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POSTED 25 October 2018

Why vehicle inspection should be mandatory

One in ten road traffic accidents in Mexico could be avoided if the country were to adopt compulsory, government-controlled vehicle inspections, said experts this week at a Mexican government event.

The event organized by MXInfrastructure (MXI) ) together with the National Alliance for Road Safety and the Secretary of Mobility of the State of Mexico saw experts press for urgent new public policies to make vehicle inspection mandatory at the federal level.

Vehicle inspection prevents accidents

“According to industry estimates, 60% of Mexican vehicles have some kind of safety-related mechanical failure. This is particular significant in the number of road deaths because our vehicles are so old,” said Paulino Rodríguez, MXI President.

While the 13 million goods vehicles in the country do undergo safety and emissions testing, there is no mandatory, government-controlled testing for the other 25 million vehicles. And the vehicle inspection program carried out in Mexico City last year was not extensive enough.

Experts said that that at least 10% of traffic accidents could be avoided if vehicles were properly inspected.

A government-controlled vehicle inspection program is required

Rigoberto Bahamonde, Opus Director of Operations for Latin America, noted that Mexico has started to adopt the European inspection model, with both safety and emissions testing. But the country needs a fully comprehensive vehicle inspection system, sponsored by government and underpinned by a public policy vision.

“Road safety is key to the common good and should be a matter of public policy in order to build public trust,” he said. ‘With 90% of worldwide traffic deaths taking place in developing countries, Mexico has a responsibility to combat this public health problem,’ he added.

News coverage in Spanish here.

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