Biennial MOT tests

[Haggisman]

And as if by coincidence, this video popped up in my Youtube feed shortly after reading this thread - obviously these are the more extreme examples, but still a great example of the kind of thing that ends up on the road when safety inspections aren't mandatory!

 

[Doobedoo]

Well I have driven for 50 years and as far as I know it has always been the owners responsibility for the roadworthyness and safety of their vehicle. If not, the police should be removing them from the road and scrapping their vehicle.

Not much point in a mandatory mot then. Voluntary is all that’s needed because everyone will ensure their vehicles will remain roadworthy.

 

[Doobedoo]

The 2 year MOT was touted around 10 years ago and it was found that it would cost more in the long run with the bigger casualty list in deaths and injuries caused by unroadworthy vehicles. most of the continent have 2bi annual MOT's with a yearly emissions test. It will effect a lot of MOT stations resulting in a lot of closures.

No it won’t their is already a shortage of mot testers and mechanics in general.

 

[JonRGV250]

I don't think split gaiters and snapped springs are going to cause a huge accident as such, car might drive weird but overall catastrophic failure would be very unlucky.

Really?
As Andy-mk3 said, that spring could easily drop off the cup and stab the tyre (I've seen it plenty of times).

Here's one I failed today showing exactly how easily it can happen..



That spring is barely holding on before it slips, and imagine doing 70mph when it does.
I did try to explain to the customer how serious it was, but she said she'd book it in next week for repair and re-test.
Maybe she'd read on a forum that it was unlikely to be catastrophic

 

[Hagar]

Not much point in a mandatory mot then. Voluntary is all that’s needed because everyone will ensure their vehicles will remain roadworthy.

My comments started because tyre safety was mentioned as a positive result from MOT testing. My response was that tyre safety should be the result of fortnightly inspection by the driver, owner when checking tyre pressure, if not more often.
The MOT test does also pick up things that the owner may not like emissions or steering and suspension issues so I am not so cavalier as to suggest banning them or even stretching to two years. Some comments are a sign of how owner maintenance has slipped in more recent times relying only on your tester or service manager to point out the obvious.

 

[Stu999]

I went and looked at my springs and CV boots after reading this thread

 

[Stu999]

No it doesn't. Biennial means every other year, biannual means exactly what it says - twice a year.

No it doesn’t. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biannual (did you know section).

 

[Malevolence]

No it doesn’t. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biannual (did you know section).

American English is not English.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

If they really wanted to save money there are much more sensible routes. This one is just stupid. If you’ve been to countries that don’t have an equivalent then you’ll get me.

 

[Doobedoo]

My comments started because tyre safety was mentioned as a positive result from MOT testing. My response was that tyre safety should be the result of fortnightly inspection by the driver, owner when checking tyre pressure, if not more often.
The MOT test does also pick up things that the owner may not like emissions or steering and suspension issues so I am not so cavalier as to suggest banning them or even stretching to two years. Some comments are a sign of how owner maintenance has slipped in more recent times relying only on your tester or service manager to point out the obvious.

Wishful thinking but it’s not going to happen. People should check oil and water on a regular basis but it doesn’t happen. Leaving the roadworthyness to the driver is in principal a sensible thing but in reality people cannot be trusted. This is a bad idea and it’s justification is completely moronic.

 

[theone8181]

American English is not English.

I personally think it should be called americanese. With springs going like that, I do prefer where they're around the damper, than if it does fail it's not going to shoot out somewhere (hope I've explained that well, essentially a coilover type).

 

[LeeUK]

People generally vote for who The Sun, Express, Daily Mail tell them to.

 

[Dis86]

I don't think split gaiters and snapped springs are going to cause a huge accident as such, car might drive weird but overall catastrophic failure would be very unlucky.

When it comes to tyres though, those should be assessed annually. The state some people leave them in within 12 months is bad enough, allowing another 12 months plus our usual weather... Gonna be the cause of even more unecessary accidents in my opinion.

I had a broken spring on one of my cars slice a brake line. 2003 Renault clio for reference.

 

[Iamzod]

Stupid idea, I know loads of people who don't fix stuff until it fails an MOT.

Father in law for instance, driving around on a car with 4 tyres that when I checked were 12/14/21/26 PSI (Specs were in the 30's to low 40's depending on load & front/rear). Car has the ABS light on, TCS Light on, Airbag Light on & EML Light on. It's also got cracks galore in the 11 year old tyre on the front left hand side.

Won't sort it until the MOT.

I don't understand this mentality, I check my tyres weekly, why wouldn't you?

 

[Dup]

I had a broken spring on one of my cars slice a brake line. 2003 Renault clio for reference.

I conceed, my initial comment was short sighted. Although French cars should have bi-annual tests at the minimum anyway

Tyres though are the biggest liability, they're expensive so most people do not care to check them. Giving them another year to ingore the issue could make winter drivng extra fun.

 

[Rroff]

I don't understand this mentality, I check my tyres weekly, why wouldn't you?

Reminds me of a crash awhile back where a Peugeot lost control causing an incident - the MOT history was pretty much that and likely a huge contributing factor as with the likely state of the suspension once it started going was no bringing it back.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

I personally think it should be called americanese. With springs going like that, I do prefer where they're around the damper, than if it does fail it's not going to shoot out somewhere (hope I've explained that well, essentially a coilover type).

SPAMish. The language of SPAMs (SPastic AMericans).

 

[JonRGV250]

And for no reason other than to remind people to check their cars in between service's and MOT's, here's a few from todays tests..

Impact damage to tyre sidewall..



Cords visible..



Yet another broken coil spring..



And front brake pads metal to metal with the disc.
What never ceases to amaze me is that (in this case) the owner completely ignored the initial noise from the metal brake wear indicator (which is loud as hell) and continued to drive it, and then presented it for todays MOT and was surprised when it failed.



I could, but won't, post this stuff daily as it'll get tedious.
But, I will say that the above pics are why we need an MOT yearly.

 

[theone8181]

And for no reason other than to remind people to check their cars in between service's and MOT's, here's a few from todays tests..

Impact damage to tyre sidewall..



Cords visible..



Yet another broken coil spring..



And front brake pads metal to metal with the disc.
What never ceases to amaze me is that (in this case) the owner completely ignored the initial noise from the metal brake wear indicator (which is loud as hell) and continued to drive it, and then presented it for todays MOT and was surprised when it failed.



I could, but won't, post this stuff daily as it'll get tedious.
But, I will say that the above pics are why we need an MOT yearly.

It's quite an eye opener, I think (as a person who's into car), maybe I've put the intelligence of the "average ower" a bit too high . The one with the cords looks like it's almost up the sidewall from that angle, was it just badly aligned wheels, or do they need to corner faster (it is an issue on my old 911, honest).

 

[JonRGV250]

The tyre with the exposed cords was on an old E Class which had lowering springs fitted, and also had excessive play in the track rod end and bottom suspension arm ball joint.
So, yes, it was an alignment issue in every way possible.