The Ministry of Transport is expect to issue an important this year that will impact thousands of drivers. According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), currently around 340,000 vehicles over 40 years old remain with their owners.
For quite some time, these vehicles have been largely exempt from the mandatory yearly MOT test, under the rationale that they are well-kept by owners and not driven that often to need an inspection. However, the Department for Transport is now asking whether these vintage vehicles should be subject to annual inspections.
The proposal has been broadly welcomed, with respondents agreeing with the initiative to put older cars trough testing. From a pool of 1,083 responses to the consultation, there emerges a widely held belief that “a new type of check is needed” designed with classic cars in mind.
Digging into specifics, 18% of contributors proposed that tests for vintage vehicles should echo the thoroughness of a full MOT or a similar evaluation, with one advocate commenting, “Yes an age and status-related ‘sympathetic’ style MOT would be useful, particularly for classic cars that are driven fairly regularly.”
In contrast, a more lenient view was shared by 10%, who believed a simpler form of testing should be enough to guarantee safe reports Chronicle Live.
A marginally smaller group, 8%, voiced their preference for older vehicles to be given a full MOT, as long as it was appropriate for the vehicle’s age. However, even among this group, there was consensus that classic cars shouldn’t have to pass an emissions test.
One driver who took part in the survey remarked: “A one-off safety check following major restoration or repair work would be appropriate. Individual Vehicle Approval is not suitable in this context.”
Only 5% were in favour of an “ad-hoc inspection when vehicle is used on the road or following major restoration”, making it the least popular choice. The largest share of respondents, 36%, saw no need for new MOT safety checks for vintage motors.
This debate over classic car inspections isn’t new, though. The Federation of British Historical Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has previously suggested that vintage automobiles should be subject to safety assessments, especially after “major restoration or repair”, to ensure they’re roadworthy before hitting the tarmac again.