Anyone taking the driving test will be required to know how to perform a range of tests on their vehicles.
The driving test is set to change for only the second time since it was introduced in 1966. According to the Department of Transport new changes will require drivers to know what happens under their car bonnet, and will be in force from the end of 2003.
The driver tester will ask candidates perform technical checks on three items from a possible ten. These include tyres, horn, lights, reflectors, indicators, steering and brakes. Under the bonnet they will need to know how to check engine oil, coolant, and windscreen washer fluid.
When asked by RTÉ News, some motorists who hold a full driving licence are not entirely sure how to carry out all of the required technical checks, or how to explain detailed mechanical aspects of their vehicles.
I could check the oil and the windscreen washer levels, but that would be about it.
The new regulations bring Ireland in line with a European Union (EU) directive stipulating that member countries must include a range of technical checks on vehicles.
In the case where testers ask drivers to lift the bonnet, the new regulations allow them to exercise discretion in relation to weather conditions.
Knowing more about their vehicles could benefit drivers taking the National Car Test (NCT) as this too is getting tougher. As a result, failure rates are expected to increase as offences that were previously considered minor will now lead to a car failing.
Unlike our EU counterparts, Alan Nolan of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry believes drivers in Ireland use the NCT as a diagnostic. They let the NCT show up problems, and then get them fixed.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 September 2003. The reporter is Anthony Murnane.
