The UK Government made the process of getting an MOT test mandatory for all vehicle owners who have cars that are three years or older. It comprises a series of tests to make sure the vehicle is safe, roadworthy and with exhaust emissions under control, which was a primary requirement if they are looking to have their car ply on any road in the UK according to the Road Traffic Act 1988.
What comprises an MOT test?
The MOT comprises a series of tests from checking engine fluid levels, to making sure the dashboard and vehicle lights were working correctly, to checking exhaust levels and making sure they are in place. There are registered MOT professionals and garages who go through the process and provide certificates to vehicles that clear all the tests. Having an MOT certificate is a requirement, and people who are plying on roads without one could receive fines up to £1,000. They had to be sure to book MOT before the expiration of their current licence.
Were there any changes made to the MOT tests?
The MOT tests were updated around 2018, and there were significant changes made to them to keep up with the common era. Vehicles have come a long way from the rules and framework that the tests used to follow previously. The updated tests were more relevant when it came to checking the roadworthiness of a car, but the people were not too happy. In the first year, the test saw more than a third of the vehicles in the UK fail. Ten million cars failed the MOT test under the new rules, and they were all forced to go through the test again before they were allowed to ply on roads. Recently, in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been some additional changes made to the test again. The Government began by pushing all vehicles, due for an MOT registration by six months, automatically. The main reason for this was that it was unsafe for people to move around the country, with everyone staying at home and moving out only if they had to. The vehicles due for an MOT registration between 30th March to 31st July were allowed to delay their MOT registration if they choose to. During this time, the Government even stated that vehicles with or without an MOT licence still had to make sure they were roadworthy and could receive fines of more than £2,000 if they were not.
However, vehicles that needed to go through the registration before those dates had to make sure they had a certificate if they were to ply. More than 1.6 million people registered their cars in the UK during the extension since they did not want to wait, assuming that there would be a giant backlog when everything opened up again. People were allowed to check MOT during this time and could even get their cars fixed at other garages and only apply to registered ones for their MOT registration. The Government even allowed people to check MOT online since the entire history of the vehicle was added online, dating back to 2005.
