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What links tread depth awareness, tyre pressure awareness and the furore surrounding the four-year MOTs? Data.
MOT
What links tread depth awareness, tyre pressure awareness and the furore surrounding the four-year MOTs? Data.
Experienced MOT testers across the UK say that delaying the first test from year 3 to year 4, adds to the risk a vehicle or parts will become worn out or defective. With some figures suggesting that one in five vehicles fail the MOT in the first 3 years, adding another year will not only exacerbate the problem, but also mean that many vehicles will no longer be covered by most vehicle manufactures 3 year warranties.
Following news that the Government plans to consult on extending the MoT period from three years to four, HPI, provider of the HPI Check, warns that the risk of clocking fraud could escalate significantly.
The new plans were announced in the budget, which prompted an industry backlash concerning the risk to consumer safety, if vehicles are left without an MoT for an extra year. However, HPI sees a hidden threat from clockers, who will take advantage of the extension to turn back the mileage and sell the vehicles on to unsuspecting buyers.
Duncan Wilkes, CEO of Micheldever Tyre Services Ltd, has spoken out against government proposals to extend the time until the first MOT, calling such a move “a backwards step for road safety and a false economy.”
Speaking a week after the chancellor of the Exchequer referred the MOT proposal in his annual budget, Wilkes said: “It is incorrect to assume the test is irrelevant for new cars: Vosa’s own data indicates that 20 per cent of three-year-old cars fail their MOT tests. This means that moving the first test to four years would result in an extra half a million unsafe cars on UK roads.”
The IAAF has reacted angrily to potential proposals to extend the frequency of a vehicle’s first MOT test from three years to four years and plans to lobby the government on reversing any such proposals, stating that the current test frequency is both safer and more cost effective for motorists.
TyreSafe has voiced concerns that four-year MOTs will negatively impact road safety should the government decide to extend the time allowed before an initial MOT from three to four years. The comment follows the announcement in the Summer Budget speech on 8 July by The Chancellor, The Rt Hon George Osborne MP, which said: “We will consult on extending the deadline for new cars and motorbikes to have their first MOT test from three years to four years, which would save motorists over £100m a year.”
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), which represents retail business across the automotive sector including franchised dealers and independent garages, added to the NTDA’s objections its strong opposition to the proposed MOT change. The RMI believes the change could only harm the UK’s road safety record.
The NTDA plans to challenge at the consultation phase the UK government’s proposal to extend from three to four years the deadline for a new car’s first MOT. Chancellor George Osborne announced today that the Government is exploring the options, with the proposed changes to become part of the government’s forthcoming Motoring Service Strategy.
“A move to allow private HGV-MOT Testers could only be a step in the right direction”, said Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK.
MOT Stations will have to look at changing and possibly enhancing how they manage test quality in light of DVSA’s announcement that its new MOT computer system will not record QC checks. However, according to a release issued by RMI on 17 March, Authorised Examiners (AE’s) will need to provide evidence to DVSA in the […]
A new Internet-based MOT testing system is to replace existing MOT computers and Vehicle Testing Station (VTS) devices this year, with the first garages switching over to the new system as early as next month. The switchover, which will take place between April and September, will require Test Stations to have IT equipment that meets the minimum requirements set out in the government’s MOT Modernisation guidance. Garages will be contacted by the DVSA with a date of transition and the system is likely to go live overnight.
The Independent Garage Association (IGA) is assisting the Department for Transport (DfT) with a project to reassess statutory MOT test fees. The DfT is analysing garage running costs to validate the justification for an increase in MOT test fees to present to the next government, but to make this happen it needs financial costings for MOT test stations as a starting point to the project.
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has claimed victory after an obligation to check non-OEM replacement parts was removed from the latest EU legislation on the roadworthiness testing of vehicles (Directive 2014/45/EU), which entered into force in May 2014. A technical expert committee is currently discussing and drafting the implementing measures that will define the […]
According to information obtained by TyreSafe under a Freedom of Information request, more than 2.2 million cars in the UK failed their annual MoT test last year due to the condition of their tyres. Commenting on this data supplied by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, the safety organisation’s chairman, Stuart Jackson, said it “beggars belief” that so many cars fail because of unsafe or illegal tyres.
A nationwide vehicle recycling specialist is calling for a three-yearly MOT for classic vehicles, after receiving over 500 disposal requests for cars registered before 1988, in the past 12 months.
The Department of Transport is currently considering changing existing MOT legislation to make any vehicle manufactured before 1988 exempt from MOT testing, instead of existing rules that state vehicles manufactured before 1960 are MOT exempt. However, Remove My Car believes that all vehicles, regardless of age should be made to undergo some sort of inspection and refers to its own statistics to demonstrate that pre-1988 vehicles are being considered dangerous by the British public, and responsibly disposed of.
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