A year after launching a consultation on the future of MOTs, the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed it won’t go ahead with proposals to delay a new car’s first MOT by a year, or move testing to every two years rather than annually.
In a radical shake-up to ensure “MOTs remain fit for the future” it proposed changing the date at which the first MOT for new cars, vans and motorcycles is required from three to four years.
At the time, it said this was standard practice across many European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
And with the average MOT costing £40, the DfT said the move could save motorists around £100m in fees each year.
It also considered if it was appropriate to move subsequent testing to every couple of years rather than annually “reflecting the progress in improving vehicle safety”.
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However, motoring groups opposed the ideas, suggesting they could potentially put lives at risk.
And it appears the Government has listened after receiving more than 4,400 responses to the consultation.
The DfT stated: “Given the significant concerns about road safety that were raised, and that any potential savings made by motorists would be limited by the additional cost of potential defects not identified at the MOT, the Government does not intend to proceed in changing the date of a vehicle’s first MOT.”
It added: “There was support for an improved diesel emissions test and we will consider the results of a recent Driver Vehicle Standards Agency trial before deciding how to proceed. We have also identified five priority areas for future reform including electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems.”
Roads Minister, Guy Opperman, said: “We have listened to drivers and industry, and keeping MOTs in their current form shows once again that we are on the side of motorists.
“By offering clarity on MOT tests, alongside our recent street works consultation and unprecedented £8.3 billion to resurface roads, we are helping motorists drive with peace of mind and ensuring Britain’s roads continue to be some of the safest in the world.
MOT change ‘consigned to the bin’
RAC head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “It’s great news the madcap idea of changing the MOT from every year to every two has finally been consigned to the bin. This would have seriously compromised road safety and ended up costing drivers more money rather than less as it was supposed to do, due to dangerous issues going undetected and getting progressively worse. This is why the idea was so widely unpopular with the motoring public in our research.
“We look forward to hearing more from the Government on how the MOT will evolve in the future, both to accommodate the rising number of electric cars on our roads and improve the monitoring of dangerous emissions from combustion engines. We would also like to see the test change to help reduce the prospect of glare from headlights, as this is something the DVSA has previously said garages can find difficult to assess.”
Jakob Pfaudler, AA CEO, said: “AA polling showed drivers overwhelmingly (83%) supported the annual MOT for keeping their cars and other cars safe. With one in 10 cars failing their first MOT, we fully support the Government’s pragmatic decision to maintain the first MOT at three years and annually thereafter.”
