More than one million cars registered to drive on UK roads have failed tougher MOT tests this year.
They were stopped because there were defects considered so dangerous under new, more stringent MOT rules, that they pose an ‘immediate risk to road safety and/ or serious impact on the environment’.
This worrying finding was revealed on analysis of DVSA data on MOT tests obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk in November 2018.
The data reveals that since 20 May 2018 when new MOT rules came into force, 1,131,376 cars have failed their MOTs because of dangerous defects. In October, almost 9% of cars that had an MOT failed because of a dangerous defect. On average since May, almost a third (32%) of cars that failed, were classified dangerous failures.
Under new MOT rules, defects are categorised as either: dangerous, major or minor, and a vehicle will fail if it has a dangerous or major fault. With the old MOT your vehicle either passed, passed with advisory faults or failed.
| According to the DVSA website, a dangerous defect ‘has a direct and immediate risk to road safety or has a serious impact on the environment, and the vehicle cannot be driven again until the defect has been repaired.’
A vehicle will be recorded as “no longer road legal” if it fails due to a dangerous fault.If you do drive the car, you could be fined £2,500, be banned from driving and incur three points on your licence.If a car fails because of a major defect, the repair needs to be made as soon as possible.However, the car may be driven if it is still roadworthy and the MOT is valid. |
Examples of ‘dangerous defects’ | |
| ● Leaking hydraulic fluid – leaks from a brake value such that brake functionality is affected
● Brake problems – brake disc or drum missing and/or the brake lining or pad is missing or incorrectly mounted ● Dangerous wheels – a wheel with more than one loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud or the wheel is distorted or worn to the extent it is likely to become detached |
