Tag Archives: 4 year MOT debate

road safety

March is a mad month for MoTs

After its third birthday your car needs an annual MoT safety check.

Just think about this for a moment.

If you drive 20,000 miles a year, that’s 60,000 miles before too many cars get any independent safety checks.

This is because many motorists do little or no car maintenance until and some 40% of all cars in England, Scotland and Wales then fail their first MoT test. Which equates to a high percentage of cars on our roads in an unsafe condition.

Now imagine if our Government gets its way and decides to delay the first MoT test for vehicles until the fourth year? As FOXY sees it, this means even more unsafe cars on our roads than before.

We cannot see how this would be a good solution for anyone, even if it could potentially save motorists a one-off £50 (per car) by delaying the MoT by one year. Think of the associated road safety and accident handling costs you’d cause here, Mr Chris Grayling MP.

And let’s also remind ourselves that the 3 year first MoT regime is the same for vans. Yet vans are more likely to do an average mileage closer to 50,000 per annum. That’s a total of 150,000 miles before a van needs an MoT. And they fail this test in higher numbers than cars at 3 years old. How long have these vans been unsafe through maintenance neglect we’d like to know.

What An MoT Includes

We were reminded about this by an infographic we liked which was supplied by Motorparks.

Today’s MoT test looks at safety elements relating to Lights, Suspension, Brakes, Tyres, Windscreens, Exhausts, Fluids, Mirrors, Seatbelts, Doors, Horns, Registration Plate, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), Bodywork and Fuel.

If you know you have a problem in any of these areas, it might be wise to get this addressed/fixed before the MoT.

Remember that your MoT test is but a safety snapshot on the day. Even if your car passed the MOT, make sure you read and know about any ‘advisories’ listed. Chances are these will need safety-related attention soon.

If it’s to do with car tyre tread levels, ask the MOT station to estimate when you’ll need new ones – you don’t have to buy them from that business of course but at least you’d have some time to save.

FOXY Advice: “I’ve driven a range of tyres and I always say buy the best ones you can afford, especially if you drive a lot. You’ll know the legal tyre tread is 1.6mm but that tyre is virtually worn out. I always go tyre shopping when my tread is closer to 3mm. I’ve seen the difference this makes in wet conditions. And even 3mm tread is a long way short of new tyres at 8mm tread.”

Remember that your MoT doesn’t include engine checks. This is what your car service does and why you need one regularly.

You probably need a car expert to make sure all’s well on the mechanical side of things before the bills start to ramp up – or your car lets you down.

And whilst YOU might be mechanically-savvy, few of us are (male or female) so a professional mechanic will likely spot engine problems we’d miss, so they can be fixed more cheaply than when the part in question (or engine if it’s been starved of good oil) finally gives up the ghost.

If after inserting in treads around tyre, you can see any of the 20p coin rim your tyre needs checking now.

Is there anything you suspect your car’ll fail its MoT test on? Maybe you could remedy this in advance?

New car tyres for instance? If your tyres don’t pass the 20p test (see side image), chances are they’re both illegal and dangerous. And could kill if you need them to stop and they can’t in time.

In all cases, the driver is responsible for the condition of the car they drive and we all know accidents happen. So best not to wait to be told that your car caused or contributed towards a bad accident. When it’s easy to run a safe and reliable car – once you know how.

FOXY

If you want to know how to run a safe and reliable car, why not join The Club and we’ll get there together!

garage services

Should our cars be MOT’d after 4 years?

This logo was last used in January 2012 when this change was last proposed.

FOXY is asking women drivers for their opinions about increasing the period before a car has its first statutory safety check from 3 to 4 years.

Much as it did five years ago, the Government is seeking views on whether the age a vehicle gets its first MOT should be increased from 3 to 4 years.

Just to remind readers, the MOT is a car’s only statutory safety check and it is required annually after a car’s third birthday, even if it’s just a snapshot of safety areas on the day. Drive without one and your insurance is likely invalid.

As things stand, some 40% of vehicles fail their first MOT after 3 years so there is a definite safety concern were we to extend this period by a further 12 months.

The likely MOT verdict?

On first glance FOXY’d expect

+ motorists to say yes, because it’d mean them saving money and spending less time in garages.

+ car manufacturers and dealers to rewrite car servicing requirements to bring them more regular business in these early years.

+ garages and associated MOT service providers to be up in arms as this’d mean less business/more unemployment.

But I wonder how car insurers will feel about this knowing the relationship between safe cars and accident levels knowing that so many vehicles fail their first MOT at 3 years, concerning critical safety items like tyres.

And is it really a good idea to have vans on our road doing c50,000 miles a year for 3 let alone 4 years (150,000 to 200,000 miles without a check?) before they are subject to their first statutory road safety check?

Too important for women drivers to ignore

FOXY is preparing a response for the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) representing the views of women drivers and we’d welcome your opinion here.

As we see it, the UK’s MOT regime is ultimately about YOUR road safety and that of YOUR family, including pedestrians. This makes it too big a subject for women to ignore or allow men to make this decision, simply because they are more likely to be reading about this in the motor trade press.

I am particularly interested to learn why the Government is raising this debate, as it would surely earn less VAT money in the event of a first MOT after 4 years?

And surely this government has more important matters on its horizon.

But above all, I’d like to know who stands to benefit most from this proposal, if anyone.

We will then reflect your opinions and any concerns in our response to the DVSA.

Please have your say through FOXY by EITHER emailing your thoughts to info@foxyladydrivers.com or add to the thread at our Facebook Page.

Steph Savill

NB: The options being proposed are:
1. to keep the current period for vehicles requiring a first MOT at 3 years, with no change
2. to increase the age all vehicles get their first MOT from 3 to 4 years
3. to increase the age cars and motorcycles get their first MOT from 3 to 4 years, but keeping it at 3 years for vans in classes 4 and 7