Changes to the country's vehicle testing system will save motorists time and money while focusing on road safety when the new changes come into force next year.

Wof changes save time and money when the new rules come into force next year.

The key changes to the warrant of fitness system include an initial inspection for new cars, followed by annual inspections once vehicles are three years old, annual inspections for vehicles three years and older and first registered on or after January 1 2000; six-monthly inspections for vehicles first registered before January 1 2000 including information and education to increase people's awareness of regular vehicle maintenance and extra police enforcement activities.

Tauranga MP and Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges says regular inspections the proposed changes to the country's vehicle testing system will continue to play a vital role in vehicle safety.

'The new inspection frequency regime recognises concerns about older vehicles by making sure vehicles registered before January 1 2000 remain on six-monthly inspections.

'The new regime also recognises that the quality of vehicles and their safety features and performance are improving over time.”

Ministry of Transport research shows that the package of changes will benefit motorists and businesses by $159 million a year, and by at least $1.8 billion over 30 years.

This includes savings in inspection and compliance costs, justice and enforcement costs, and time spent by motorists getting their WoF.

Simon says these savings will have a flow-on benefit for the wider economy.

'Decisions have come after a great deal of work, including public consultation that canvassed a range of possible options.

He says while many submitters wanted reform, others expressed concern about change.

'We took these concerns into account in designing a WoF package that backs up the changed inspection frequency over time with other measures, such as information and education campaigns and more funding for Police enforcement.”

Options relating to information and education campaigns and police enforcement activities, including funding details, will be worked through by the relevant Government agencies in the coming months.

'These changes bring us more into line with other countries. New Zealand currently has one of the highest inspection frequencies in the world.

Changes to the WoF system will be made through the Land Transport Rule: Vehicle Standards Compliance 2002 and are expected to be in place by July 2014 or earlier.

The Vehicle Licensing Reform project and consultation also looked at ways to refine the certificate of fitness, annual vehicle licensing and transport services licensing systems.

More details about Vehicle Licensing Reform can be found here.