First Impressions By Brendan Horan

One of the more dumb ideas from the Ministry of Dumb Ideas in Wellington is a new 'reform” to extend the warrant of fitness period from 6-12 months.

New Zealand has one of the oldest fleets of cars in the world, with an average age of 13 years, yet in an amazing twist of logic Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges claims the move would 'increase road safety”.

Warrants of fitness checks are carried out to ensure vehicles are fit to drive on public roads. Motorists are also obliged to ensure the vehicles are safe between checks.

Sometimes it's a pain waiting in a queue at a vehicle testing station or leaving the car at your local garage, but a conveyance that legally travels at 100km/h among other vehicles is a potentially lethal object.

Wet icy roads, bald tyres, faulty brakes, blown headlights, faulty door handles – the list goes on. Safety on the roads owes a lot to the person with the clipboard making ticks or crosses on that form.

When officials and politicians have these brainwaves they often forget the human factor. People get busy. They forget things and perhaps never get around to replacing that tyre. In fact, Greg Murphy, V8 Supercar driver and four-time Bathurst winner, claims many Kiwis are slack about maintaining their cars and don't have any mechanical knowledge.

If you go to a local garage, the mechanic gets to know you and your vehicle. You will be warned when the tread on a tyre is getting too low or a CV joint needs replacing. The mechanic will also patiently explain what a CV joint does and how the car can't repair itself or grow a new one.

To keep an eye on dodgy vehicles under the new WOF era, Mr Bridges has suggested randomised checks by teams of 'private” inspectors. So if, at some future date, you see some shifty character snooping around the supermarket car park you will know that the government has your safety at heart.

Yeah right.