Stuck abroad with no mot or Raod Tax

Iceweasel

Best solution we've found to combat stress is playing observation games.
What it is doesn't really matter.
Blue cars or cows in fields along the way.
Contents of trucks you overtake is another good one - beer, bananas, cheese, can all help to take a stressed child's attention.

Stateofart

Thanks,

I would then have a pre booked Mot so even on that case I should be OK ?

Yes. Book a test online. Easy.

Aretnap

tedted said:

there is no distance required to be given going to an mot only that it should be the most direct route

There is no requirement that it be by the most direct route either - the only requirement is that the purpose of the journey is to get to the MOT station.

Obviously if you drive from Dover to Brighton via Newcastle you will need a good explanation of why you are heading for Newcastle in order to get to the MOT station, and not for some completely unrelated reason. However any reasonable route from Dover to Brighton is fine, as is a short detour to avoid traffic, get petrol, go to the loo etc. It is an urban myth that you are only allowed to go in as straight a line as possible 

Aretnap

Grumpy_chap said:

DZ77 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

DZ77 said:

I would then have a pre booked Mot so even on that case I should be OK ?

You are allowed to drive untaxed and without MOT to a pre-booked MOT only.
Once the MOT is passed, you can get the tax straight away and good to carry on the journey.

There may be a practical limit to this.  I don't think you have said which port you will arrive at or where you live.
Example 1:  Arrive at Dover and drive to a pre-booked MOT in Northumberland, that might be chancing it.
Example 2:  Arrive at Felixstowe and drive to pre-booked MOT in Felixstowe, probably OK.

I will be arriving in Folkestone and my Garage is just next door to my house 1 hour 40 minutes away 

Then I'd say that is probably more towards the "chancing it" end of the two examples I gave.
Why can't you pre-book the MOT at a garage in Folkestone?
You sounded certain that the car will pass.  If you don't know any garages in Folkestone, use one of the national chains.

You can book any MOT station you like, there is no requirement at all that it be the nearest one, or even particularly close. The only requirement is that your journey must be for the purpose of getting to your MOT appointment, not for some other purpose.

tedted

the requirement is that you go the most direct route  no shopping or other deviations

Car_54

tedted said:

the requirement is that you go the most direct route  no shopping or other deviations

As above, that is probably a myth. The law AFAIK is silent on the matter, unless you know differently.

So if it ever went to court it would be up to the mags to decide whether a devious route was legal.

Aretnap

tedted said:

the requirement is that you go the most direct route  no shopping or other deviations

This is an urban myth.

The leading case is Secretary of State for Transport V. Richards (1998) JP 682. It involved a man who stopped twice on his way to the MOT station, once to buy petrol and once to buy a newspaper and cigarettes. He was charged with driving without an MOT but the magistrates acquitted him on the ground that the minor deviations did not change the fact that the purpose of his journey was to deliver his car to the MOT station.

The prosecution appealed to the High Court against the magistrates ruling. The High Court ruled that the magistrates had acted entirely reasonably, and commented that they found it surprising that the prosecution had thought that the appeal was a good use of public money, which is judge-speak for "why are you wasting our time with this garbage?".