Throughout the UK, the MOT certificate denotes to people that a vehicle is safe and roadworthy. However, it has not always done so because to begin with the MOT test was not particularly strict. Even when it gradually became stricter, it still did not mean very much because a hooky MOT was quite easy to get hold of. Some garages would pass a car they should have failed because it belonged to a friend and they did not see the harm. A few unscrupulous mechanics would pass a car if paid to do so.
Fortunately, those days are long gone. Today if a car has recently passed its MOT; it is truly safe to be on the road. However, this has only happened because the standard of the MOT has been improved and monitoring of the garages carrying them out has improved so much.
The Modern MOT Certificate
In terms of the MOT certificate itself, the biggest change was when it went electronic. This change more or less stopped people from getting hold of books of MOT certificates, filling them in and selling fake MOTs. The majority of which were bought for cars that were definitely not safe and should not have been on the road.
Previously if a garage wanted to issue 50-100 MOT passes in a day they could do so without anyone questioning them. Now they can only issue as many certificates as there is time to physically carry each test. Therefore, a garage with one tester would only be able to complete an average of 2.3 tests an hour. If they took appointments for any more tests than that, the inspectors would be suspicious and pay them a visit. This is a big risk, because if they are not following the test system strictly their MOT accreditation would be withdrawn. They could also potentially be prosecuted. In addition, some of the tests themselves are recorded electronically making it easy to spot any garages tempted to issue MOT certificates without testing each car properly. Today, if a car has passed its MOT it is basically a sound vehicle, but you need to carry out further checks before buying a car. Remember, the MOT only tests certain things.
To find out more about the MOT certificate , and to learn about how to prepare your vehicle for its test visit the MOT MOT website.
