Keeping Britain’s Roads Safe For All

Campaign

Britain's roads are the safest in the world and last year saw the lowest number of road deaths since records began.

The Government has announced that it wants to look at reducing the frequency of MOT tests citing its desire to “reduce the burden on motorists”. But overwhelming evidence shows that reducing MOT frequency is dangerous, expensive and unwanted – and bad for jobs too.

The Department for Transport’s (DfT) own study found that moving from annual to two-yearly MOT tests risked increasing road deaths and serious injuries by almost 3,000 – 408 fatalities and 2,504 serious injuries.

The number of defective and unsafe vehicles on the road is increasing even with annual tests. Under the current system, the MOT failure rate has increased from 29% in 2004/05 to 41% in 2009/10.

More than 2,200 vehicles with dangerous defects are discovered every day by the current annual MOT test.

Reducing the frequency of the MOT test will make our roads more dangerous

With fewer MOT tests our roads will become more dangerous. (Photo used under creative commons licence)

Extending the period between MOT tests raises the likelihood that minor problems become more serious defects which require more significant and more costly, repairs later.

Insurers believe that fewer tests could lead to more accidents and therefore increased motor insurance premiums.

Reducing the frequency of the MOT Test will make driving more expensive

A survey shows that 92% of motorists believe that used cars should be tested annually on road safety grounds rather than every other year.

Just 13% of AA members think reducing MOT frequency will save them money.

People don’t want to see the frequency of the MOT reduced

Changing the frequency of the MOT test will also hit up to 40,000 jobs in 20,000 small and medium-sized businesses across the UK could be affected – with thousands of apprenticeships at risk.

The AA, RAC, Aviva, Brake, Halfords, Kwik Fit, British Cycling, the Retail Motor Industry Federation and many more have joined forces in support of the PRO-MOTE campaign to call on Minsters to rule out a reduction in MOT frequency.