The Ethiopian Transport Authority (ETA) is getting closer to setting the standards vehicles will be tested on before they are deemed roadworthy. They will be enforced through automated inspections that are planned to begin next month.
The standards have been in the making for two years since the Authority decided to change the annual vehicle inspection from the previous manual system in the hopes of reducing accidents. It also aims to curtail alleged briberies that are said to occur during inspection.
The Authority, which is responsible for regulating transport operations on roads, has signed a five-year contract with 10 companies to conduct the annual inspections. They are obliged to conduct the inspection based on the standards set, for which there is a penalty if they do not.
Officials at the authority claim the standards are set benchmarking the experience of other countries including Kenya and Indonesia. They have been customized to take into account the realities in the country, according to the Authority.
However, technicians fear that the standards set are too high and will not be met by many cars in the country.
Vehicles are to be tested for their breaking and suspension efficiency, the level of exhaust emitted, overall condition of the body, and authenticity of the chassis.
Different limits have been set for vehicles that use acatalytic converter (CC) which recycles hydrocarbons and those which have turbochargers exhaust gas emission. They are set depending on the type of fuel they use.
Seid Mohammed, who has worked as an automotive technician for more than 10 years at MOENCO, which is one of the companies giving the annual inspection, and operates his own garage now, says it is unlikely that many vehicles will qualify. Standards of emissions and brake tests are likely to see many cars fail, according to him.
The Carbon Dioxide (CO) emission from vehicles operating on gasoil and do not have catalytic converters has to be less or equal to 4.5per cent by volume while those which do cannot go beyond 0.75pc. On the other hand, the limit for diesel operated vehicles emissions without a turbo charger is at 0.06pc, while 0.04pc is set for those with a turbocharger.
“It is when there is a problem with the motor that smoke emission is high whose maintenance cost is high,” Seid told Fortune. “I do not think 10pc of the cars that come to my garage would be able to pass.”
In the absence of a national standard for gas emissions, the standard volume is based on other countries experience, according to an expert at the authority, who is not authorized to give comments on record.”Yet our trial with the standard showed that not a lot of vehicles pass” he told Fortune.
However, it is difficult to predict what the impact of the new standard will be, according to Meshesha Haile, financial, operational and administrative manager of Gigar, who shares Seid’s concern.
The Authority on the other hand argues that it has conducted random inspections to set the limits mentioned.
While some of the tests are to be conducted using a machine that all companies selected undertake vehicle inspection are mandated to install, others are simply visual. These include checking whether the chassis and motor numbers are printed by the car manufacturer or printed afterwards, checking for cracks or chips in all light fixtures and whether all doors and windows operate properly.
The test also includes whether tires are worn out and whether seats are comfortable and undamaged.
These inspections are to be conducted and different tariffs to be set based on the passenger capacity of vehicles which are set by the Authority. Inspection of vehicles that carry up to 12 people is set at 124 Br, 134 Br for up to 29 people, 149 Br for those with a capacity of up to 44 and 159 Br for those that carry more than 45 people. Inspection of three-wheeled bikes and motorcycles is set at 79 Br.
A price of 124 Br is set for freighters that carry up to 15 quintals, which increases along with capacity and tops out at 164 Br for those for capacity more than 120ql. The cost of redoing the inspection due to failure to fulfill all the requirements is based on the components needed, which have different prices.
These tariffs have been contested by companies selected to conduct the inspections as being too low. Although similar concerns were raised when it was set two years ago, companies were guaranteed exclusion from inspection for five years in order to increase their profit margin.
However, the tariff has not changed despite the rise in inflation, some complain.
“It neither returns the capital investment nor is it encouraging,” Meshesha from Gigar told Fortune.
The company has invested around 2.4 million Br to import the inspection machine and to undertake civil works to install it in its facility.
Since the last time the price was set, a new condition has been added to the list of their requirements. The draft directive that sets the standards of inspection also obliges these companies to install CCTV camera in order for the authority to control all inspection processes on top of a minimum of employees including a receptionist, system administrator, investigator technician and technician’s team leader. They also have to be connected through a Wide Area Network (WAN) for the Authority to access them.
“These all have administrative costs,” Meshesha told Fortune. “The income from the tariffs set cannot cover all of them.”
If the company contracted to conduct the inspection does not fulfill the requirements set in the directive or transfers its obligations to a third party, the authority will cancel the contract without notice, according to the directive.
The draft directive also sets a complaint-hearing mechanism where anybody who has complaints on the process can file their grievances to the complaint-hearing organ of the authority.
The Authority expects to finalize the draft by next week following consultation it held with technicians on Thursday, December 10, 2011. When approved the annual inspection will be held from September to June every year.
source: addisfortune