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MOT Fail Do Not Ride!?
Blog Date - 30 September 2015
According to the government's own website :-
Driving a vehicle that’s failed
- You must not drive the vehicle on the road if it fails the test, even if the MOT hasn’t run out, except to:
- - have the failed defects fixed
- - a pre-arranged MOT test appointment
You can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get 3 penalty points for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.
Find this HERE
So, I am trying to understand this. I always try to get my MOT done 3 or 4 weeks before it is due to ensure I have time to make any repairs the MOT inspector flags up. Let's imagine this following scenario.
- I have 3 weeks remaining on my MOT.
- I ride to the MOT station safe in the knowledge I have a current MOT
- The MOT inspector fails me for a dodgy indicator relay. It flashes too fast/slow.
What I understood to be the case -
My understanding was I could ride my motorcycle back home as I have a current MOT. Yes - my bike still has a valid MOT at the time of riding the motorcycle but the fact remains the bike is unroadworthy. Why is it unroadworthy? Because the indicators are not flashing correctly. More importantly there is no excuse for not knowing this as I have just had the MOT inspector tell me and given me a piece of paper informing me my motorcycle is unfit to be on the road.
The rest is up to me. I could ride the bike home but if I am pulled up by PC Plod then I risk having my collar felt. In my experience minor defects like this would attract a "fixer" where I have to prove that the problem has been solved within 7 days. However bear in mind the officer is free to choose to actually book me and even impound the motorcycle at great expense and hassle to myself. My attitude will likely be the biggest deciding fact on this matter.
If the motorcycle is obviously a serious danger then no matter how nice you are they will not allow me to ride the bike any further and charges would be brought.
What could be interpreted from the wording on the government website -
You can't use the vehicle on the public roads if it has failed an MOT test. That much is crystal clear. There is of course an "unless". Unless you are riding or driving to - -
- - have the failed defects fixed. Can you fix them at home, hence "I am riding my bike home so I can fix the defects"? Or do I have to have the bike booked in with a reputable garage? Maybe I am riding 450 miles to my friend's house in Thurso because he's a magician with indicator relays doncha know. This is very unclear and open to abuse. I suspect the word "reasonable" would come into this, but your version of reasonable and the magistrate's version of reasonable might be quite different.
- - a pre-arranged MOT test appointment. This is obvious. I can ride my motorcycle to an MOT station to have it retested. I need to book this because if PC Plod pulls me over he/she WILL call the MOT station to confirm this. Otherwise everyone would ride around with no MOT and just claim "I was on my way there now officer".
BUT...HANG ON! So...I take my bike for an MOT. I fail for a dodgy indicator relay. I am being as correct as correct can be and I book my motorcycle into a local workshop to have a new indicator relay fitted and I ride the bike straight to the workshop. The workshop fits the new indicator relay. Now - my motorcycle is roadworthy. Can I ride it? Yes? No?
I have fixed the indicator relay and the bike is all correct. I have 3 weeks of MOT left. BUT my motorcycle did fail an MOT. Which means, according to the wording above, that I can only ride the bike to effect repairs or to get to an MOT station. It is now 1730, the MOT station is shut and my bike is at the local workshop. Strictly speaking I CAN NOT ride it home for the evening!
I am stranded it seems. Because my bike has failed an MOT test other than getting it repaired or going to an MOT centre I cannot ride my bike. There is no exception in the wording above stating that once the bike is fixed I'm free to ride. Even if I have 3 weeks MOT left the fact remains that my machine failed an MOT therefore cannot be used.
Am I being too literal? Has anyone any experience of this? Be very careful out there people.
Reader's Comments
NC John said :-
Whether you have failed an MOT, or not, the fact remains that if your vehicle has a defect, and you are using it on the public highway, you can be prosecuted for operating a defective vehicle, simple as that.
Just because you have a current MOT doesn't save you from being prosecuted from operating a defective vehicle on the road.
Thats my take on it any way
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
I think your literal interpretation is correct John. I suppose the simple answer is not to take it to the workshop last thing at night but to take it home to fix it.
It would be interesting to hear from any traffic cops if such people read this to get what a "real world" interpretation would be.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Imagine - you check the bike over and it's fine then at the MOT station the bulb in the headlight blows - fail. Ride to Halfords, fit new bulb, the bike *should* be road legal but the computer system shows a failed MOT.
Can I ride to work that evening? Can I pop round to Mum's for a brew before I take the bike back to the MOT centre?
NC John, via Facebook pointed out the page in the link below. There is one section... I quote...
Taking your vehicle away for repairs
- You can take your vehicle away if your MOT certificate is still valid.
- You can only take your vehicle to or from somewhere to be repaired if your MOT has run out.
This just confuses me even more. Ian, yes, I'd love to get clarification on this. I'm not convinced a traffic cop could offer more than an opinion though as it is so open to interpretation. We'd need test cases. The law is so vague.
www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests...
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
I took the liberty of asking the question elsewhere (a forum that does have serving police offers) and got the following:
"In the real world, MOT's are not updated immediately on any of the police computers/ anpr systems. It can take up to a week. If you're driving it weeks after it failing an MOT then you're just being daft, especially if the fault has been fixed. It is a bit different now as they are all electronic, whereas in the past, paper copies were relied on. So it is much easier to find out if a vehicle doesn't have a MOT."
which I read to mean: Yes it's strictly an offence but no-one will know".
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Ian. Interesting stuff indeed. I'd always assumed that the moment the computer at the MOT centre sends the details in to the ministry, the ANPR and all the other government systems would be updated immediately. You do surprise me!
Never the less it is my intention to do my best to keep within the law, no matter how ridiculous this can be at times. I shall keep to local MOT centres, try to make sure the bike is always ready and be prepared to NOT use the bike until I have a full and complete MOT.
Cheers.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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