Faulty Brakes Major
Cause of Vehicles Not
Passing Riteve
Inspection
More than half (50.8%)
of all vehicles
submitted for the annual
inspection in the first
three months of this
year did not pass. Of
the 168.616 vehicles
that passed through the
Riteve inspection
stations around the
country, 85.656 did not
get the green light.
In the majority of the
cases the reason for the
fail are faulty brakes,
contaminating gas
exhaust and loose
suspension.
The numbers include all
passenger vehicles,
taxis, buses, heavy
trucks and trailers.
Faulty brakes, brakes
that do not work as they
should, not braking the
vehicle in unison, are
the major cause of
failed inspections,
according to Mario
Tambascio of the Heredia
Rtv station. "Many
vehicles come for
inspection with corroded
or loose brake lines",
said Tambascio.
Tambascio added that
loose or ill adjusted
suspension, steering and
are another problem with
many of the vehicles
trough the inspection.
The first step in the
inspection process is a
visual inspection of the
vehicle, including that
the seat belts buckle,
the horn blows, the
lights and turn signals
work as they should and
that the vehicle
identification number (VIN)
and motor serial number
match the registration
document.
Tire thread wear and
loose battery are all
part of the visual
inspection before the
vehicle is submitted to
the gas exhaust
emissions test, then
moved along the line for
brakes, suspension and a
visual inspection of the
bottom of the car to
detect any leaks and
holes in the underneath
of the body among other
things.
If the vehicle meets the
specifications as set
out by the Ministerio de
Obras Pública y
Transportes (MOPT), the
owner of the vehicle is
given a certificate
until the next year. If
the vehicle fails the
test, the owner has up
to 30 days to re-submit
the vehicle of
re-inspection at a cost
of 1/2 of the original
inspection.
The re-inspection only
looks at the items that
failed the original
test. Should the vehicle
fail the re-inspection,
the owner must submit
the vehicle to a full
re-inspection and at the
full price.
According to Riteve
statistics things are
getting better.
In 2003, the annual
failure rate was 71%, in
2004 the rate dropped to
59%, 44% in 2005, rising
some in 2006 to 51% and
49.9% in 2007.
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