THERE has been a mixed reaction to Government proposals to allow owners of new cars, motorbikes and vans to delay their vehicle’s first MoT by a year.
The move is aimed at cutting costs for drivers and views on the frequency of subsequent checks, which are now compulsory every 12 months, are also being sought.
Under existing regulations, every vehicle in England, Scotland and Wales that is three years old or over must have a current MoT test certificate. It must be renewed once a year, at a cost of £54.85 for a car and £29.65 for a standard motorcycle.
The MoT tests a vehicle’s safety, roadworthiness and exhaust emissions and drivers who do not have a valid certificate can be fined up to £1,000.
The Department for Transport (DfT) says it wants to “ensure roadworthiness checks continue to balance costs on motorists while ensuring road safety, keeping up with advances in vehicle technology, and tackling vehicle emissions”.
Delaying the first test for new vehicles could save motorists around £100m a year, it added while “Major developments in vehicle technology” have increased road safety since MoTs were introduced in 1960.
The consultation will also seek views on how to improve monitoring of emissions to tackle pollution to bolster the environmental efficiency of vehicles.
However there is concern about the proposed changes. AA president Edmund King said the MoT plays a vital role in ensuring that vehicles are safe and well maintained.
He told the BBC: “With one in 10 cars failing their first MoT, we strongly discourage the government from extending a car’s first MOT to the fourth anniversary due to road safety concerns”
The RAC’s head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “While we’re not opposed to delaying a new vehicle’s first MoT, we believe there should be a requirement for particularly high mileage vehicles to be tested sooner.
“If the Government is looking to improve the MoT, now is the ideal time to take into account how much a vehicle is driven alongside the number of years it’s been on the road.”
Peter Golding, managing director, FleetCheck said that idea to move to four years for MoTs is “madness for road safety”. He added: “As someone who managed workshops for many years before moving into fleet, I can attest that plenty of three year old cars that pass through garages have mechanical and electrical problems that severely compromise safety.
“There is a vague justification on the Government’s consultation page that ADAS devices and the arrival of EVs are helping to make three year MOTs unnecessary. This is high nonsense. ADAS and EVs don’t reduce wear on most major components, and there is even a strong argument that the much higher weight of the latter could increase the impact on wheels, brakes and the suspension.
“Even with current vehicle shortages, most fleets still aim to replace company cars at three years and vans around four. With annual mileage reaching up to 30,000 miles or more, this means that some vehicles being operated by businesses might not receive an independent safety inspection until they have covered in the region of 100,000 miles. This is an idea that should be dismissed out of hand.”
However, plans to improve monitoring of harmful emissions as part of the MoT test have been welcomed by fuel tech company SulNOx which has developed technology which has been shown in tests to significantly reduce greenhouse gases including NOx, and particulate matter
Potential new measures include introducing testing of pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to ensure diesel, petrol and hybrid cars meet emissions requirements throughout their lifespan.
Nawaz Haq, Executive Director at SulNOx Group, said: “We welcome the government’s plans to look more closely at pollutants that are pumped out by vehicles on the UK’s roads. We have said for a long time that petrol and diesel cars will be around for many years to come and it is therefore vital that manufacturers seek to improve engine efficiency and that emissions from tailpipes should be more closely monitored.
“We understand that not all the recommendations put forward by the government in this consultation are popular, but improved testing and monitoring of harmful emissions should definitely be seen as a priority.
“Analysis shows that over seven years, half a million people have died from causes including asthma attacks, exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia because of fine particulate matter. Hospital admissions for lung conditions have doubled in England and Wales from 1,535 per 100,000 in 1999 to 3,143 per 100,000 in 2019.
“This is a public health crisis and needs a robust response.”
SulNOx said if its technology was integrated throughout fuel stations in the UK for petrol and diesel, in a similar way to the rollout of E10 petrol, it could potentially remove the equivalent of over five million cars from UK roads and reduce CO2 equivalent by 10 million metric tons.
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