New cars in Britain will have to undergo their first MOT test after four years instead of three under a new Government proposal which could be adopted by 2018.
The current three-year period applied to new cars in England, Scotland and Wales has been in place since 1967. The Department for Transport (DfT) says that improved manufacturing and safer technology means new vehicles stay roadworthy for longer, making a longer waiting period for the first MOT test more reasonable.
This proposal for the MOT test would affect motorcycles as well as cars. A four-year period for the first MOT test is already applied in Northern Ireland and many other European countries.
Figures cited by the DfT show that the annual number of three and four-year-old cars involved in accidents where a vehicle defect was said to be a contributory factor has fallen from 155 in 2006 to 57 in 2015.
The proposal for extending the time period before a new car has its first MOT test to four years will undergo a public consultation before its adoption in 2018 is confirmed. The government estimates the change will save motorists around £100 million per year.
Statistics from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show that at present an estimated 2.2 million cars undergo their first MOT test each year. The most common cause of cars failing their first MOT test is faulty lights.
Read our guide on the MOT test to learn about what it involved and how to prepare properly for it.
