Driving a car after early MoT fail - Auto Express ?

[macabethiel]

There is a very misleading article in this weeks Auto Express Special Issue 1473 about possible penalties for driving a vehicle that has failed it's MoT when the current one has not expired. Clearly there are several areas that could cause an MoT fail that fall well short of an offence of driving a dangerous vehicle on a road. e.g. The vehicle has a faulty seat belt in the rear, a simple blown bulb, faulty tow bar wiring to name but a few.


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

The article goes on to infer that your Insurance is Invalidated and you could be fined £2500. The article also implies that driving with an expired MoT leaves you liable to a ban and 3 points. It is all very misleading as the £2500 potential fine and penalty points only applies if you are convicted of driving a dangerous vehicle on a road.

Interestingly not only is the offence of driving without a current MoT not endorsable so no points can be applied but Police & CPS policy has been to caution or issue a fixed penalty for this offence.

[elty001]

I've always been led to believe that it is valid until the current one runs out.
A vehicle with plenty of mot can still be dangerous to drive if something is broken.
Bit of a grey area really.
I always take mine in early to give me chance to do any repairs if needed before the mot runs out.

[macabethiel]

I've always been led to believe that it is valid until the current one runs out.
A vehicle with plenty of mot can still be dangerous to drive if something is broken.
Bit of a grey area really.
I always take mine in early to give me chance to do any repairs if needed before the mot runs out.

I agree that is why I get mine tested in the 4 weeks before it expires. I would like to think I would be aware of a dangerous condition to my vehicle well before it is flagged up on a MoT tester.

To highlight this point even though our Jeep had a Main Dealer Health check in Nov and passed it's MoT this year and another Health Check when it had a lubrication service none of these flagged up suspension wear issues.
I noticed a new grunt from the front suspension when driving over speed humps that led to the replacement front and rear suspension parts that were worn. Plus a PM from Bigbunny2007 to check out the rear Boomerang that was shot!