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MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT #

Posted by Ian Whitmore on August 20, 2009, 1:59 pm
Message modified by board administrator August 21, 2009, 12:45 pm

Hi
Only just found this out recently, if a car is presented for MOT & it fails, that failure over rides everything,
So if customer thinks because their old pass still has 2 weeks to go they can still drive their car as they still have an MOT they DON'T
Wonder how many other people know this or is it just me ????

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by paulwhatmough on August 20, 2009, 6:32 pm, in reply to "MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"
Paul Whatmough

Ian I'm not convinced thats right. Where did you hear that....
Paul...

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by ian Whitmore on August 20, 2009, 6:39 pm, in reply to "Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"
Ian Whitmore

Hi
My MOT man told me & I was also not convinced so I rang VOSA who confirmed it was right

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by Pete Mutlow on August 20, 2009, 8:05 pm, in reply to "Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"
Peter Mutlow

So why is there a provision for the car to be presented 1 month early without compromising the expiry date? I always present my vehicles one month early to allow time for any remedial repairs before the expiry date. Something is not right.

Regards

Pete M

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by Dave Hill on August 20, 2009, 9:21 pm, in reply to "Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"

My understanding on this one is that your existing MOT is still valid, although to drive a car that has failed an MOT test, you would surely be breaking the law. i.e. It is an offence to knowing drive a motor vehicle that is in an unroadworthy condition.

An MOT is valid until it's expiry date. It does not follow that the car is roadworthy until the expiry date! Thats how it was explained to me on a refresher.

HTH

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by charles scatchard on August 20, 2009, 10:52 pm, in reply to "Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"

How many cars that fail the MOT are in an unroadworthy condition? and by this I mean could affect road safety.
If a dangerous defect is recorded I could see you may have a problem if something happened, as you had been made aware of it. My understanding is that driving an unroadworthy vehicle on the road can result in a prosecution whether it has an MOT or not.
A Traffic Officer told me that they cannot access test results they can only check if a valid MOT is in force, so they would not be aware of the fail anyway.
I am not convinced that a fail overrides an existing Test, and a phone call to Vosa is not guaranteed to deliver an accurate response, there are many examples of Vehicle Examiners having differing views.

Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT

Posted by Tom Williams on August 21, 2009, 8:51 pm, in reply to "Re: MOT fail whilst vehicle still has current MOT"
Tom Williams

Every testable item is covered by a Statutory Instrument, whether it be Construction and Use, Road vehicle Lighting or something else.

It necessarily follows that if there is a defect in a testable item,if you continue to use the vehicle unrectified you commit an offence.

However, I am fairly certain that if you have unexpired time left on your MoT certificate, you cannot be prosecuted for not having a valid MoT.