MOT-type checks outside of an MOT

AdrianC

Sandtree said:

AdrianC said:

Lomast said:

32 years ago they probably were not using rollers for brake testing 

32 years ago was only 1988. 

This type of statement is getting increasingly depressing

You're getting old.

(at roughly the same rate as I am, and as we all are)

oldagetraveller1

Lomast said:

32 years ago they probably were not using rollers for brake testing 

I remember, in the 1960s, going with my Dad to have an old Rover 14 tested.

The brakes were checked, on the road, using a housebrick placed on the rear floor on it's long edge. Brakes applied at 30mph, if the brick fell over, passed!

andy29_2

Thank you for all of your replies. All very interesting. I didn't know there was such thing as a pre-mot and yes it does sound like exactly what I'm asking for. Also the validity of a valid MOT being overlapped with a fail had confused me too. It makes sense that if you've been told it's not safe, it's not a good idea to be driving around in it.

It's rust and play in linkages, but I've got no reason to think that it's unsafe yet and it does still have months remaining on the previous MOT so it was good enough last time. It's mostly whether or not certain areas of rust have appeared or crept too close to the the prescribed areas or not. Apparently it's very much down to the opinion of the tester. If I get told that it is dangerous or an MOT fail then I wouldn't drive it before it was repaired.

oh_really

Submit the car for a test.

Ganga

oldagetraveller1 said:

Lomast said:

32 years ago they probably were not using rollers for brake testing 

I remember, in the 1960s, going with my Dad to have an old Rover 14 tested.

The brakes were checked, on the road, using a housebrick placed on the rear floor on it's long edge. Brakes applied at 30mph, if the brick fell over, passed!

I remember when my dad has a right strop when they cancelled the 10 year test ! mind he only had old bangers and claimed he never passed his driving test ( he drove through Europe during the set too with the Germans in 39/45 ) and the army gave him a licence ,he was also upset when the local garage stopped selling 5 gallons of petrol for a £1 and started charging 4s 1p a gallon. 

AdrianC

Ganga said:

I remember when my dad has a right strop when they cancelled the 10 year test ! mind he only had old bangers

It was never "once every ten years". It has always been every single year since the car became old enough to be testable.

It was introduced in September 1960 as being required once vehicles hit ten years old, hence the "ten year test" name.
But the failure rate was so high, it was only just over a year after the test was introduced before it was reduced to being required from seven years old, January 1962, and it was only another five years before it was brought to the current three years, April 1967.

The thing that always astonishes me is that they didn't start checking for body and chassis corrosion until 1977...

born_again

oh_really said:

Submit the car for a test.

What despite the car still having a valid MOT for months?

A fail is a fail. You can not then carry on saying well the old MOT did not run out till (insert month).

Also while it may be legal to drive a car home with a failed MOT. You could still be stopped for driving a unsafe vehicle, with all that it entails.

AdrianC

born_again said:
What despite the car still having a valid MOT for months?

A fail is a fail. You can not then carry on saying well the old MOT did not run out till (insert month).

Also while it may be legal to drive a car home with a failed MOT. You could still be stopped for driving a unsafe vehicle, with all that it entails.

You CAN continue to drive perfectly legally until the old MOT expires. The fail makes zero difference. If the car is unroadworthy, it's unroadworthy without Mr MOT pointing it out.

Homer_home

born_again said:

oh_really said:

Submit the car for a test.

What despite the car still having a valid MOT for months?

A fail is a fail. You can not then carry on saying well the old MOT did not run out till (insert month).

Also while it may be legal to drive a car home with a failed MOT. You could still be stopped for driving a unsafe vehicle, with all that it entails.

Yes and you could be stopped for driving an unsafe car before the mot test too 

andy29_2

Driving a vehicle that’s failed
You can take your vehicle away if:
    your current MOT certificate is still valid
    no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT
Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive.
If you can take your vehicle away, it must still meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times.

Don't really know how a vehicle in the above situation can still really be 'roadworthy', but that's what it says, and in that situation I would only drive it for repairs anyway. I've got no desire to test the law and insurance.

I'm sure you can technically still be nicked for an 'unroadworthy' car even if you had a nice new MOT pass certificate handed to you minutes before.