The online petition which closes on 23rd July 2023, aims to stop the government from extending the period of a vehicle’s first MOT from 3 years to 4 years.
It has been created in response to the Government’s consultation on changes to the MOT test which could also see intervals between MOT Tests extended.
To sign the online petition visit: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631650
Signing the petition goes beyond just supporting our industry, it is a matter of safety that should concern everyone.
Without a significant response from the public it is likely that the government may succeed in introducing 4-1-1 and potentially even 4-2-2 testing.
At current time of writing (12th April 2023), the petition does not yet have the 10,000 signatures required for a government response. In reality, a bare minimum of at least 100,000 signatures, which means the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament, is likely to be required to forestall this change.
Safety Impact Highlighted by the Government
Data provided by the DVSA in their own consultation (see Safety Impacts) indeed highlights the dangerous implications of extending the first MOT to 4 years:
…for most of the vehicles in scope, it can be observed that the initial failure rate of vehicles increases with the vehicle age. For Class 4 vehicles in 2019, this rose from 14% for 3-year-old vehicles to 16% for 4-year-old vehicles. It is anticipated that an increase in the number of vehicles operating with vehicle defects for a longer duration could lead to an increase in the number of vehicle defect-related collisions. In 2019, there were some 1,455 casualties in collisions where a vehicle defect contributory factor was listed for the vehicles identified in scope of this proposal, 20 of which were fatal and 333 and 1,102 were either serious or slight respectively.
Government’s Predicted Increase in Casualties
The government estimates an annual increase of 16 – 65 casualties if the initial MOT period is extended by 1 year. Of this number they predict 1 fatality and 4-16 serious casualties. It is hard to see how this can be an acceptable outcome for anyone.
What Does the Petition Say?
In response, the online petition says:
We believe this will be dangerous, expensive, damaging and unnecessary. 1,759 casualties were caused by vehicle defects in 2021. Keep our roads safe by keeping the MOT at 3-1-1.
…any reduction to the MOT frequency will be:
Dangerous: Increased casualties and deaths caused by vehicle defects
Expensive: Increased vehicle repair, maintenance & insurance costs
Damaging: Increased pollution & congestion levels
Unnecessary: There is little evidence to suggest motorists want to change MOT frequency
The government has looked at such measures in the past but has abandoned them each time after reasoned arguments from both the industry and the public.
The petition is supported by many industry bodies including the Independent Garage Association (IGA), the Garage Equipment Association (GEA) of which Boston is a member, the Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA), the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) and the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA).
What Can You Do to Prevent This Change?
If you believe that extending the period of a vehicle’s first MOT will have negative consequences, then we not only urge you to sign the petition but ask that you speak to friends and family too. Ultimately the greater the number of signatures, the more chance we have of keeping our roads safe.