The Government is being urged not to include vans amongst plans to extend the first MoT to four years due to safety concerns.
Under a current consultation open until 17 April, the DfT and DVSA are looking at options including extending the MoT deadline to four years for all vehicles currently receiving a first test three years after first registration; and also extending the MOT deadline to four years for cars but retaining the current three-year scheme for Class 4 and 7 vehicles – effectively all vans up to 3.5 tonnes.
The extension would save motorists more than £100m a year, according to the DfT, and would bring England, Scotland and Wales in line with Northern Ireland and many other European countries including France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Norway.
In response Peter Golding, managing director of FleetCheck, a leading fleet software and management company, said: “The argument for extending the first MoT check is that vehicles are now much better made than they were even a few years ago. This is true but ignores the punishment that many vans undergo, which tends to be greater than cars.
“There is data from the DVSA showing that almost half of Class 7 vans fail their MoT at three years, so extending the test to four seems almost reckless.”
He added that the thinking behind the Government consultation seemed to assume that all fleets were subjecting their vans to regular and rigorous safety inspections but said in the real world, standards differ widely from business to business.
“Certainly, we believe that there are major safety questions to be answered. By the time a van has covered a six-figure mileage, it is not just wear items like tyres, brakes and bulbs that can be problematic but major components,” he commented.
“Certainly, for this reason, we will be arguing that vans under 3.5 tonnes should stay within the current MoT regime. There are separate arguments to be considered for cars, which tend to lead less punishing lives, but LCVs need a strict regulatory regime.”
