An investigation involving the Garda, the Department of Transport, the Revenue Commissioners and the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has been launched into a claim that cars classed as total write-offs and unfit to drive again following road crashes have been put back on the road.
The RSA received a report from an online company, Cartell.ie, in July showing that cars were not only on the road again after being totally written-off in crashes, but some vehicles classed as total write-offs have been re-taxed by new owners and have even passed the National Car Test (NCT).
Insurers class vehicles that have been damaged beyond repair as total write-offs. This is different to vehicles written-off by insurers as being beyond economic repair - where the cost of fixing the vehicle is higher than the value of the car or not viable. Total write-offs are vehicles that should not be driven again for safety reasons.
RSA chief executive Noel Brett said: "The RSA has been made aware of a potential issue with total write-offs and we are examining it, and until we have concluded the examination, it would be inappropriate to comment."
A spokeswoman for the department said it had also been made aware of the issue and was examining the matter with the RSA, Revenue and the Garda.
Cartell allows prospective car buyers to check a secondhand vehicle's history before they purchase it. The firm declined to comment on its report, a copy of which has been seen by The Irish Times.
While carrying out research earlier this year, Cartell found discrepancies between the records on total write-off vehicles held on the State vehicle register, the National Vehicle File (NVF) in the department, to which the firm has access, and a sample of records from one of the State's largest car insurers.
The insurer gave Cartell a sample of 5,430 vehicles that were classed as total write-offs in its files and unfit to be driven again.
Cartell cross-checked these vehicles with the NVF and found that 125 vehicles had been re-taxed since being written-off and most of these had had a change of ownership. Almost 100 vehicles in the sample had passed the NCT since being written off, Cartell's report states. The number of written-off vehicles on the road may be far higher, given that Cartell's study is based on just 5,430 vehicles.
The discrepancies arise in reporting write-offs. Insurers are not obliged to notify the department if a customer's car is totally written-off. Owners must notify the department if their vehicles have been scrapped or destroyed, but this is not being done.