MOT failure - can I drive car

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  • Jvic28
    Jvic28 Posts: 1,596 Forumite
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    As long as your MOT is still valid you are Ok to legally drive around. Not sure on what your insurance would think though. Although as you didn't have to take it for an MOT yet you should be Ok. Once the MOT expires you are only legally able to drive it on the road to a booked appointment for an MOT.

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  • Conor_3
    Conor_3 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
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    It all depends on what it fails on. If the failure means it doesn't comply with the requirements of the road traffic act, you are liable for prosecution for any defects on it should you be stopped at a roadside inspection. You cannot claim you don't know about them because it's failed an MOT.

    What did it fail on?
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,615 Forumite
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    What did it fail on?

    Nearside rear (rear of sill/inner wheel arch holed) seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded [5.1.B.6]
  • michaels
    michaels Posts: 28,004 Forumite
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    I had an mot fail on the licence plate (it was discoloured) and phoned the insurance company as the garae could not make up a new one there and then because I did not have the log book with me.

    Phoned insurance company who said ok to drive but if the licence plate was damaged in any accident it would not be covered and that generally if there were an accident and a known-fault was shown to have contributed then I would not be covered. I think it was a Friday and I actually would have no MOTat all till the Monday when I could get the plate made up. Obviously given that the number plate was unlikely to be the cause of any accidant I risked driving the car. Worth checking with your insurers their policy I think.
    I think....
  • in2deep_2
    in2deep_2 Posts: 343 Forumite
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    You are knowingly driving a defective car.!

    From the moment you fail the mot you could be in trouble if your stopped by the police.
    'Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship'. -Benjamin Franklin.
  • jeannieblue
    jeannieblue Posts: 4,761 Forumite
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    The MOT is valid until 10th May.
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  • in2deep_2
    in2deep_2 Posts: 343 Forumite
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    I just found this on an MOT website.

    A question that is often asked follows:

    If car fails MOT is the old test certificate still valid until its expiry date?

    Well the answer does not seem to be found on any of the government information about the MOT test, so we emailed VOSA with this question and this is their response:

    "An MOT certificate is valid until its expiry date. However if your vehicle fails a test before this date and you do not rectify the defects then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle which is an offence."

    So to put this into context if your car fails the MOT due to illegal tyres then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle, you were driving unroadworthy vehicle before the MOT, and you will be driving an unroadworthy vehicle until you get a new tyre. Therefore at anytime if caught you would be subject to a £2500 fine and 3 points per illegal tyre.
    However once you get a new tyre your car is roadworthy and the old MOT is still valid until its expiry date, thus you can then drive your car again and get it retested to your timescale, with out worrying about driving without an MOT.
    This is a very good reason to book your Mot early and give yourself plenty of time to book a retest if needed.


    So basically you are NOT legal until its fixed regardless of the current test certificate.
    'Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship'. -Benjamin Franklin.
  • Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!
    Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! Posts: 2,579 Forumite
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    An MOT certificate only certifies that on the day of testing the vehicle was roadworthy.

    Technically your vehicle is no longer roadworthy, and therefore I wouldn't drive it.
  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,615 Forumite
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    OK, I think I've now got to the bottom of it.
    Thanks for all your help.

    You ARE allowed to drive to a garage for repairs (which I did last night) and to a booked MOT.

    Of course I would not take any rear passengers knowing there was a problem with the rear seat belt anchorage.

    The car is insured and the insurance comapny cannot reject a claim unless the fault was a contributory factor in an accident.
    My view is that the chance of the rear seat belt anchorage causing an accident whilst not in use is virtually non-existant. although it could cause a problem is there was an accident and it failed (hence no rear passengers until fixed).

    It was quite legal and insured for me to take the car to the garage last night for repairs.
  • Wig
    Wig Posts: 14,139 Forumite
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    lisyloo wrote: »
    You ARE allowed to drive to a garage for repairs (which I did last night) and to a booked MOT.

    AFAIK, you are theoretically allowed to drive it, to a garage (pre booked) or to another MOT station (pre booked), but the only people who can stop you are the police, not the MOT station that failed you. You will only be guilty of an offence IF the fail was correctly issued AND the failed item renders the car unroadworthy.
    The car is insured and the insurance comapny cannot reject a claim unless the fault was a contributory factor in an accident.
    That's correct.
    It was quite legal and insured for me to take the car to the garage last night for repairs.
    Was it? I don't think it was, insured yes, legal maybe not. But I would have done the same thing.

    Of course the government does not help matters when they say as part of the terms and conditions of an MOT fail.....
    "If the vehicle is taken away from the testing station and returned the next day for retest on any of the following items..... no retest fee, partial examination." Or similar words to that effect and also talks about taking the vehicle away for up to 10 working days.

    You are of course able to transport the car on a trailer away from the station. But in practice the government know that 1000's of people drive cars away from MOT fails probably every week, if not every day.


    Perhaps a question could be asked of everyone reading this, it might give us an idea of how the police would view driving from a testing station....

    When the police have special operations at the side of the road to pull in and inspect passing vehicles for roadworthyness, what do they do when they find people driving cars with various faults? I don't think they impound every vehicle, they probably give drivers 7 day producers.
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