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Mot Fail - Driving A Failed Vehicle Guideline Changes


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#91 Carlos W

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Posted 14 October 2015 - 11:30 AM

I believe there was a case a while back where a guy on his way to a pre-booked MoT stopped to buy a newspaper and some fags and parked on the side of the road. The Old Bill reported him, but the guy refused to pay the fixed penalty, it went to court and the court ruled in favour of the driver, saying that he was driving to the test and that it was reasonable to stop at a shop or even detour to buy fuel.

 Secretary of State for Transport V. Richards ( 1998 ) JP 682 was about VED and not and MOT.

 

It's all very boring, but comes down to the difference between using and keeping a vehicle on the road. 

 



#92 Cooperman

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Posted 14 October 2015 - 02:21 PM

If I bought a car from a long way from home I would want to get the MoT done within easy driving distance of home. Otherwise, if it failed, I would have to pay a full MoT fee for a re-test locally. Maybe that's why the law was written so that a maximum distance is not specified. Of course, if you buy a car without an MoT a long way from home it would be stupid to drive it anywhere with defective brakes, bald/illegal tyres, bits hanging off, etc. But then, you wouldn't buy a car like that, or would you?



#93 Carlos W

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Posted 14 October 2015 - 02:40 PM

If I bought a car from a long way from home I would want to get the MoT done within easy driving distance of home. Otherwise, if it failed, I would have to pay a full MoT fee for a re-test locally. Maybe that's why the law was written so that a maximum distance is not specified. Of course, if you buy a car without an MoT a long way from home it would be stupid to drive it anywhere with defective brakes, bald/illegal tyres, bits hanging off, etc. But then, you wouldn't buy a car like that, or would you?


I wouldn't, no.

But I bet people do.

#94 Guess-Works.com

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Posted 14 October 2015 - 04:18 PM

Sounds about normal for a mini



#95 gazza82

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Posted 15 October 2015 - 08:45 AM

Well... someone in VOSA has gone and had a brain fart...

 

Makes a mockery of being able to MOT the vehicle 4 weeks prior to the expiry date.... why bother... if you happen to fail on something like a light bulb, or a number plate which can be fixed in 10 minutes, but then have to wait for a 'retest' slot which could be days later, you are no longer able to use the vehicle.

 

There's always been the caveat that a tester can fail the car and not allow the vehicle to be removed because of serious defect.

 

Think you hit the nail on the head there .... money!

 

If you take the car in on 11 months and it fails, you lose 1 month of the old MOT straight away ... over a few years that's a lot of months!

 

A bit like car tax .. sell early in the month and lose that month when you claim a refund ..



#96 govig

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Posted 15 October 2015 - 10:38 AM

But don't you get that stolen month back when it eventually passes? The road tax near month money is gone forever.



#97 darrell26

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Posted 16 October 2015 - 10:06 AM

An observation regarding Australia, different states have different regulations. However the majority of states require a yearly Roadworthy inspection for re registration if the car is over 3 years old.

Edited by darrell26, 16 October 2015 - 10:08 AM.


#98 darrell26

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Posted 16 October 2015 - 10:08 AM

I think I may be in a minority of one here but the MOT is effectively a certificate of roadworthiness. If your car fails it is because it is no longer roadworthy. The fact that 11 months ago you got a certificate that said it was roadworthy 11 months ago is surely irrelevant.

As a couple of posters above have said - your car could get damaged 5 mins after passing the test and then you'd be driving an unroadworthy car for a year. This is true but if stopped by the police (and for the sake of this argument the defect is genuinely dangerous) then you would need to get your car fixed, irrespective of how long is left on the MOT certificate.

The MOT tells you the state of the car at a point in time. If it's no longer in good condition then the state of the car 11 months ago is irrelevant.

MOT failure problems can be cheaply and easily avoided simply by moving to Australia. Once your car is registered you never have to get it checked again. If the police pull you over and find problems then you pay fines per defect and have to get it all fixed within a certain time period. The only time you need a new roadworthy test is before you advertise your car for sale.



#99 surfblue

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Posted 19 October 2015 - 05:50 PM

 

MOT failure problems can be cheaply and easily avoided simply by moving to Australia

 

:lol:  - slightly extreme and maybe not very cheap?

 

 

ANPR cameras dont issue fines. One of their uses is to alert police to potential motoring offences. ANPR equipped police vehicles "ping" cars which have any number of alert markers for a variety of reasons. Police do not stop, nor would they have the resources to stop every ANPR alert registered to them.( Their records are also not 100% accurate)

Police officers also have discretion at their disposal, just because your MOT is expired or a repair has been completed following a fail and it is being used prior to being retested, does not automatically mean you will be prosecuted and end up in court. If you are a ******* and being a smart a**e however there is every likelihood that you will, :lol: .

Courts also exercise discretion, and common sense, the stopping enroute to the test to buy a pack of cigs is the perfect example.


Edited by surfblue, 19 October 2015 - 05:53 PM.


#100 Cooperman

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Posted 19 October 2015 - 07:47 PM

I have just bought a 1997 Land-Rover Discovery for towing my trailers. It is currently off the road and is SORN'ed. I have insured it today and will book it for an MoT on Wednesday, when I collect it from the seller who is 40 miles away, at the MoT station about 3/4 of a mile from my home. However, I've not driven the car and I shall call at my home for a cup of tea on the way to the test station and whilst there I shall jack the Land-Rover up and have a 'poke around', check all the lights (they were working on Saturday), inspect the brakes and see if it all looks OK. If it doesn't I'll cancel the test, do the work, then re-book it when I've fixed it.

If stopped by the Old Bill I can honestly say I'm on my way to a pre-booked MoT, and I can see no reason why stopping at my own home especially as I actually have to pass my front door on the way to the test should be in any way illegal, not that I am really bothered.

I've often wondered what the situation is if the car breaks down on the way to a pre-booked test. is it OK to tow it home to repair it, or is that then illegal? I doubt the Old Bill or the DVLA know the correct answer to this. Another grey area of legislation. I once had a windscreen break on the way to the test in a tax-expired SORN'ed car, but I carried on and got a windscreen replacement company out to the test station to fix a new screen so that it could pass, which it did.



#101 Guess-Works.com

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Posted 19 October 2015 - 07:51 PM

I have just bought a 1997 Land-Rover Discovery for towing my trailers. It is currently off the road and is SORN'ed. I have insured it today and will book it for an MoT on Wednesday, when I collect it from the seller who is 40 miles away, at the MoT station about 3/4 of a mile from my home. However, I've not driven the car and I shall call at my home for a cup of tea on the way to the test station and whilst there I shall jack the Land-Rover up and have a 'poke around', check all the lights (they were working on Saturday), inspect the brakes and see if it all looks OK. If it doesn't I'll cancel the test, do the work, then re-book it when I've fixed it.

If stopped by the Old Bill I can honestly say I'm on my way to a pre-booked MoT, and I can see no reason why stopping at my own home especially as I actually have to pass my front door on the way to the test should be in any way illegal, not that I am really bothered.

I've often wondered what the situation is if the car breaks down on the way to a pre-booked test. is it OK to tow it home to repair it, or is that then illegal? I doubt the Old Bill or the DVLA know the correct answer to this. Another grey area of legislation. I once had a windscreen break on the way to the test in a tax-expired SORN'ed car, but I carried on and got a windscreen replacement company out to the test station to fix a new screen so that it could pass, which it did.

 

As long as you don't park it on the public road then you have no issue, however, park it on the road and you can get done for no tax.



#102 Ethel

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Posted 20 October 2015 - 09:18 AM

They should know the correct answer. There's a well known test case that got as far as the high court for the judge to rule there was nothing wrong with stopping to buy a paper and packet of fags on the way to a test. I assume that would cover a lack of road tax, as that's implicit in driving a car without an mot, it could breakdown on the way if nothing else.I still agree with John that it's better to avoid testing that point if you can

#103 Guess-Works.com

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Posted 30 October 2015 - 06:59 PM

From the horse's mouth.... or rather, I finally got a response from DVSA....

 

Thank you for your email enquiry dated 10th October 2015, concerning the above.

We are aware of the incorrect information that is on our website and are looking into the matter.

An MOT is still valid until the expiry date, even if the vehicle fails another test in the meantime.  However, the vehicle needs to be in roadworthy condition to be driven on the public roads.

The MOT regulations for driving a vehicle that has failed an MOT test, are summarised below:-

  • Where a vehicle is submitted for test without a current test certificate and subsequently fails, it does not exempt the owner/driver from prosecution if the vehicle is being used on the road in a dangerous condition even when being removed to a place of repair etc.
  • Where a vehicle is submitted for test with a current test certificate and subsequently fails, the existing certificate is still valid until its expiry date so therefore meets the requirements of section 47(1) of the Road Traffic Act stated above. However again it does not exempt the owner/user from prosecution if the vehicle is being used on the road in a dangerous condition. A situation that could be exacerbated as the owner/driver is now knowingly driving a defective vehicle.
  • Where a vehicle with a current test certificate having failed its test and subsequently repaired could be used on the road whether booked in for retest or not, provided it is roadworthy and it is up to the owner/user to satisfy themselves that the vehicle is roadworthy otherwise they may be liable to prosecution if it is not.
  •  
  • You are only able to drive the vehicle directly to/from a pre-booked MOT test after midnight on the date of expiry of the current certificate. After that time the vehicle must not be kept on a public road until it is re-tested and taxed etc.

Finally, whilst the above information gives an outline of the current position it is only a court of law that can decide if an offence has been committed.
I hope this information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

 

 

However, the last bullet point..... I'll leave you to make your own mind up on...



#104 dave1010

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Posted 01 November 2015 - 08:42 AM

Cool, so basically nothings changed but it's given us something to do for a few weeks reading and commenting :)




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