Government changes which will come into effect from May 20th 2018 will see thousands of vehicles no longer require an MoT certificate.
The new laws aimed generally at owners of classic and vintage vehicles mean that cars more than 40-years-old will no longer need an MoT certificate.
The move updates existing laws, which currently require any car first registered after 1960 to take and pass an MoT, to now include cars first registered in 1978. The 40-year requirement will update each year to include the following year, i.e next year cars first registered in 1979 will no longer be required to pass an MoT.
These changes will mean that just under 300,000 extra cars will be on the road without an MoT and this has caused some dismay as many critics of the changes fear that this will lead to more unroadworthy vehicles on the road increasing the risk of accidents.
In explaining their decision, the Department of Transport (DfT) argued that cars which are at least 40-years-old are often kept in good condition by enthusiasts and are not used regularly enough to warrant an MoT.
The DfT also released stats which showed that in 2015 cars registered between 1961-77 (the period that cars first registered between are now exempt) were involved in the death or serious injury of 215 people.
In comparison, vehicles built after 1988 were involved in 160,385 crashes which resulted in death or serious injury.
In other MoT news, the government has decided against plans to extend the period that new cars are exempt from getting an MoT. The proposals would have extended the time that new cars were required to have their first MoT from the current 3 years to 4.
The decision to scrap the changes have come after months of consultation which saw that the majority of responses were against the proposal because of safety fears. Critics warned that the change would have resulted in thousands of unsafe cars being on the road.
Although the extension would have saved drivers an estimated £100million a year, the government have listened to the concerns of those they consulted (including one poll by the DfT which saw that less than half of drivers asked supported the proposed changes) and have scrapped the plan.
If you’re one of the millions of drivers on the road in a car first registered after 1960 or 1979 from May 20th and your car is due for an MoT, you could save money and stay on the road while your car is the garage.
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