As you probably know, the rules regarding MOT tests in the United Kingdom will shortly be changing in a big way. If the news somehow slipped you by, you might want to think about checking out the new regulations as soon as possible.
The classic MOT test is a part of British culture – the kind of thing everyone dreads, but has no choice but to comply with. You think your car’s just fine, but the test says otherwise. Or you’re 100% convinced your car will fail, only for it to pass with flying colours. Suffice to say, it’s never quite as predictable as expected.
But at one very odd end of the scale, more than 70,000 drivers are walking away from MOTs with big red ‘fail’ stamps for the kinds of reasons that beggar belief. According to the results of a new study published by Scrap Car Comparison, cars by the thousand are being denied legal access to the roads for things like window stickers, filthy number plates and poor hygiene in general.
Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest causes of MOT failure remains that of brake pads or tyre tread depth falling below legal requirements. Not quite as embarrassing as failing your MOT for the simple reasons that the car is so filthy, the MOT inspectors weren’t able to safely access it in the first place! Believe it or not, more than 2,400 cars failed to pass the inspection for this exact reason.
Food waste, general rubbish, unidentified bits and pieces – all the kinds of things that give MOT inspectors every right to refuse to inspect a dirty car. Particularly in cases where there’s clearly an alarming build-up mould present inside the car.
But what’s even more common is the rather unfortunate habit of many drivers – those with off-road cars in particular – turning up at MOT stations with their cars caked in a thick layer of mud. To such an extent that the inspectors (quite rightly) refuse to go near them. More than 1,400 MOT failures were attributed to dirty number plates, illegal number plate fonts and coloured plates.
Another example of an enormously common reason for MOT failure turned out to be simply not having enough windscreen washer fluid in the car’s reservoir at the time. The kind of mistake that would cost pennies to correct, though still demands a full retest.
More than 900 cars failed due to having stickers in dangerous positions obscuring the driver’s view, while a further 126 turned up for their tests with one or both of their number plates missing entirely!
Last but not least, you might be in the habit of hiding those warning lights that pop up from time to time – MOT inspectors aren’t quite so dismissive. According to the results of the study, a full 850+ cars instantly failed due to having one or more warning lights lit up at the time they entered the testing station.
So while it’s not as if the annual MOT test is a particularly joyful encounter, there’s no denying how far too many drivers are making it so much more painful than it needs to be.
