Bridgestone against MOT changes
Bridgestone has added its voice to the argument against the proposed changes to the MOT test schedule, suggesting that the potential 2012 change in the interval from one to two years could compromise road safety. Andy Dingley, communications manager at Bridgestone UK, said: “We know that a large proportion of motorists do not check their tyres regularly, and the MOT has proven to be very effective in highlighting tyre problems. The decision to change the MOT interval to two years throws up a lot of issues, primarily the inevitable increase in mileage between tyre checks.
“As it stands, tyres only have to pass a tread depth check of 1.6mm on the day and even if the test technician feels the tyres are marginal pass all they can do is advise the customer that they need to be changed in the near future.
“Given the fact that a significant proportion of motorists tend to buy tyres only when they need to, [the changes] could mean that the number of illegally worn tyres on the road could increase dramatically. This could reduce the ability of many vehicles to deal with the varied British weather conditions and even make the owner likely to fail a police spot check which of course incurs a large fine and penalty points. We feel that the money saving motivation behind this change is completely overshadowed by the safety issues it would create.”
The proposed changes to the MOT test extend the the test periods from the current 3-1-1 schedule to 4-2-2. Industry bodies such as TyreSafe and NTDA have called for changes to the MOT test, designed primarily to save money, to be scrapped on safety grounds.
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