Driving with mot failure on the 11 month
 

Hi to all.
Its that old chestnut of a thread again. My cars mot is due on 1st of December and in the past I've always put it through an mot a month earlier simply because if it passes I get 13 months and if it doesn't I get a month to rectify any mot failures. A thread was started here a good few months back questioning whether your car was actually legal to drive if it fails the mot on the 11 month with lots of clashing views on the subject. Did this thread ever come to a foregone conclusion as to what is the law. When I booked my car in today for its mot I asked the tester "what was what" over this and he did seem to give a sensible answer. He firstly said it was a grey area of the law but his belief was that if my car failed and I then got stopped a few days later I would not be in trouble for not having an mot certificate because I still have a valid one which was issued and deemed to last for the year by the governmental laws. Obviously within that time frame we are held responsible for keeping our cars in a road worthy condition. He also said though ,if I did get stopped by the police after an mot fail on the 11 month they could prosecute me for driving with intent . I,e driving a vehicle with a known fault that was brought to my attention by a failed mot. It's all bit confusing to me, because on the one hand your car could fail because of a simple side light is out or a passenger wiper blade has seen its best. These things are a relatively minor concern and would not be classed as dangerous in the real world ,but you would still be breaking the law to the same extent if your car had badly corroded brake pipes or a leaking fuel tank which would be dam right dangerous. Obviously like all members here I will make sure my pride and joy is sorted as quickly as possible if it fails, but it will still be at the back of my mind as to whether I will still be legally allowed to drive my car the following day to work if it's failed on something small and minor..If I were to drive past one of those ANPR cameras the day after a failed mot which was issued on the 11 month would I get a knock on the door by the boys in blue or do they show some discretion with such things. Ahhhh the mind boggles :-))))

My local garage is quite happy to do a 'pre' MOT - in other words it's a full test which isn't recorded so the details aren't entered onto the system. This means that you can still happily drive on your existing MOT and if anything is amiss it can be sorted before the actual MOT test. Plus there's the added bonus that your MOT history will be clean if and when someone looks at it, for example if you put your car up for sale.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a garage near you who will provide this service.

Andrew

Yea I seem to remember reading in the new rules a failure is a failure even if it's a month early. I like the idea of the poster above though. Maybe other garages do the same:shrug:

The definitive answer to this question is:

If your car fails an MOT then it was deemed to be unroadworthy on the date the test was taken.

It is an offence to drive an unroadworthy car.

If you have the things the car failed its mot on repaired you can continue to drive on your old MOT, however, until you do, you run the risk of being prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy car.

That's because an MOT doesn't warrant a car is roadworthy for the duration of the certificate, but an MOT fail does warrant the car is unroadworthy until the things it failed on have been repaired.

So...whilst you wouldn't be prosecuted for driving without an MOT you would be subject to prosecution for driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

Driving an unroadworthy vehicle is a worse offence than driving without an MOT - additionally, driving an unroadworthy car (an offence which in itself is endorsable with three points) can also lead you to be charged with careless driving (an offence for which you can receive points or even a ban depending on the circumstances)

It is quite simple.

A fail is a fail is a fail. bulb or something similar. If done on the mainland, a garage should be able to rectify and correct (if the garage was doing the MOT). In NI if you fail, you fail. You can drive it home, and or to the garage for repair, and then to get a new MOT. (you fail on a bulb here, even if you have a spare in your glovebox, you theoretically need to make a new appointment to have a retest! You cannot fit it there and retest etc)

Failing at 11 months, means your car is not roadworthy regardless. If it was a recorded MOT fail, it will register as the current MOT status, superseding your 11 month old one.

My take is that you legally have an MOT for 12 months. This is NOT rescinded by the failure of the follow on MOT.

But, irrespective of your MOT status, your car must be kept in a roadworthy condition. Knowing that it fails on a major component (such as corroded brake pipes) would probably go against you in a court should it be seen as a mitigating factor in an accident.

A minor failure is still a failure and can be sorted easily, no?

I would personally sort the failure and not take the chance.

The way it is now (I know of some around here who SORN their cars for a month's tax grace) before renewing tax again, they seem to get away with it as there are no rozzers around to enforce. What a bunch of muppets for £20 odd. :duh:

edit : we all posted the same, it would seem. :}

we can all have views/opinions on the matter - however - a failed mot is a failed mot and you are only permitted to drive the car (within reasonable distance) for repairs/re-test :duh:

doesn't matter if there are 6 months or 2 days left on the last mot - failed mot = not roadworthy/legal :duh:


Paul.

That's how it was clarified the last time this came up, with official confirmation of the updated mot guidance notes.

The law hasn't changed - the "summary" on the government website changed to imply it had and then it got changed again to go the other way.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

"Failing the MOT {...} If your vehicle fails the MOT {...} Driving a vehicle that’s failed

You can take your vehicle away if your MOT certificate is still valid.

If your MOT has run out you can take your vehicle to:

have the failed defects fixed
a pre-arranged MOT test appointment
In both cases, your vehicle still needs to meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times or you can be fined."

So if failed on the 11th month the previous mot is no longer valid. The car is no longer considered roadworthy. :-)