Should those repairing motor vehicles professionally be required to have a licence to do so?
New research from the automotive professional body the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) show that the vast majority of the UK’s motoring public incorrectly believes that this is already the case, and is calling on the Government to introduce licensing for those in the retail repair sector.
Of over 2,500 drivers surveyed, 71 per cent believed anyone working on a car commercially would have a license to do so, when in fact there is currently no regulation on individuals in the motor industry. Over half (59%) of drivers said they would only someone repair their car if they believed they knew what they were doing, but just 10% knew how to check a technician's qualifications.
Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI said, "The majority of motorists choose a garage or mechanic without sufficient information to verify their competence to do the job, and this is a serious cause for concern as data from Brake, the road safety charity, reported that there were over 3,000 crashes in Britain were caused by vehicle defects as a result of inadequate maintenance in 2011.
The proliferation of hybrid vehicles and complex driver assist systems has already increased the skills requirements for effective and safe working on modern vehicles. But currently there is no industry-wide license in place to ensure service technicians are properly qualified, and without the proper training, car mechanics are increasingly putting themselves and motorists at risk.
The template for licensing already exists; IMI Accreditation and our Professional Register. So there is no excuse for the Government to delay, yet by our calculations there are 148,000 mechanics whose skills and current competence we cannot verify. It is vital that this issue is addressed as quickly as possible."
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