The effect of PTI on road accidents in Slovakia
A new study was recently published which once again demonstrates the positive impact of PTI on road safety. This study presents a search for links between the Periodic Technical Inspections of Vehicles (PTI) and traffic accidents due to vehicle technical defects in Slovakia.
Based on these links, an attempt was made to assess the justification of the PTI with regard to road safety. For this purpose, statistical data on traffic accidents, caused by vehicle technical defects as well as data concerning PTI carried out were examined. The first finding was that the approaching end of the validity of the PTI, the probability of traffic accidents due to technical defects increases for vehicles. The second finding was that with the increasing number of vehicles assessed at the Periodical Technical Inspection Stations (PTI) as temporarily roadworthy and not roadworthy, the number of accidents due to vehicle technical defects was decreasing. The results formulated in this paper show that the PTI have a measurable effect on traffic accidents caused by vehicle technical defects, thus positively affecting the road safety and thus having a demonstrable justification.
Therefore, instead of calling the systems of periodic technical inspections into question, national authorities should rather take more stringent measures to improve the performance of PTI (especially at the EU level), such as the introduction at PTI of compulsory accreditation under ISO 17020, which has a demonstrably positive effect on the quality of the PTI activity, as well as pay attention to inspections of PTI.
As an example may serve the Slovak Republic, where inspection bodies effectively control the activities of technicians through cameras, thanks to which, after the introduction of this control system, the rate of temporary roadworthiness and non-worthiness in the assessment of vehicles at PTIs increased significantly and, in correlation with this, decreased the number of traffic accidents due to vehicle technical defects.
The research was funded by the project of institutional research of the Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Zilina – Research on the impact of urban logistics on the environment. The publication was realized with support of Operational Program Integrated Infrastructure 2014 – 2020 of the project: Innovative Solutions for Propulsion, Power and Safety Components of Transport Vehicles, and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.