Industry Warns MOT Overhaul Will Increase Road Deaths

Sending your vehicle for its annual MOT is an expense we would all rather do without, but very few of us are unable to see its importance.

We know this because a report out this week from the RAC, Brake, AA and the Retail Motor Industry Federation, among others, shows that 94% of people think an MOT is very (71%) or quite (23%) important to road safety.

But the government isn’t weak enough to let the vast majority of people get in the way of its efforts to review the frequency with which the test is conducted.

A few weeks ago ex-Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he was looking again at the issue.

This has now led to the above organisations launching a campaign to put pressure on the incumbent Secretary Justine Greening to rule out a reduction in MOT testing.

Their argument is compelling: if you didn’t send your vehicle to test every year then your financial burden will actually increase due to more expensive repairs and higher insurance bills.

In addition, if the annual test was ended then it is estimated that there would be more than 250 additional road deaths and more than 2,200 additional serious injuries every year.

It also puts in jeopardy 40,000 jobs and apprenticeships in the MOT industry, although motorists might wonder if the cost of the test will simply increase as a result of the reduction in frequency.

One fear is that this country adopts a similar regime to some EU countries and starts testing new cars after four years and every other year thereafter (rather than after three years and then annually as is currently the case).

Accidents caused by unroadworthy vehicles in this country are relatively few, according to the RAC, and the MOT can be one of the only times we get our cars checked out.

AA President Edmund King has warned that offering motorists an olive branch in this manner would therefore be a false saving and put at risk the safety of all road users.

Olive branches for motorists can come in many different forms but a growing wave of opposition shows that poking one into the current MOT system may well be unwelcome and fundamentally flawed.

For further information contact Anton Balkitis or Lucy Wood on 0800 046 3066 or visit the website if you are looking for motoring solicitors.