Motorists who wish to register or renew the registration of their cars and motorcycles with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) must go through vehicle inspection, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
In a statement, DOTr Usec. for Administrative Service Artemio U. Tuazon Jr. said that this is in line with DOTr’s thrust to make sure motor vehicles on the roads remain roadworthy. Tuazon is also the chairperson for DOTr’s Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (PMVIC) Steering Committee.
“An unsafe vehicle on the road can kill and be as deadly as a vehicle driven by a drunk driver. A poorly maintained vehicle can experience mechanical failures that may end in a terrible road crash,” Tuazon said.
According to the MMDA-Tec-Road Safety Unit MMARAS Annual Report 2019, a total of 121,771 road crashes happened in Metro Manila in that year with an average of 334 cases per day. 372 of these ended in deaths while 20,466 victims suffered from non-fatal injuries and 100,933 resulted in damage to property.
“We can prevent the unnecessary loss of lives and property on our roads just by making sure that vehicles are safe and roadworthy,” Tuazon added.
Vehicle owners have the option to have their cars and motorcycles inspected by an authorized PMVIC or by the LTO.
With issues surrounding PMVICs, Tuazon reassures motorists that the cost of inspection by a PMVIC is the same cost as that of an emission test by a private emission testing center (PETC). He also urges motorists to opt for PMVICs so LTO branches will not be as crowded.
Tests done at PMVICs are to be recorded on video, with results sent in real-time to LTO’s database. This is to prevent tampering with inspection results and “non-appearance” registrants.