One in ten cars that pass their MOT should FAIL: Garages are ‘missing’ an alarming number of ‘potentially dangerous defects’, report reveals
- DVSA found that 12.2% of MOT test results in 2021-22 were incorrect
- Some 2.1% of cars failed by garages should have been issued a pass certificate
- Worryingly, 10.1% were deemed fit for the road but DVSA found they were not
One-in-10 cars that passed their MOT last year should have failed as garages are failing to uphold the Government’s strict testing standards, according to an investigation.
Analysis of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) latest MOT Compliance Survey for 2021-22 found that 10.1 per cent of cars passed deemed to be roadworthy by testers should have failed the annual check-up.
This equated to almost 1.3million potentially unsafe motors on Britain’s roads, many of which had dangerous defects that were ‘missed’ by garages.
MOT concerns: Analysis of a DVSA survey of MOT testing found that 10.1% cars passed by UK garages should have failed – and another 2.1% were failed but shouldn’t have
As part of the DVSA’s annual survey, a team of agency experts retest a randomly-selected sample of vehicles to double check if MOTs are being carried out correctly.
Last year, a total of 1,732 MOT tested cars were re-examined by the agency to better understand if accurate testing standards are being applied by the industry.
The report confirmed that the DVLA’s panel of examiners disagreed with the test outcomes in 12.2 per cent of cases reviewed.
Of these, 2.1 per cent were cars that were failed by garages but the DVSA’s experts said should have been issued a pass certificate.
However, it was the remaining 10.1 per cent that raises the biggest concern, with these being vehicles passed fit for the road when in actual fact they fail to meet the strict standards set out in the annual assessment.
In nearly two-thirds of the vehicles retested (65.9 per cent), the DVSA found at least one defect which the MOT test station had either missed or incorrectly recorded.
Of the 1,142 vehicles with problems highlighted, more than half (51.6 per cent) had three more defects missed or issues that the DVSA’s team of examiners disagreed with.
Tyres were the component area with the highest number of defects disagreed, at 734, followed by brakes (660) and suspension (642).
This comes after a recent study by the RAC uncovered that around 7.3million vehicles on our road fail their MOT each year, with around 2.4million cars and vans identified as having dangerous brakes and/or tyres.
What Car?, which analysed the DVSA’s latest report confirms that the 1,732 retests of cars resulted in 27 disciplinary actions for garages.
In another 164 instances, advisory warning letters were sent to MOT testing sites.
Steve Huntingford, editor at What Car?, said the investigation ‘highlights the differences between official vehicle roadworthiness standards and those upheld by some in the industry’.
He added: ‘With safety critical components such as tyres and brakes at the top of the list of defects missed there are potentially serious road safety concerns at play here.
‘It might seem beneficial for owners to have their vehicle inspected by a favourable garage, but the test is there to provide a minimum standard of vehicle safety.’
A DVSA spokesperson responded to What Car?’s review, stating: ‘Our MOT Compliance Survey is an essential tool helping us make our roads among the safest in Europe.
‘The vast majority of MOT testers carry out testing to the highest standards. Our survey targets a random selection of vehicles and is designed to identify any problems with MOT testing so that we can put them right.
‘We are delighted to see that standards have improved since the last report.
‘This underlines the importance of DVSA taking action on the survey results and supporting testers with new digital tools, as well as demonstrating the hard work of MOT testers.’
The report comes just over a month after the first phase of the Government’s controversial proposal to delay MOTs by 12 months came to a close.
A Department for Transport consultation on extending first MOTs from three to four years – and possibly making tests every two years rather than one thereafter – was launched in January and concluded at the end of March.
MPs triggered the consultation with the belief that delaying first MOTs will collectively save motorists over £100million a year and have little to no impact of road safety figures.
While the findings have yet been published, any decision to adjust MOT schedules would be the biggest shake-up to the test for decades.
