MOT
Brayleys Cars, a multi-franchise dealer group, reports that it has successfully enhanced its MOT testing standards and improved the skills of its MOT testers by using Autotech Training’s web-based platform – MOTsafe. Operating 19 sites across the UK and performing 150 MOTs daily, Brayleys recognised the growing challenge of managing MOT data effectively. With ambitious […]
With September marking the peak of the UK’s MOT season, Cataclean, the provider of fuel additives, is highlighting its popular product range that helps reduce emissions-related failures, supporting both garages and drivers. This year, with an estimated 34 million MOTs due, Cataclean is reinforcing its commitment to vehicle performance, reliability and fuel economy. The brand’s ‘8-in-1’ fuel and exhaust system cleaners range helps to restore performance, improve fuel economy, extend engine component life and reduce emissions.
September 2024 is projected to see a record-breaking number of MOTs, with DVSA estimating around 3.4 million tests due. This spike is partly due to the backlog created during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many MOT dates pushed forward.
Hassan Akbar Rashid, 24, and George Peter Snowden, 28, were due to appear in Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday accused of “issuing MOT certificates without testing cars” in October 2023, according to Teesside Live. Rashid faces 19 charges and Snowden faces six charges.
Northern Ireland’s infrastructure minister John O’Dowd has announced the introduction of one-year temporary exemption certificates (TECs) to some private cars. The TECs will apply to private cars first registered between 1 June 2019 and 31 May 2020 or between 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018, which have a valid MOT certificate issued by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). TECs will come into effect from 1 June 2024 and will be automatically processed by the DVA. The Minister also confirmed that he will consider launching a public consultation on Biennial MOT testing. Sue Robinson, chief executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), expressed the organisation’s disappointment with the decision.
On Wednesday 10 April, NFDA-NI members hosted a meeting for key figures within Northern Ireland (NI) including MLAs, MPs, various associations and chargepoint operators at a cross-party roundtable meeting at the Culloden Estate in Belfast.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) has expressed concerns over the delays drivers in Northern Ireland are facing in getting MOT tests. The region has been in an MOT crisis since 2020, when hairline cracks were found in the Driver and Vehicle Agency’s 55 Maha lifts, found to be caused by excessively long service cycles, as Tyrepress reported in 2021. These issues were compounded by the Covid pandemic, and a satisfactory resolution has yet to be found. Sue Robinson, chief executive of the NFDA said the current state of MOT testing in Northern Ireland is “unacceptable”.
The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has reminded MOT testers that they must take their Annual Assessment before the 31 March deadline. Testers will face new checks if they miss this deadline. As of 8 January 2024, MOT testers are required to submit a recent basic DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check if they are “returning after being lapsed or suspended from testing – this includes being suspended for not completing your annual assessment.” The IMI said an estimated 73 per cent had yet to complete their assessment with just two months to go before the deadline.
Demand from automotive workshops for alternative finance is up 47 per cent over the last 12 months, making the sector one of the five fastest-growing alternative funding customers in the UK. Overall, the research conducted by 365 finance reports a 42 per cent year-on-year increase in small-and-medium-sized-enterprise (SME) funding across the country.
The news that the government is maintaining annual MOTs in the present 3-1-1 regime was universally welcomed by the industry. But tyre retailers up and down the country continue to highlight the appalling reality that many tyres are changed past the legal limit and in shocking states of disrepair. For many motorists, the MOT is an annual driving sanity check, reminding them to change their tyres and other safety-critical car parts. That reality and the increasing prevalence of electric vehicle and ADAS technology have prompted calls for an upgraded MOT – not least from the BTMA and the NTDA.
TyreSafe was among the 4,500 organisations that responded to the MoT Consultation, which has now concluded, detailing “the significant risks extending the first MoT for vehicles from three years to four or even five”. DVSA figures show the most likely reason for a vehicle, up to six years of age, to fail its MoT is tyre defects. Over 2 million cars fail their MOT each year due to tyre defects with over 1 million classified as ‘dangerous’.
The UK’s National Tyre Distributors Association has welcomed the publication of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) response to the extensive consultation on modernising MOT testing for cars, motorbikes and vans. The association was vocal in its opposition to any extension to the current gaps in required MOT tests, namely three years after a new car’s registration and an annual test thereafter. The NTDA said its position was based “primarily on safety grounds, but also based on years of independent statistical information demonstrating that the current model works and is, overwhelmingly, supported by both the trade and UK motorists.” The consultation was launched in January 2023, with the aim of seeking views to ensure roadworthiness checks continue to balance the cost to motorists, road safety, advances in vehicle technology and tackling vehicle emissions.
Motorists will still take the first MOT test three years after buying a new car. Following the conclusion of its latest consultation on MOT frequency, the government says it is updating MOTs but the first MOT will remain at three years from registration and every subsequent MOT will also continue to be taken once every year.
The DVSA is conducting research into how technicians use digital devices at MOT test stations. The survey asks questions about devices used during the MOT test, if you use mobile devices such as phones and tablets during the MOT test, as well as how you use technology generally and how confident you feel using it.
Autotech Recruit has introduced a new pathway for skilled vehicle technicians and MOT testers wanting to try freelancing within the sector, while retaining the security of full-time employment. The cuts to National Insurance contributions for self-employed workers, recently outlined in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, could be a catalyst in helping those, considering becoming freelance, make the transition, according to Autotech.
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