Strangers checking other cars details

[milu]

Got a lift to the station yesterday morning with some friends. Pull up at the lights and a young chap in a car to the side gestures for my pal to open the window.
He informs him that the MOT ran out a few days back!
Apparently according to the wife who was driving,he'd been behind a while.

So various points on this.
The wife was happy since she'd been assured by hubby that the mot hadn't expired yet. Cue domestic!
Hubby opposite of course because he's now in bother.
He is also a bit miffed that a guy is driving behind,running their car details just for the sake of it. I said some others might be less than friendly after being told the news. Of course he's doing it whilst driving too.

All seems a bit weird even if it has actually done them a favour.
Is this a thing now then? Sort of a follow on from dash cam nosey parkers.

[CanAm]

So the guy behind tells your pal his MOT had expired, while he had presumably been running the DVLA App on his Smartphone while driving.
Pots and kettles!

[Roboticarm]

Off duty cop and your friend had attracted his attention ?

[A1VDY]

Does make you wonder why anyone would do this. Just let others get on with it is my way of thinking. It's their business no one else's..

[Shnozz]

Yes, it is a thing it seems. I’ve seen lots of posts on this very site where people respond to a photo of a car listing various backgrounds from an MOT check. Very odd behaviour if you ask me and I would rather the government had never opened up the MOT checker to be available to all and sundry without good reason. Should be linked to an HPI or similar so you have to apply to have sight and not just be accessed by some nosey saddo who wants to pick through the details to look for dirt.

[V8covin]

Shnozz said:

Yes, it is a thing it seems. I’ve seen lots of posts on this very site where people respond to a photo of a car listing various backgrounds from an MOT check. Very odd behaviour if you ask me and I would rather the government had never opened up the MOT checker to be available to all and sundry without good reason. Should be linked to an HPI or similar so you have to apply to have sight and not just be accessed by some nosey saddo who wants to pick through the details to look for dirt.

Quite different to check the reg from a photo to be following a vehicle and check while you're driving !
What a weirdo

[Driver101]

Shnozz said:

Yes, it is a thing it seems. I’ve seen lots of posts on this very site where people respond to a photo of a car listing various backgrounds from an MOT check. Very odd behaviour if you ask me and I would rather the government had never opened up the MOT checker to be available to all and sundry without good reason. Should be linked to an HPI or similar so you have to apply to have sight and not just be accessed by some nosey saddo who wants to pick through the details to look for dirt.

The MOT history of a car is hardly intrusive personal information.

I disagree that the information should only come on a HPI check. It would be an expensive game to pay £20 for every car I've genuinely considered that the MOT history flags up issues.

[timmymagic73]

Not sure I understand why anyone would do this to another car while driving?? It's totally different to checking the details of someone else's car online...

For example, I sold a Qashqai back in May which was due it's first MOT on 20th Oct... still hasn't been done!

[akirk]

I suspect that people are looking up the reg no. to see the car details - model / engine / age / etc. - the MOT is also shown - can't imagine that many people are all that excited about looking up MOT dates

[Shnozz]

V8covin said:

Quite different to check the reg from a photo to be following a vehicle and check while you're driving !
What a weirdo

I just don’t understand it. When I see a photo of a nice car on here the last thing I am tempted to do is head to MOT checker to pick through every entry.

[milu]

I was thinking the young man might get into bother if he does it to a lively character
Defo not an off duty cop
A bit sad I thought

[Driver101]

milu said:

I was thinking the young man might get into bother if he does it to a lively character
Defo not an off duty cop
A bit sad I thought

Maybe something made him think your mate's car was unroadworthy?

If I had forgotten my MOT I'd be grateful someone pointed it out before I got into bother. I doubt many people would make an issue of it at all.

I don't get your comparison to dashcammers either. I feel they create incidents and then post them on YouTube to shame. This guy had a personal chat.

[Plate spinner]

Shnozz said:

V8covin said:

Quite different to check the reg from a photo to be following a vehicle and check while you're driving !
What a weirdo

I just don’t understand it. When I see a photo of a nice car on here the last thing I am tempted to do is head to MOT checker to pick through every entry.

Agreed.
But maybe modern access to instant information is fuel for the ‘too much time on their hands’ brigade.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

I've done this. Bloke driving like a Muppet and I said to my passenger 'there's something iffy going on there'.
With a few taps we knew said Muppet wasn't taxed or MOT'ed.

Purely coincidence maybe, but I doubt the other bloke did a check just for fun...there's usually a reason.
So...what were you doing OP to raise his suspicion

[anonymous-user]

milu said:

I was thinking the young man might get into bother if he does it to a lively character
Defo not an off duty cop
A bit sad I thought

There are some odd people out there. Followed a guy in a car with police style speed camera stickers all over tha back of his car "Dash camera recording in this vehicle" or similar. Very official looking, in an old banger. He looked odd too. There are just oddballs out there.

[ElectricSoup]

I must be a weirdo. I was passed on the motorway by one of those "disguised" prototype cars, and managed to read and remember the number plate. I was just curious as to what it was under the disguised panelling, and if it would show up on the check MOT website. It did. It says "Land Rover Unknown", fuel type "Hybrid Electric", registered 1 Dec 2018.

So now I know.

[DaveTheRave87]

Do you have a sports/supercar that can easily be replicated?

I once caught an MR2 masquerading as a Ferrari 355.

[Dapster]

There is a fine line between friendly citizenship and being a total nerdy wierdo.

A few years ago, a gorgeous 996 GT3 RS appeared in the underground parking lot near my office. I admired at length and noticed the rear tyres were on the "wrong way" with the unidirectional arrows going backwards. I wrote a note to this effect and left it under the wiper. I told my wife this casually a few days later and she was about to report me to the police for being a total fking wierdo that needed to get a life!! I also noticed a few weeks later that the tyres had been refitted.

You never know the intentions of why people do stuff. Your mate should be thankful he's dodged a £2,000 bullet.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

Dapster said:

I admired at length and noticed the rear tyres were on the "wrong way" with the unidirectional arrows going backwards. I wrote a note to this effect and left it under the wiper.

You could have jacked it up and swapped his rear wheels side to side for him. That would have been an interesting (weirdo) situation had he 'caught' you halfway through...

[swisstoni]

If people wanted something useful to do on a long journey perhaps the app ought to list stolen vehicles or something like that as well.