MOT warning

[Braddy 160]

The law on M O T test has changed if your car fails the test now you cannot drive the car on the public road even if you have weeks left on your old M O T. Do you have it fixed at the M O T garage ? If you get caught driving the vehicle the fine is £2500 pounds and 3 penalty points.

[The Pianoman 1,535]

Not quite like that. You can still drive it on the road after its has failed if it is going to where it is going to be repaired and/or for re-test.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

As I read that you can drive it home if you are going to repair it yourself.

[Enigma. 1,533]

thanks for clearing that up Mr Pianoman

[taxi ray 170]

Any link to this information?

[DJBrenton 738]

You can take the car elsewhere for repairs. What you can't do is carry on driving it normally. In fact, the vast majority of 'No MOT's' are dealt with by £60 ticket without endorsement although the gov.uk site says it's a maximum £1000 not £2,500 and it's non-endorseable.

In 2017, EU laws will mean that if your car fails for a defect that makes it 'dangerous to drive' then you won't be able to leave the MOT station on your own wheels.

Currently you must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out, except to:

• have the failed defects fixed
• a pre-arranged MOT test appointment

[taxi ray 170]

When I take a car for mot I always do it about 3 weeks before it is due, if it passes the date is carried forward, and if it fails I get 3 weeks to fix it. I do 6 cars a year. I do all the work on 5 if possible but my own car gets done at a garage, I save the family a fortune, but mine costs me a fortune. I enjoy tinkering with cars, but they are getting a lot more complicated.

[DJBrenton 738]

Actually this is an interesting subject. There hasn't been a change in the law at all. What's happened is that the DVSA has changed the guidelines on it's site. There are arguments that what they say is actually legally wrong and you CAN still drive if your MOT is in date. The thinking is that it's over-stated and you can only be penalised if the car has failed on a dangerous fault but then it's not a 'No MOT' it's a 'RTA Use and Condition's which IS endorsable. It will be interesting to see what happens if people are stopped in this situation.

[poohbear 1,360]

You WILL buy a new car every couple of years with almost zero emissions...Can't afford it because you're not in an MPs pay scale?....HARD CRAP! we'll find a way of screwing some more money out of you.

[catfan 14,793]

Actually this has always been the case with failed MOTs.

You could be & many were prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle, defective lights, tyres, brakes etc. etc. Still having a few days or a couple of weeks of MOT left was no escape from prosecution.

Remember the wording on the MOT certificate about the vehicle only being safe/roadworthy at the time of the test.

Nowadays ANPR technology makes everything so much easier for plod.

[The Pianoman 1,535]

#8 - That's about the size of it too I reckon!

[banjo48 928]

Thank god we don't have this crap here in West Oz, the police here have powers to give you a free check if they suspect your vehicle is not roadworthy but thats it. Most just have a squiz at your tyres and that's it.

Some other states have checks after 3 years old and some need a roadworthy certificate to sell the vehicle. Yes we live in a united country down here ;-))

[FLY2 10,108]

The sensible thing surely is to book it in on the day your old one expires.

[The Engineer 614]

Punishment for no test certificate is £100 fixed penalty or a Level A fine (half a week's income) if it goes to court, subject to a maximum of £1000 (Level 3). They'll generally knock a third off if you plead guilty. Road Traffic Act 1988 Sect.47. Trouble with going to court though is that there are a few other costs that will add around £250 to any fine. Best to pay the fixed penalty whenever you get one, whatever the offence.

You need to be able to drive home after failure as some places say "we only MOT" (unless of course it's dangerous, like the brakes don't work).

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Varies here state to state, Missouri has a limited inspection, lights, windshield wipers, windshield for cracks, tyres, horn, direction indicators and they pull one wheel off to check brake linings, nothing spectacular. Arkansas just has the law that says you must keep your vehicle in a roadworthy condition, as the wife has her business in Arakansas, the car and two trucks are registered down there, so don't have the bother of annual vehicle inspections.

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

I must be one of the few that has no problem with there being an MOT test. When you look at the state of some of the vehicles on the road today imagine how bad it would get without the test.