More Brussels Sprouts Re: MOT Testing
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:09 pm
Just a bit of a heads up for something that looks to be coming our way, probably from 2016 onwards. So far I've only seen this on motorcycle-related sites, but it is something that (if it comes to pass) will impact on car owners too. Owners of modified vehicles should be particularly worried. It will be interesting to see the FBHVC's response to this.
The EU is proposing to replace all national vehicle inspections with an EU-wide "road-worthiness test", which from the looks of these proposals, will be quite different from the current MOT. Standardised methods and criteria for testing are proposed, which will no doubt be stricter than our MOT and more along the lines of the German TuV. Some other key points would be:
- A new test would be required every time the vehicle changes owner, every time it is modified, or is damaged
- A vehicle which fails 'dangerously' would have its registration certificate withdrawn until it's repaired and passes a re-test
- "Minor deficiencies" (presumably the equivalent of present advisory notices) would have to be repaired "without delay" and may or may not be subject to a re-test
- Several "minor deficiencies" are likely to result in a fail
- A car failing on several items is likely to result in the car being declared 'dangerous'
- Water content and boiling point of brake fluid will be tested and recorded on the certificate
- "Unauthorised" modifications will result in a fail
The full list of tested items is available here. Although many of the items mentioned are already tested, there are plenty that aren't. Just from having a quick browse, the last item in the main section sounds ominous for Minor owners - "any excessive fluid leak likely to harm the environment" being a fail, with "steady formation of drops" apparently being 'dangerous'. I don't think I've ever had a Minor MOT without an advisory for an oil leak.
Perhaps importantly for us, "vehicles of historic interest" come outside the scope of the regulation. This is similar to the current position, where 'member states' are 'allowed' to exempt pre-1960 vehicles from the test (as we have just done, and a number of countries have done for many years). However, the definition of a "vehicle of historic interest" is as follows:
- Manufactured at least 30 years ago
- Maintained by use of replacement parts which reproduce the historic components of the vehicle
- Has not sustained any change in the technical characteristics of its main components such as engine, brakes, steering or suspension
- Has not been changed in its appearance
Elsewhere in the proposal document it states "vehicles of historic interest are... considered to be hardly used on public roads".
So, vehicles with practically any mechanical or cosmetic modification will not count as historic, and will be subject to the regulations and test. Even if your vehicle is unmodified, there is the strong possibility that the UK will not opt to exempt vehicles this 'young' (as we didn't for a long time with pre-1960 vehicles), which will mean owners of later Minors facing the full horror of the new regulations and test.
For motorcyclists, this is in the context of fighting off a whole raft of proposed new legislation, including compulsory ABS, 'anti-tampering' (making it illegal to make the slightest modification to your bike), and a ban on the sale of so-called "dual-use" components (i.e. a non-'type approved' exhaust that can be fitted to a road-going bike). Motorcycle road-worthiness testing would be added to the list of EU 'compentences' - currently it is not required, and many countries have no form of motorcycle MOT at all. This will (of course!) result in a huge esculation of the complexity of the UK bike MOT, including for the first time things like an exhaust emission test.
For custom/modified vehicle enthusiasts, essentially it seems that the EU is trying to ban practically any tuning or modification of a vehicle, with said ban being enforced by this new test.
The EU is proposing to replace all national vehicle inspections with an EU-wide "road-worthiness test", which from the looks of these proposals, will be quite different from the current MOT. Standardised methods and criteria for testing are proposed, which will no doubt be stricter than our MOT and more along the lines of the German TuV. Some other key points would be:
- A new test would be required every time the vehicle changes owner, every time it is modified, or is damaged
- A vehicle which fails 'dangerously' would have its registration certificate withdrawn until it's repaired and passes a re-test
- "Minor deficiencies" (presumably the equivalent of present advisory notices) would have to be repaired "without delay" and may or may not be subject to a re-test
- Several "minor deficiencies" are likely to result in a fail
- A car failing on several items is likely to result in the car being declared 'dangerous'
- Water content and boiling point of brake fluid will be tested and recorded on the certificate
- "Unauthorised" modifications will result in a fail
The full list of tested items is available here. Although many of the items mentioned are already tested, there are plenty that aren't. Just from having a quick browse, the last item in the main section sounds ominous for Minor owners - "any excessive fluid leak likely to harm the environment" being a fail, with "steady formation of drops" apparently being 'dangerous'. I don't think I've ever had a Minor MOT without an advisory for an oil leak.
Perhaps importantly for us, "vehicles of historic interest" come outside the scope of the regulation. This is similar to the current position, where 'member states' are 'allowed' to exempt pre-1960 vehicles from the test (as we have just done, and a number of countries have done for many years). However, the definition of a "vehicle of historic interest" is as follows:
- Manufactured at least 30 years ago
- Maintained by use of replacement parts which reproduce the historic components of the vehicle
- Has not sustained any change in the technical characteristics of its main components such as engine, brakes, steering or suspension
- Has not been changed in its appearance
Elsewhere in the proposal document it states "vehicles of historic interest are... considered to be hardly used on public roads".
So, vehicles with practically any mechanical or cosmetic modification will not count as historic, and will be subject to the regulations and test. Even if your vehicle is unmodified, there is the strong possibility that the UK will not opt to exempt vehicles this 'young' (as we didn't for a long time with pre-1960 vehicles), which will mean owners of later Minors facing the full horror of the new regulations and test.
For motorcyclists, this is in the context of fighting off a whole raft of proposed new legislation, including compulsory ABS, 'anti-tampering' (making it illegal to make the slightest modification to your bike), and a ban on the sale of so-called "dual-use" components (i.e. a non-'type approved' exhaust that can be fitted to a road-going bike). Motorcycle road-worthiness testing would be added to the list of EU 'compentences' - currently it is not required, and many countries have no form of motorcycle MOT at all. This will (of course!) result in a huge esculation of the complexity of the UK bike MOT, including for the first time things like an exhaust emission test.
For custom/modified vehicle enthusiasts, essentially it seems that the EU is trying to ban practically any tuning or modification of a vehicle, with said ban being enforced by this new test.
