MOT delays pose ‘serious safety risk’

Nearly 10% of cars are driving with dangerous defects, and could continue to do so until January 2021.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) announced last week the MOT exemption will end on 1 August. That means millions of drivers could stay on the roads without a valid certificate until January 2021.

That is the verdict of BookMyGarage, which believes the government is taking a ‘serious safety risk’ with this decision.

It has analysed the latest DVSA data and found that one in three MOTs are failed in normal circumstances, with tyres making up 58.1% of all ‘dangerous defects’ recorded, followed by brakes (29.3%), suspension (5.5%), chassis (2.4%) and lights (2.0%).

Department for Transport figures show that defective tyres were a contributing factor in 17 fatal accidents in 2018 and caused a total of 459 accidents in the year. Faulty brakes were to blame for more than 500 accidents and 15 fatalities.

Karen Rotberg, managing director of BookMyGarage, said: “It was a sensible policy during lockdown, when vehicle use was limited, but the whole point of the MOT is to make sure dangerous vehicles are not on our roads for the sake of the driver, passengers and other road users. The government is taking a serious safety risk now though and we urge motorists to take a common-sense view.”