MPs face MOT opposition

MPs from the Transport select committee today heard of the overwhelming opposition to Government plans to reduce the frequency of MOTs. Bill Duffy, co-ordinator of the Pro-MOTe campaign, supported by a range of motoring organisation, road safety campaigners and industry bodies said scrapping annual testing would be "dangerous, expensive and unwanted".

He added that extending the period for new cars to undergo testing, from the present three years to four, also risked increasing road casualties. New cars were as prone to problems of tyre wear and brake failure as older cars, he said.

Mr Duffy told the Committee that motorists would face increase repair bills of around £57 per year if the MOT frequency was reduced.

In the same session, Edmund King from the AA said reducing MOT frequency would be a “retrograde step” and motoring expert Quentin Wilson said it would be a “disaster”.

Speaking after the hearing, Bill Duffy said: “The more the issue about reducing the frequency of the MOT is debated the more the policy becomes unpicked. Today we heard from a wide range of experts that have made a compelling case that reducing the frequency of the MOT would be dangerous, expensive and unwanted by UK road users.

“The time is right for the Department for Transport to end the uncertainty and rule out this ill-conceived proposal”.