Here is a not so comforting fact, 3 out of 4 trucks carrying flammable materials failed the Riteve inspection of the first try.
According to the vehicle inspection service, the Revisión Técnica Vehicular (Riteve), in the second half of 2012, 74% of all trucks carrying flammable products had to be re-inspected.
Fernando Mayorga, Riteve general manager, the main cause of the failure was related to faulty brakes.
Accordig to Mayorga, the Riteve does not have data of other periods to compare with due to changes in the regulations for inspection.
A major change that went into effect with the new Ley de Tránsito (traffic law) in October, is that vehicles with a registered gross weight of 3.5 tons must now be submitted for inspection twice a year, rather than once a year as per the previous law.
Vehicle inspection tests have become tougher, as many of the “leve” (light) faults that allowed the vehicle to pass became “grave” (serious).The vehicle inspection results offer three levels of results: Leve, Grave and “Peligro” (Danger).
A vehicle can have any number of “leve” and still pass the test, but just one “grave” and the test is failed. The difference between Grave and Peligro, is that with Grave a vehicle is permitted to continue to circulate, while with Peligro it must be taken off the road immediately.
