Stricter MOT Tests Catch Out Huge Number of Dangerous Vehicles

Nearly three million potentially lethal vehicles have been taken off the UK's roads, thanks to tougher MOT test criteria.

Since the new MOT updates came into force in May 2018, 31m vehicles have been tested. Of those cars, vans and motorcycles, nearly a third (10.3m) failed outright, while a further 2.9m were judged to have issues that were considered to be 'dangerous' defects.

The changes to the MOT introduced by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) included new categories by which defects are judged; minor, major, and dangerous. The DVSA expressed hope that these new classifications would help motorists to better understand what was wrong with their vehicle.

Any car, van, or motorbike that has major or dangerous flaws will fail the MOT outright, while minor problems will see the driver given a recommendation to fix it before taking to the road. However, motorists have accused garages of inflating the costs of fixes, holding them to ransom, and instead are leaving with just advice to have dangerous problems resolved ASAP.

Of the 10,329,534 vehicles that failed their MOT, 2,952,487 were given dangerous defect warnings, and instruction to get them fixed before taking to the road.

MOT service manager, Neil Barlow, commented: “If a car has failed its MOT with a dangerous fault, DVSA's advice is that it should not be driven until the defect is repaired. This is because it's dangerous to both the driver and other road users.

“Garages are unable to prevent owners from driving their cars away. But they will provide advice to the owner on what they should do to keep the car safe.”

The top five reasons that cars and vans failed the MOT test since May 2018 are:

1. Faulty lamps, electrical equipment, and reflectors – 14.9%
2. Suspension issues – 18.3%
3. Substandard brakes – 8.8%
4. Tyre problems – 6.8%
5. Reduced visibility – 6.1%

Mr Barlow added: “DVSA's priority is helping everyone keep their vehicle safe to drive. Thanks to the MOT, three million dangerous vehicles have been taken off the road.”

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