Ending annual MoTs could cost 250 lives a year, warn experts

REDUCING the legal requirement for annual MoTs could lead to more than 250 additional deaths on the road each year, campaigners have warned.

The UK government is looking at ways of “reducing the financial burden” of the MoT test required annually for cars at least three years old.

But road safety, motoring and industry groups have expressed strong concerns at the proposals.

Yesterday, 25 organisations joined forces to launch the Promote campaign to persuade Transport Secretary Justine Greening to rule out reducing the frequency of MoT testing.

Although transport is a reserved matter dealt with by Westminster, the Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) last night said First Minister Alex Salmond had indicated last year that he opposed a reduction in the frequency of testing.

Campaigners fear any reduction could lead to 2,200 additional serious injuries a year through allowing vehicles to be driven for longer with potentially lethal defects, as well as more-expensive repairs and higher insurance bills for motorists.

The organisations say most drivers are opposed to any MoT changes and that up to 40,000 jobs in the motoring industry, including a large number of apprenticeships, could be at risk.

One proposal involves MoTs for private cars every second year until the vehicle is ten years old, before changing back to yearly tests.

Douglas Robertson, chief executive of the SMTA, whose organisation is part of the campaign group, said his members supported more frequent MoTs for some vehicles.

“We would actually like to see more frequent MoTs for certain vehicles and certain mileages,” he said. “This would mainly be for commercial cars and what is termed ‘White Man Van’.

“The average driver would cover around 30,000-35,000 in the first three years of a new car but a sales rep could have 70,000-80,000 on the clock after one year.”

Peter Rodger, head of driving standards at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), said: “The IAM has researched MoT results and discovered that more than one in four cars fail their test at only three years old – delaying the test would therefore go against the evidence that cars need a safety-based inspection at three years old.”

Stuart James, director of the Retail Motor Industry, said: “Record levels of cars and vans are failing their MoTs. Maintenance standards are slipping due to the lack of money car users currently have at their disposal. If the annual MoT was to change system, road user safety would be detrimentally affected.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of the road safety charity Brake, said downgrading the MoT system would mean “many more needless tragedies”.

Road safety minister Mike Penning said: “Vehicle technology has come a long way since the 1960s when our MoT regime was introduced, which is why we want to look again at the MoT to check whether we still have the right balance of testing for modern vehicles.

“This will be a genuine consultation and we want to work with the industry and motorists to get the decision absolutely right.”

Earlier this month, Philip Hammond, who was then transport secretary, said he intended a review to increase the top motorway speed limit from 70mph to 80mph.