Trial in Feldkirch

Rusty car with a sticker

The car mechanic stood trial in Feldkirch on Monday.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

A car mechanic did not take it too seriously when inspecting a car. He received a previous conviction for this at the regional court on Monday and has also lost his inspection license. But he is apparently not the only "black sheep"...

Despite serious defects in the vehicle, the 41-year-old defendant from Oberland issued a positive expert opinion at the end of March last year. When the car was taken out of circulation almost 1480 kilometers later during an inspection and inspected by the motor vehicle expert of the state of Vorarlberg, Christian Wolf, the rust bucket was revealed to him in the form of a broken spring and a torn brake hose. In addition, the wishbone had been installed incorrectly. Wolf's conclusion is clear: "The car should never have been allowed on the road."

The car should never have been allowed on the road.

Kfz-Sachverständiger vor Gericht

Inspection authorization gone and a criminal record
In the end, the consequences for the "picker lender" were fatal: not only was he stripped of his inspection authorization, but criminal proceedings were also initiated against the "slob". On Monday, the Oberländer was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of four months and a fine of 1,200 euros at the Feldkirch regional court for the crime of abuse of office.

But that is not the end of the story: because another of his vehicles with serious defects has since been taken out of circulation, the next criminal proceedings against the 41-year-old are already pending at the public prosecutor's office. This is by no means an isolated case: last week alone, two "black sheep" were convicted of abuse of authority at the Feldkirch provincial court.

For the state's expert witness, Christian Wolf, the case was clear.

(Bild: Dorn Chantall)

This naturally raises the question: how trustworthy are the 250 or so workshops authorized to carry out assessments and are they even checked when it comes to awarding stickers? "Of course, inspections are carried out on site, but also digitally. For example, if a garage lists a conspicuous number of old vehicles without defects," says Brigitte Hutter from the Vorarlberg traffic department.

And, of course, tips are also followed up, and offenses are punished more severely than just a few years ago. Which is also proven by the statistics: While only one garage had its vehicle inspection authorization revoked in 2019, this year there are already nine businesses.