Lax law enforcement of MOT compliance is putting motorists and the public's safety at risk, according to new research and an accompanying freedom of information (FOI) request. MOTs are vital – and legally required - annual safety checks on vehicles over three years old to ensure they are safe and roadworthy. But shocking new figures show that nearly a quarter (24%) of all drivers in the UK admit that they have driven a vehicle without a valid MOT in the past year – equating to 9.3 million motorists. Yet police issued fewer than 17,000 fines over the period.
Whilst for some it was a one-off journey, for many it was habitual. Those who admit they drove a vehicle without an MOT in the past year say they did so an average of 10.6 times – equating to a total of 99.2 million illegal journeys. With such a huge proportion of drivers admitting to driving without an MOT – and with the police now having ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras that can automatically identify vehicles without an MOT, tax or insurance – it may be expected that forces across the UK are catching significant numbers of motorists breaking the law.
However, a new freedom of information request conducted by Halfords – which also carried out the research – found that most forces are issuing just a few hundred fines per year. In fact, just two police forces (West Yorkshire and Suffolk) issued more than 1,000 fines in the past 12 months. For most it was far fewer. For example, Dyfed-Powys Police and Nottingham Police forces issued just 50 fines each, whilst Northumbria Police issued just 20.
