Following an extensive consultation process, the government has decided not to change the regularity of the first MOT test. The main factor influencing this decision was road safety, with 84% of respondents being opposed to the change.
The consultation ran from January to March last year and received nearly 4,500 responses. The consultation response outlines the summary of responses received.
The BVRLA’s engagement with the Department for Transport (DfT) influenced the consultation and it was reassuring to see several of the association’s key points acknowledged through the process. These include:
- The need for accurate safety information and opportunities to make better use of connected car data
- Opportunities to amend testing for rental vehicles
- Challenges with 4.25t e-vans being treated as an HGV
- Issues with vehicles in Northern Ireland.
Future changes to the MOT regime will be explored and the BVRLA will continue to work closely with DfT. The five areas DfT will be taking forward are:
- Electric Vehicle Testing - with the increasing number of electric vehicles on our roads it is important there is understanding of how they should be proportionally tested at MOT to reassure drivers of their safety.
- Hybrid Vehicles - at present the combustion engine is not tested for emissions, potentially resulting in highly emitting vehicles on our roads.
- Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) - ADAS systems of various kinds, such as automated lane keeping have been introduced, these have implications for road safety that suggest they should be considered in the MOT.
- Automated Vehicles - working with The Centre for Autonomous Vehicles (CAVPASS) and industry, DfT will begin considering how the conclusions from ADAS testing relate to testing for autonomous vehicles and the role of the MOT in testing them.
- Electric Light Goods Vehicles - at present light goods vehicles with electric engines are often tested with the more rigorous HGV requirements due to their weight. These vans could be aligned with combustion vehicles to reduce the testing burden on them and help encourage take-up.
Date of the first MOT test: consultation response (publishing.service.gov.uk)
