Almost half of the vehicles that took the NCT test last year failed, according to new data.
Figures published by CarTakeBack found that 875,901 cars failed the NCT while over 1.7 million tests took place.
On The Pat Kenny Show, transport consultant Conor Faughnan said unprepared drivers account for the high failure rate.
"On the face of it, it looks dreadful, but in fact almost all of these cars pass on a re-test," he said.
"If you look at when those cars came back to re-test for the NCT, if they need a full lane to do it, it’s about a 90% pass rate.
"If it’s just a visual re-check then it’s over a 99% pass rate."
Preparation
Mr Faughnan said many motorists simply "don't bother" to do any preparation for the NCT.
"It’s absolutely a backward attitude towards vehicle maintenance," he said.
"You’re supposed to maintain the car properly rather than just prep for a test every couple of years."
The lack of pre-test care is "hugely wasteful of the NCT's capacity," according to Mr Faughnan.
"For the ordinary punter, the most convenient thing to do is don’t bother prepping for the NCT, just let the car do it.
"If it passes great, if it doesn’t they’ll tell you why."
An NCT testing car service and diagnostic centre in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, AlamyWhile the figures appear alarming, he said it is not the case that half the cars on Irish roads are dangerous.
"It's causing a lot of waste in the system, but it's not really as alarming as it appears," he said.
Mr Faughnah's advice to motorists is to get regular checks on their vehicle.
"What we want people to do is maintain their car properly so when the test comes around you don’t need to prep for it at all, your car is in good condition, it should just breeze through," he said.
Mr Faughnan also said he believes the NCT to be a "pretty uniform" test for vehicles.
With a failure-rate of over 55%, the figures claim Cavan, Athlone, Carrick-on-Shannon, Monaghan and Castlerea are "NCT failure hotspots".
Mr Faughnan believes these rates may reflect local issues, such as potholes and other road conditions.
Feature image shows a sign for an NCT Centre, Alamy.
