MOT Testing

Autotech Training welcomed the Government’s decision last week to abandon plans to extend the MOT testing period. When the initial consultation was announced last year, we joined calls from across the automotive industry, urging the Department for Transport to be wary of changing the frequency of the test which has been fundamental to keeping vehicles safe and roadworthy for over 60 years.

The industry was unified in its response to the consultation. Compounded by safety fears, the proposal to abolish the annual frequency of the MOT test was met with an overwhelming call to uphold the current regularity.

During the consultation process, we also called for the MOT test, in its current form, to be reformed. In light of the advances in modern vehicles and the number of alternative-fuelled cars on the road today, we strongly believe that the MOT test needs to be fit for the future.

We are therefore delighted that the Government has heeded these warnings and announced that exploration will be made into modernising the MOT test.

Along with the need to drive down emissions, technology has transformed mobility and many of the processes surrounding the MOT test. Even the DVSA, through the use of AI, has taken a data-driven approach to improving MOT testing standards and the traditional paper MOT test certificate will be a thing of the past by the end of 2024.

The adoption of technology now needs to be filtered through to the MOT testers and VTS sites to empower and equip them with the skills and digital tools they need to maintain the vehicles of today.

This will not only safeguard their businesses but keep vehicles road safe.