Crackdown begins on shady car inspection firms

The Netherlands is cracking down on dodgy car inspection firms. On Tuesday hundreds of inspectors from road traffic service RDW is heading out to inspect garages, spokesperson Hans van Geenhuizen said to broadcaster NOS. "There are thousands of inspectors and tens of thousands of inspection firms. You have to check them." Last year nearly 250 car inspectors were suspended and 255 garages temporarily lost their inspection license due to mistakes ranging from missed faults to the inspected car not actually being in the garage when the RDW officers arrive. Every mistake gets a garage or inspector penalty points. If the points reach a certain level, they have to retake the exam. Van Geenhuizen attributes the high number of suspended inspectors and licence-less firms mainly to the RDW increasing checks in recent years. "We do more in the garages that seem to need it. But in general you can say that the quality of the inspection increased."