MOT proposals could see new cars tested after four years

Money_Grabber13579

Longwalker said:

The_Unready said:

The forum 'Quote' function seems to be playing up for me at the mo, so here's a new reply instead:

Longwalker said:

How exactly is increasing the length of time for new cars going to make a situation worse?

It's really not rocket science, but let me try to help you understand by way of an example.

Let's say that by 35 months after first registration a car has developed one or more tyre safety issues (tread depth, for example) that, for whatever reason, the owner/driver/keeper either doesn't know about or doesn't care about.

These issues would be picked up at the car's first MOT after 36 months, and whether the owner/driver/keeper likes it or not he would have to fix them to be able to continue driving.

One month of an unsafe care on the roads is bad enough in itself, but if the first MOT was only to occur after 48 months then, on the assumption that the owner/driver/keeper remains unwilling to change the tyre(s), there is potentially an additional 12 months of the unsafe car being driven on the roads - ie, an additional 13 months instead of one month.

There may not be hundreds of thousands of cars in this situation, but it only takes one car and one negligent owner/driver/keeper to mean that a four-year MOT rule is, by definition, introducing a worse situation (in terms of general road user safety) than the current three-year rule.

Simples.

And once again, you are bringing up every day car maintenance/wear and tear up. If a driver does not know when their tyres are done they should not be on the road - simples, You learn all this stuff when you learn to drive, Tyre pressure, thread depth, where to put in oil, fill the water bottles etc

You have not shown how those in NI manage on MOTs after 4 years, nor how the NI MOT doesn't even deal with diesel emissions, nor that you can legally drive without an MOT

You are mistaking general car maintenance for ensuring the car is legally on the road

NI are proving they dont care too much about the MOT status of a car, unless the police have nowt better to do on a weekend and set stings on bank holidays when they open up the MOT centres and pull in all cars with any modifications at all ( Hell man in the street can wait 6 months for his MOT cos his car hasn't been messed about with, but mod your car - well there you go - a personal MOT just for you - with a police escort )

So many inaccuracies in this. Yes, we don’t currently undertake diesel emission tests but that will change once the new test centres are constructed (2 of which are in progress, with 1 due to open next year).

There is no longer a 6 month waiting list for MOTs and it never was that long (around 4 months wait max) unless you were deliberately booking the latest appointment possible. I’ve just had a look for my own car and if I were to book it today, 8 out of the 15 test centres are offering me dates before the end of January.

oh, and from a previous post, the price of an MOT in NI is £30.50, not £35.

Car_54

Longwalker said:

Herzlos said:

Longwalker said:

sevenhills said:

You only need to stand at the side of a main road during darkness. How many vehicles will pass you, untill you see one without a light out.

So you need an MOT to tell you that???

Going by the number of cars with broken lights it would appear so.

The point of an MOT isn't to tell you stuff needs maintained, it's to catch the people who don't want to maintain their car and keep dangerous vehicles off the road. We all know people who we wouldn't trust to maintain a car without an annual check-up.

I agree that people who can't/won't look after their cars shouldn't be on the road, but how do you enforce that?

Given an MOT costs less than half a tank of petrol, I don't really think it's a stealth tax. It's a safety thing where the owner pays the admin. They could make MOT tests completely free but it'd need to come out of the general tax pot and need paid by everyone anyway.

It is a stealth tax

The government don't make any money from the MOT, so how can you describe it as a "tax", stealth or otherwise?

And if you're still convinced it's a tax, shouldn't you be welcoming the proposal to reduce it by 50%?

Longwalker

Yes I know its 30.50, Just a typo

Yes I can get a quicker MOT, but after driving to Larne last year and Armagh the year before Im waiting for Coleraine

Had to laugh last year as trying for cancellations for Coleraine or Ballymena with only larne ever showing, we went down expecting it to be full whack. We seriously were the only car there for 30 or 40 mins . There was a point during and after the pandemic you couldn't even apply for an MOT until they had sent you your reminder and unless you didnt work or had a job where you could access the site every morning, you just booked the first available  and left it. I was lucky with my last car and got an exemption , as did Mr L, but we still had two other cars to MOT. One of which whilst not a classic by MOT exemption definitions, had classic car insurance and was only taken out to the local enthusiasts shows - clocked around 50 miles a year 

Come drive out here at night to see the amount of one eyed monsters on the road. As for lack of brake lights, you never come up behind a tractor at night with no bloody lights at all?  Common place, especially on farm vehicles with a trailer 

No point in emission testing coming into force in the future, its the years that we haven't had them thats a problem. Rest of the UK have to be tested, we dont, kind of makes a mockery of the MOT

My point still remains, you should not be relying on an MOT to tell you your brake lights aren't working or your beams are off kilter or the tread in your tyres are nearing the mark, thats part of checking your car before making a journey  and if your car is failing an MOT on those points, perhaps driving isnt for you

Money_Grabber13579

Longwalker said:

Yes I know its 30.50, Just a typo

Yes I can get a quicker MOT, but after driving to Larne last year and Armagh the year before Im waiting for Coleraine

Had to laugh last year as trying for cancellations for Coleraine or Ballymena with only larne ever showing, we went down expecting it to be full whack. We seriously were the only car there for 30 or 40 mins . There was a point during and after the pandemic you couldn't even apply for an MOT until they had sent you your reminder and unless you didnt work or had a job where you could access the site every morning, you just booked the first available  and left it. I was lucky with my last car and got an exemption , as did Mr L, but we still had two other cars to MOT. One of which whilst not a classic by MOT exemption definitions, had classic car insurance and was only taken out to the local enthusiasts shows - clocked around 50 miles a year 

Come drive out here at night to see the amount of one eyed monsters on the road. As for lack of brake lights, you never come up behind a tractor at night with no bloody lights at all?  Common place, especially on farm vehicles with a trailer 

No point in emission testing coming into force in the future, its the years that we haven't had them thats a problem. Rest of the UK have to be tested, we dont, kind of makes a mockery of the MOT

My point still remains, you should not be relying on an MOT to tell you your brake lights aren't working or your beams are off kilter or the tread in your tyres are nearing the mark, thats part of checking your car before making a journey  and if your car is failing an MOT on those points, perhaps driving isnt for you

They are pretty clear that if your MOT has expired, you should book the earliest possible date, irrespective of what test centre it is (and potentially try for a cancellation if you really don’t want to go a moderate distance). Ballymena isn’t that far away from coleraine and they could have you in tomorrow.

I fully agree that you shouldn’t just wait for an MOT to tell you that there is something wrong with the car and that maintenance is something which should be an ongoing process. But lots of people do and the only solutions to that are regular testing or much tougher enforcement against those where faults are found to encourage ongoing maintenance. The latter is likely to catch out those who do maintain their cars but happen to be on their way to a shop to get a bulb fixed. I know which one is preferable to me.

35har1old

The_Unready said:

The forum 'Quote' function seems to be playing up for me at the mo, so here's a new reply instead:

Longwalker said:

How exactly is increasing the length of time for new cars going to make a situation worse?

It's really not rocket science, but let me try to help you understand by way of an example.

Let's say that by 35 months after first registration a car has developed one or more tyre safety issues (tread depth, for example) that, for whatever reason, the owner/driver/keeper either doesn't know about or doesn't care about.

These issues would be picked up at the car's first MOT after 36 months, and whether the owner/driver/keeper likes it or not he would have to fix them to be able to continue driving.

One month of an unsafe care on the roads is bad enough in itself, but if the first MOT was only to occur after 48 months then, on the assumption that the owner/driver/keeper remains unwilling to change the tyre(s), there is potentially an additional 12 months of the unsafe car being driven on the roads - ie, an additional 13 months instead of one month.

There may not be hundreds of thousands of cars in this situation, but it only takes one car and one negligent owner/driver/keeper to mean that a four-year MOT rule is, by definition, introducing a worse situation (in terms of general road user safety) than the current three-year rule.

Simples.

You same to be highlighting one fact only the issue of tyre ware but your are ignoring the fact to keep  the warranty on the vehicle you have to service the vehicle to the manufactures terms so the vehicle is inspected prior to needing a MOT so more miles driven more inspections. Tyres are easily checked compared to checking rear brake lights that usually require two people or a large mirror. Having a central brake light out does not make it unsafe to drive but it is a legal requirement if fitted as not all cars have them

facade

I'm a bit late to the party,

Won't it just put more MOT testers on the dole?

The 4 year MOT is going to take £100 million a year away from MOT stations, and if they make MOTs bi-yearly there will only be 50% of the remaining tests done, so there will be no need for over 50% of the MOT testers and test stations.

Yet more great forward thinking from Dot Gov