Municipal vehicle testing station reopened
Vehicle owners do not have to drive to other towns for testing anymore.
For the first time several years, residents do not have to drive to other areas to have their vehicles tested for roadworthiness.
According to the Merafong City Local Municipality’s Acting Public Safety Manager, Mr Philip Olivier, the vehicle testing station in Carletonville was closed in June 2017 because its equipment was so old that it did not comply with legislation anymore.
The municipality has, however, recently purchased brand-new equipment and has received the necessary permission from the Department of Transport to reopen the facility.
“Although we already reopened the testing station during the first week of March this year, few people know that it has been re-opened,” says Olivier.
During the time of its closure, residents had to drive to testing stations in neighbouring towns. Not only does this take extra time as well as money for fuel, but applications tests at the facility cost only R180 for small vehicles, R228 for larger ones and R72 for the issuing of a roadworthiness certificate. This is majorly cheaper than testing a vehicle at a private testing facility.
“We believe that this reopening is really improving service delivery to our residents,” says the MMC for Public Safety, Mr Lebogang Mangaliso.
The new testing station has an A-grading, which means that it can test all classes of vehicles, and is equipped with machines such as, amongst others, a brake roller check and an axle mass measuring machine.
According to law, all vehicles used for public transport must be tested for roadworthiness once a year, while bigger public transport vehicles such as Sprinters or busses must be checked twice a year. Big trucks must also be tested annually while normal private cars and bakkies only need to be tested when their owners change or after they are rebuilt, such as after an accident.
The vehicle testing station is open from Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 15:00.
