures and do better to uphold TSC standards. One respondent felt that greater involvement by the TSC in the annual vehicle inspection process could assist with this, and suggested initiatives including sending copies of the inspection results to the TSC and greater enforcement and monitoring of the inspection process by the TSC. Some operators suggested that all annual inspections should be conducted by the TSC or VicRoads. It was felt that a more ‘standardised/centralised’ testing process would eliminate the potential for vehicle operators to ‘shop around’ for the most lenient inspectors, although it was acknowledged that supplementing annual inspections with more frequent random inspections would remove some of the problems associated with this practice.

A higher standard of training for those licenced to inspect vehicles was also deemed by some as a method to improve safety, with road safety inspectors perceived to be more qualified than general mechanics. Use of vehicle maintenance log books was also suggested as method to improve servicing and inspection procedures.

Random inspections

Taxi and hire car operators and selected industry stakeholders were asked to provide their perceptions of the importance (Figures A4.21 – A4.23) and effectiveness (Figures A4.24 – A4.26) of the random inspection process for ensuring the safety of vehicles.

The largest proportion of taxi operators and industry stakeholders perceived the random inspection regime to be important or very important in ensuring the safety of taxis and hire cars. Hire car operators were somewhat more divided on their perceptions of the process. Most taxi operators and stakeholders perceived the random inspection process to be effective or very effective in ensuring the safety of taxis and hire cars. In contrast, most hire car operators believed that the random inspection process was ineffective or very ineffective.

Tables A4.30-A4.32 shows the proportion of taxi operators, hire car operators and stakeholders respectively who indicated that random vehicle inspections should stay the same, increase or decrease with vehicle age.

Whilst most taxi operators believed that the frequency of random inspections was about right, half of the hire car operators and taxi industry stakeholders thought they should increase. Most taxi and hire car operators felt that the frequency of random vehicle inspections should not change with the age of the vehicle, whilst most taxi/hire car industry stakeholders believed that it should.

About half of all respondents provided explanations for their perceptions of the effectiveness of the current random vehicle inspection regime, along with suggestions about how it could be improved. Many of the themes were similar to those raised in relation to annual inspections.

Most respondents thought that random inspections are important for ensuring a minimum standard of safety and maintenance by vehicle operators at times outside of the annual inspection period. It was felt that the process would be more effective if licenced vehicle testing procedures were more rigorous and inspectors were more competent. It was suggested that vehicles should be pulled into a workshop or hoisted to allow more rigorous testing and assessment. A number of respondents had experienced difficulties with TSC inspectors, stating that they were inexperienced or unqualified to carry out the inspections safely and that there needed to be an improvement in the level of training and or attitudes of these personnel.

Some respondents, particularly hire car operators, suggested that the frequency of random inspections and the diversity of locations in which they are conducted could be increased. It was also suggested that random inspections could be implemented more consistently across the year, as they currently seem to be carried out in waves.

As noted previously, some respondents suggested that targeted inspections should replace random (and annual) inspections to allow continuous monitoring of vehicles with previously identified safety issues and/or vehicles that appear to be poorly maintained and/or reaching retirement age. Targeted inspections would likely represent an improvement over random inspections which were thought to be inefficient and disruptive to current operations, particularly when conducted at locations such as the airport.