Cutting corners on car maintenance risks lives

People are pretty good, but there's certainly a lot of cars that come in where people just will not spend money on their cars.

They're the car defects that are putting motorists and other road users' lives at risk.

From bald tyres to oil leaks, Kenmore mechanic Mark McCarthy has seen it all. "Most people are pretty good, but there's certainly a lot of cars that come in where people just will not spend money on their cars," Mr McCarthy said.

"We see it regularly where there's child seats in the car and they've got coolant leaks or oil leaking all over the road. Or the motor's running really poorly or it's got no brakes or completely bald tyres and people have got baby seats in the car." Another car did not have a handbrake, he said.

Some people just want to get the last bit out of the car before they trade it or send it to the wreckers

"They're definitely putting dollars in front of safety. They just want to get the last bit out of the car before they trade it or send it to the wreckers," he said. "Hit the brakes suddenly in the wet and they're just not going to pull up like a car should."

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RACQ's executive manager for technical and safety policy Steve Spalding said around 20 per cent of cars that failed a roadworthy at an RACQ site had a tyre problem. Mr Spalding said however the most common defect (28 per cent) was around whether vehicle lights were working.

SPOT THE FINE

Queensland motorists caught driving a vehicle that is not in a safe condition face an on-the-spot fine of $227 or a maximum court imposed penalty of $2277. The penalty for drivers issued a Defect Notice is $341 (the maximum court imposed penalty is $3415) according to the Transport Operations Regulation 2010.