MoT Exemption: an overdue change or dangerous move?
With one swoop of a pen, the Department for Transport has exempted most classic cars more than 40 years old from the annual roadworthiness test.
Having read the latest Classic & Sports Car blog, it appears that this recent announcement has divided opinions. Autofarm is interested in your views and whether you agree or disagree with our governements decision to overule our classic car experts and enthusiasts.
In the official consultation document, which polled some 2141 individuals, 24 businesses, six trade bodies, nine other public bodies, and as many as 37 motorists’ clubs. It found that only 899 respondents were in favour of exempting vehicles over 40 years old from the MoT, with a whopping 1130 respondents in opposition.
Should alarm bells be ringing at the DfT when the majority of those polled – many of whom have to jump the MoT hurdle each year – would rather the test remain in place?
Even if we assume that all classic owners are well intentioned, the fact remains that the annual MoT is still a more thorough examination than that most owners subject their cars to. And while many owners are mechanically minded, few are trained to spot potential problems to the same degree as an MoT tester. How many of us have been surprised by corroded spring mounts, weakened seatbelt mounts, or other safety critical problems of which we were unaware until test day?
People have also pointed out that the result will mean more pre-1978 cars on the road with fewer being scrapped due to failing their MoT, where we suspect the opposite will be true: without an annual test to fix problems as they arise, corrosion may be ignored until it’s too late. It’s more affordable and achievable to keep a car on the road with regular repairs than it is to stare down the barrel of a full restoration after years of neglect.
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