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

Retrogamer

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

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.

That's not quite right. You can pass a legitimate with a vehicle that's not safe or legal to use on the road.

I.e if you remove the windscreen.
MOT isn't verification of a vehicle being roadworthy at any time.

With the headlight out you mentioned also.
If it's a 30mph limit and has street lighting you can drive around with your vehicle position lamps on (sidelights) instead of the headlights.

Spicy_McHaggis

Retrogamer wrote: »

That's not quite right. You can pass a legitimate with a vehicle that's not safe or legal to use on the road.

I.e if you remove the windscreen.
MOT isn't verification of a vehicle being roadworthy at any time.

With the headlight out you mentioned also.
If it's a 30mph limit and has street lighting you can drive around with your vehicle position lamps on (sidelights) instead of the headlights.

But then do you no commit the offence of failing to maintain said headlight?

Joe_Horner

Lack of windscreen doesn't make a car unroadworthy - or even unsafe if you're wearing goggles! No screen fitted also means that you legally don't need wipers or screen washers.

Similarly, working headlights (or indicators or brake lights) aren't needed for a car to be legally roadworthy - or even to pass an MOT - in some circumstances

Hermione_Granger

Retrogamer wrote: »

MOT isn't verification of a vehicle being roadworthy at any time.

The DVSA would disagree with you on that point.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-car-and-the-mot/your-car-and-the-mot

The law requires that everyone who uses a vehicle on the road must keep it in a roadworthy condition at all times. Once a year, roadworthiness is checked in the interests of road safety and the environment by the test we know as the ‘MOT’.

AdrianC

Retrogamer meant "at any time during the year that the certificate remains valid". The certificate even says as much on it.

"About this document
2. A test certificate relates only to the condition of the components tested at the time of the test. It does not confirm the vehicle will remain roadworthy for the validity of the certificate."

I'd definitely disagree with his example of removing the windscreen, though.

Retrogamer

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Lack of windscreen doesn't make a car unroadworthy - or even unsafe if you're wearing goggles! No screen fitted also means that you legally don't need wipers or screen washers.

From a conversation with a traffic officer for most vehicles it would come under the same offense as using a still saw or angle grinder to lop the roof off.
The Windscreen on most cars increases and adds to the rigidity of the cars shell. Without it there is substantially more flex.
Whether or not that would hold up in court if you were prosecuted for it is something i don't know though.

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

The DVSA would disagree with you on that point.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-car-and-the-mot/your-car-and-the-mot

They can if they want. VOSA would agree with me i'm sure though.

Retrogamer

The windscreen thing for me curious so i checked up a little more.

If a vehicle is fitted with one as standard as part of it's type approval then removing it would void the vehicle type approval and that would make it illegal to use on the road.

There's a few car models that were released in various countries without windscreens but the UK models had to have them fitted prior to sale.

Type approval for windscreens or the vehicle in general isn't part of the MOT.

There was a TV show as well for UK police called Motorway cops and in episode 27 they pull over a woman driving without a windscreen and then impound the car due to it not being road worthy. They crush the car if i remember.
Can't find a link to the clip.

Hermione_Granger

Retrogamer wrote: »

Originally Posted by Hermione Granger
The DVSA would disagree with you on that point.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ar-and-the-mot

They can if they want. VOSA would agree with me i'm sure though.

VOSA no longer exist as they became the DVSA in April last year so no, VOSA wouldn't agree with you.

AdrianC

Retrogamer wrote: »

If a vehicle is fitted with one as standard as part of it's type approval then removing it would void the vehicle type approval and that would make it illegal to use on the road.

Umm, no.

There's a few car models that were released in various countries without windscreens but the UK models had to have them fitted prior to sale.

Umm, no.

There was a TV show as well for UK police called Motorway cops and in episode 27 they pull over a woman driving without a windscreen and then impound the car due to it not being road worthy. They crush the car if i remember.
Can't find a link to the clip.

You're not taking TV at face value again, are you? How many times...? You'll be believing the Daily Mail next...

Car_54

Retrogamer wrote: »

The windscreen thing for me curious so i checked up a little more.

If a vehicle is fitted with one as standard as part of it's type approval then removing it would void the vehicle type approval and that would make it illegal to use on the road.

There's a few car models that were released in various countries without windscreens but the UK models had to have them fitted prior to sale.

Type approval for windscreens or the vehicle in general isn't part of the MOT.

There was a TV show as well for UK police called Motorway cops and in episode 27 they pull over a woman driving without a windscreen and then impound the car due to it not being road worthy. They crush the car if i remember.
Can't find a link to the clip.

AFAIK on many modern cars the windscreen is relied upon for the structural integrity of the vehicle, so its absence would definitely render it unsafe.