 the monthly average age of open external audit cars increased by the end of april to 6 16 months continuing an upward trend since february the maa continued to trend upwards to 5 06 months by end of april as several older cars remain open this is above the target of 4 5 months set for 2019 the car escalation process has been reviewed and updated and agreed escalation actions are in hand an action plan to prioritise the closure of older cars will be presented at the may safety committee meeting 