MOT failure - can I drive car

[lisyloo]

My car has just failed it's MOT but old MOT expires on 10th May.

Can I drive it around in the meantime e.g. to get it to a garage to get it fixed?

[Hintza]

In short yes.

But be aware of things that might put you or others in any danger.

[Riq]

Technically speaking yes.

What if you hit someone and the cause was due to something which failed it's MOT? How would that make you feel?

[lisyloo]

It's welding required but I don't think it's going to fall apart on me in the next few days.
Thanks for the warning though.

[lisyloo]

What if you hit someone and the cause was due to something which failed it's MOT? How would that make you feel?

I will check with the garage that MOT'd it that as to whether it's safe or not.
I suspect it is quite safe but I will check with the people who know about these things.
If there is any hint it's not safe then I'll get it towed, but when I spoke to them this morning they did not show any kind of concern (but I WILL check).

[going2die_rich]

Is your car insurance still valid though if you drive a car knowing full well it's below the accepted standards?

I am sure the car insurance companies will have small print saying it needs to be in a well maintened, road worthy manor, which if you fail an MOT, then surely it's not.

I'd suggest you only use it to literally get it to a garage, as I think it's not worth chancing it for anything more.

[lisyloo]

Is your car insurance still valid though if you drive a car knowing full well it's below the accepted standards?

I don't honestly know, which is why I asked the question.
I don't have my documents with me right now.

I'd suggest you only use it to literally get it to a garage, as I think it's not worth chancing it for anything more.

I aked the question as I didn't want to "chance" anything.
Do you mean chancing legally or in practice.

I have checked the issue and there is a hole next to rear seat belt anchorage.
I will not be carrying any rear passengers so I don't believe there is a safety issue in practice as I'll be the only person in the car and using the front seat belt.

If you think there are legal issues and that posts 2 and 3 are not right then please let me know.
I have other transport at home to get around in the meantime so it's only a question of getting it to a garage.

[Riq]

I was meaning if it was brake or steering related, but it sounds safe enough to me as long as these holes don't affect the integrity of the car.

My dad has failed his MOT before and driven his car to work a number of times before he booked it in for another test after he fixed it.

It still has a valid MOT certificate so I think you should be okay on the insurance.

But as with anything which we "think", it is best to ring your insurance.

[LandyAndy]

Originally Posted by Riq

I was meaning if it was brake or steering related, but it sounds safe enough to me as long as these holes don't affect the integrity of the car.

My dad has failed his MOT before and driven his car to work a number of times before he booked it in for another test after he fixed it.

It still has a valid MOT certificate so I think you should be okay on the insurance.

But as with anything which we "think", it is best to ring your insurance.

I know how he feels.

[Riq]

It's funny, because it's true.


Bad choice of words I admit.

[jonathon]

I understand know the mot is connected to a national database once your car has failed its mot you could only drive it to get it repaired and you old mot is no longer valid.

[Jvic28]

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.

X

[Conor]

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]

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]

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.

[in2deep]

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.

[jeannieblue]

The MOT is valid until 10th May.

[in2deep]

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.

[Pew Pew Pew Lasers!]

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]

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.