The MOT test checks whether vehicles are roadworthy, safe, and not causing too much damage to the environment. For the longest time, the checks used on vehicles were outdated and needed to be improved significantly. Over the last couple of years, they reviewed the MOT tests with several changes made to all the checks and measures.

According to a recent study, all these changes to the tests in the last few years have seen massive spikes in the number of cars that cannot clear the roadworthiness assessment, according to a new study. One-third of all vehicles examined in the first 12 months of the changes flunked the MOT test, with one in four failing motors deemed to have dangerous defects. These numbers lead up to a scary 10 million cars on the road that was dangerous and could cause issues not just to themselves but others around as well.

Just over 10 million cars failed the MOT test from May 2018, which compares to 7.3 million in 2017. The changes increased the number of people failing the test to increase by 37%. Of these flunked tests, 2,817,967, 9% were due to dangerous defect, while 44%, 9,095,989 were as a result of significant faults. Since the MOT tests were not just for cars but trucks and motorcycles, it was likely that they were passing the test without too much trouble with a lot less effort. 83% of all motorcycles that went through the test cleared it without any effort.

These results were quite scary since the tests do not only put the driver’s lives at risk but other motorists on the roads as well. The new tests were introduced around May 2018 but were not significantly different, with the only changes made to them were relating to stricter measures for exhaust emissions, checks of diesel particulate filters, and the introduction of a three-tier defect categorization – minor, major and dangerous. Additionally, there are also rules created about the type of number plates that vehicles should be using. There is a general format used by most, along with some customized formats that are legal that can be used by many. Additionally, most customizations are not allowed, vehicle license plates in the illegal format could cause the applicant to fail the MOT test.

With the impact of the Coronavirus on the UK, a lot of the tests that were due from April to July were allowed to be pushed to August, which lead to a large number of people delaying their tests for multiple safety reasons. With the massive backlog of vehicle owners waiting to answer the test now,

applicants have to book MOT before they go through and would receive a date and a time to bring their vehicle into the registration centre. Additionally, they can also book MOTonline, which is more convenient and would save a lot of time.