RoadSafe, the organisation dedicated to reducing road deaths and injuries, has urged the transport minister, Mike Penning, to maintain the current annual check-up for the MOT. In the UK if your vehicle is three years old you must have a valid MOT and every year thereafter. In the EU however the law requires vehicles to have their test when four years old and then a subsequent test very two years. The DfT is looking at bringing the UK into line with the rest of Europe and RoadSafe is warning against this.

Every year in the UK, MOT testers identify 8.5 million cars with defects and the DfT found in its own review of the MOT in 2008, that reducing the test frequency would significantly increase the number of unroadworthy cars and casualties. Most cars should be serviced between MOT tests but many drivers fail to do this and the Tyre Industry federation has also found that 12% of tyres are illegal on replacement.

RoadSafe director, Adrian Walsh said,” Many owners just don’t realise that tyres are a vital part of the braking system. They are one of the several essential safety features that drivers seldom check. An annual MOT is vital for picking up these problems. Roadsafe joins the Tyre Industry Federation and other campaigners, with a warning to government, that extending the period between MOT tests will put lives at risk”.