02 Jul THE PHIL HARRIS STORY – Why It’s of Vital Importance to Repair Vehicles Correctly

RepairCert NZ has been working with (now retired) Repair Certifier Phil Harris to develop a video about a serious accident he was involved in back in 2022.

Here’s an excerpt about the accident taken from the upcoming RepairCert NZ Update, to give some background on why the video has been produced:

‘In 2022 a (now retired) Repair Certifier, Phil Harris, was involved in a serious head-on collision. The accident left the four people in his Ford Ranger with moderate to serious injuries, and sadly, the driver of the other vehicle (an older Honda Odyssey that crossed the centre line) did not survive.

Physically, Phil was left with serious injuries – which at one point he wasn’t expected to recover from. His recovery has taken a long time, and the injuries he sustained will likely affect him for the rest of his life.

The emotional impact has also been huge, and long lasting in many ways. The accident gave him a new perspective, making the question “would you be happy for your family to travel in this car?” feel far more personal and important in relation to the vehicles he had been repair certifying.

Phil puts his and his family’s survival down to the sophisticated occupant protection system in his Ranger, which highlights how critical it is to ensure these systems are fully and correctly reinstated on collision-damaged vehicles.’