MOT one month early and it fails - Can I still drive?

[Deleted User]

This old chestnut. Never really understood.

Notwithstanding the old driving unroadworthy car, for which mot is irrelevant, is it OK to continue to drive the car if it fails an MOT (And you've got a month left)? Also, assuming MOT test does not raise anything too serious.

Could be argued that car is roadworthy or not and has nothing to do with mot failure. Or could be argued that now that you know about it you are commiting an offence?

Thoughts?

AdrianC

Your old MOT is valid until the date it expires, whether the car fails a test in the meantime or not.

BUT... if the car is unroadworthy, it isn't legal to drive. Full stop. Whether it's failed an MOT or not.

nodiscount

/ Car insurance / Motoring blog /
Blog: Can you drive your car if it’s failed an MOT?
Lois Avery, 18 Nov, 2011
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Mechanic fixing a carMOT testing might seem cut and dried but there is a grey area - if you take your car for an early MOT and it fails, is your old certificate still valid? We find out.

Recently, we wrote about cutting the cost of your MOT. One tip suggested drivers should book early to allow time to shop around for repairs.

However, after several of you emailed in with further questions about the law, we decided to explain this further and we’ve discovered a grey area when it comes to MOT testing.

Falling foul of these laws could not only land you in hot water with the DVLA and the police, it could invalidate your insurance.

We started with a simple question: You can arrange a test up to one month before your current certificate ends. But can you still drive the car if it fails the new MOT?

Well, it depends on two things.

If your current MOT has expired
The law is quite clear: you MUST have an MOT. Without it your insurance is void and you’re breaking the law.

So say, for example, your MOT runs out on 30 November and you’ve got a test booked for that same day.

If your vehicle fails and you need to wait a day or two to get repairs then you shouldn’t be driving the car.

Although the law states that in this instance you can take the vehicle to a test station for an MOT test booked in advance or bring it away from a test station after it has failed the MOT test, to a place of repair.

But otherwise, driving around between test and repair is an offence.

If your current MOT is still in date
Here’s where it gets complicated.

To encourage drivers to keep on top of vehicle maintenance, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) allows you to arrange a new MOT test up to one month before your current certificate ends.

In theory, this means that if it fails you’ve still got time to get quotes and get it fixed before the previous MOT actually expires. The earliest date that you can do this is printed on your existing certificate.

However, if the vehicle does fail the new MOT, you shouldn’t be driving it. Here’s why.

Although you’re not breaking the law by not having an MOT (because your old certificate is still valid, remember) you could be prosecuted for driving a defective vehicle, if stopped by the police.

Whether it’s a broken lightbulb or brake failure, you’d be guilty of driving a car that has known faults.

So, your best bet is to get it fixed ASAP and not to drive it in the meantime.

A VOSA spokesperson confirms: “Should you present your vehicle early and the vehicle fails the test, your original certificate still remains valid until its expiry date.

"But this does not mean that you are entitled to continue to use a defective vehicle.

“However, once the defects are repaired you can continue to use the vehicle until either it is retested or the original test certificate expires.

"Remember a current test certificate does not allow continued use of a defective vehicle on a public road.”

http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/blogs/can-you-drive-your-car-if-it-has-failed-mot

Spicy_McHaggis

Simple answer is the car as a current mot so there isn't an offence of using it without one.
You would be however committing an offence of using a vehicle with the defects it failed on.

Nilrem

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

Simple answer is the car as a current mot so there isn't an offence of using it without one.
You would be however committing an offence of using a vehicle with the defects it failed on.

And the latter is likely to be more serious than a simple lack of MOT, as IIRC you don't get points for no MOT, but you can get points for a lot of things that would fail the MOT, and possibly even done for careless/dangerous driving if you go round with some defects that cause MOT failures (driving around with tyres/brakes that have failed an MOT would probably be careless driving at least if you get stopped and the police/VOSA* spot them and register that they had failed an early MOT).

I wonder what it failed on:)

*Or whatever they're called now

Spicy_McHaggis

Nilrem wrote: »

And the latter is likely to be more serious than a simple lack of MOT, as IIRC you don't get points for no MOT, but you can get points for a lot of things that would fail the MOT, and possibly even done for careless/dangerous driving if you go round with some defects that cause MOT failures (driving around with tyres/brakes that have failed an MOT would probably be careless driving at least if you get stopped and the police/VOSA* spot them and register that they had failed an early MOT).

I wonder what it failed on:)

*Or whatever they're called now

No water in a washer bottle or a blown bulb wouldn't be points or dangerous driving.

I don't think you'd get a careless driving charge for vehicle defects so no need to scaremonger.

AdrianC

There's all the CU offence codes, which would be more likely to be used, but careless and dangerous certainly CAN be applied to somebody using a defective vehicle.

Spicy_McHaggis

AdrianC wrote: »

There's all the CU offence codes, which would be more likely to be used, but careless and dangerous certainly CAN be applied to somebody using a defective vehicle.

CPS charging standards suggest otherwise for careless.

londonTiger

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

No water in a washer bottle or a blown bulb wouldn't be points or dangerous driving.

I don't think you'd get a careless driving charge for vehicle defects so no need to scaremonger.

Police aren't roadside mechanics, they will seldom ever inspect a car unless they paticularly don't like a person and want to dig deep to find something to write a ticket for. Even then it would be the ususal checks like tread dept, check for damaged lights etc.

Seen so many cars driving around with their foglights on, dead tail lights/brake lights. Really !!!! aftermarket HIDs etc that I doubt police ever pull drivers over because they think driver is driving around with a dangerous car.

They chase the revenue, they can slap on massive fines to HGV drivers, speeding cars etc. So they put their resources on that. But they don#'t care that some idiot is driving around with foglights on, effectively disabling the car in front's vision on the wing mirrors and rear view mirrors (which could get a cyclist killed). But polcie don't bother with that because it's usually a first time warning for that.

Spicy_McHaggis

londonTiger wrote: »

Police aren't roadside mechanics, they will seldom ever inspect a car unless they paticularly don't like a person and want to dig deep to find something to write a ticket for. Even then it would be the ususal checks like tread dept, check for damaged lights etc.

Seen so many cars driving around with their foglights on, dead tail lights/brake lights. Really !!!! aftermarket HIDs etc that I doubt police ever pull drivers over because they think driver is driving around with a dangerous car.

They chase the revenue, they can slap on massive fines to HGV drivers, speeding cars etc. So they put their resources on that. But they don#'t care that some idiot is driving around with foglights on, effectively disabling the car in front's vision on the wing mirrors and rear view mirrors (which could get a cyclist killed). But polcie don't bother with that because it's usually a first time warning for that.

All of that is of course only your opinion and not how it actually is in reality.

Ebe_Scrooge

Over my many years of driving, I've been pulled 3 times for having a rear light out. On 2 occasions the PC was nice as pie - "Just get it fixed in the morning and that'll be no problem". But one time the PC was obviously in a right mood - gave me a 10-minute lecture about how I should check every time before I drive the car, their cars are checked before each journey, etc. etc. He ended up by saying he could, if he wanted, write me a ticket there and then, but I guess I passed the attitude test because he let me on my way.

I don't know if he really could have written a ticket for a blown bulb - I suppose he could, because I'm not complying with the C&U regulations ?

But back to the original question - as previous replies have correctly said, you wouldn't be done for the offence of having no MOT, but you could be done for driving an unroadworthy vehicle - as you can at any time, the MOT only says the vehicle was roadworthy at the exact moment it was tested. In theory, you could drive out of the testing station having just passed, hit a speed bump and break a coil spring - hey presto, unroadworthy.