Mr. Alan Doyle:

Everybody knows when he or she steps outside the door that there is an issue with health and safety. Many of the events we attend are not necessarily organised by us, but we have a duty of care in arriving at somebody else's show and have a shared responsibility so far as health and safety issues are concerned. Historically, up until 1980, similar to cars and motorbikes, we always enjoyed an exemption from testing. From our point of view, there is no reason to change that exemption provision because nothing adverse has happened, although I know we hear about a tragedy here and there. The way some insurance companies approach the issue initially in respect of older vehicles is by asking for an engineer's report on a vehicle that has been restored. In other words, as this is the first time the vehicle has been insured and there is no history available, the insurance company will ask for an engineer's report. Prior to NCT-type testing an insurance company would have had an agent who would have tested the vehicle. There are still engineers available who could conduct such a test. It is more like a visual test, perhaps, involving a smoke test, but it does not carry the regulatory burden attached to a full DOE commercial test. I do not see why something along these lines could not done, say, every five years. When a vehicle was being put on the road initially, it would have to be certified. That would be reasonable.

Some issues arise from the point of view of health and safety. In modern trucks, as the tyres are nearest to the road, it is vital that they be correct, have the E mark and be stamp-dated. There are many tyres that were produced prior to the introduction of E-marking and date-stamping which are still perfectly good and serviceable. As responsible owners of vintage vehicles participating in runs, we are not going to put bad tyres on a vehicle, but at the same time we do not want to use ultra-modern tyres because many of them do not fit and do not look right. An insurance policy usually provides for limited mileage. That there is a reduced tax rate reflects the fact that they are rarely used. An engineer's report would address the health and safety issues.