MOT fail - immediate restriction on using vehicle ?

[OddCat]

A friend took his small van for MOT this week. Existing MOT has another two weeks to run.

Although van is generally tidy, it failed the MOT as it needs a bit of welding. MOT place have told him he can't now use it as, if he is stopped by the police, he will risk prosecution for driving a vehicle that he now knows to be unroadworthy. And that this would be the case for any MOT failure reason (so not just some potentially catastrophic brake issue or whatever).

And the fact that the existing MOT has two weeks still to run is no defence ?

Is this correct ? Surely negates the point of taking for MOT early (during the one month window) ?

Edited by OddCat on Saturday 7th January 14:20

[OddCat]

TooMany2cvs said:

If it's illegally unroadworthy now (what's the welding?), then it was illegally unroadworthy the day before he took it in for the MOT - and would have been illegally unroadworthy for the next two weeks even if he'd left it to the last minute to retest it.

If it IS illegal to use, then it's illegal because of the unroadworthiness, not because of the MOT, and not because of his knowledge of the unroadworthiness.

.......so, with each MOT failure reason the tester needs to state whetherror he feels that the fail reason makes the car unroadworthy ? But surely ANY fail reason is effectively saying that ?

[OddCat]

Cliftonite said:

Yes, wouldn't it be great if the PH existing thread search facility gave you a cat in hells chance of finding an earlier thread about the same thing.

But thanks anyway for the sarcasm...