4 Tips That Will Help You Pass Your MOT

Disclosure - This a is a collaborative post.

If you are planning to go on a road trip with family, you need to make sure your vehicle is fully prepared to embark a long journey. Family safety and wellbeing comes as a main priority for everyone, hence one of the important things to check that will cover all your vehicle safety check is having an appropriate MOT certificate.

What used to be called the Ministry of Transport test has now been shortened to the simple – but much more comprehensive – MOT test. The test looks at your vehicle with a view to ensuring that your car is roadworthy rather than in good condition. This distinction is subtle, but it is important, unless you always book a service concurrent with your MOT test, as servicing looks at the running condition of the car, while the MOT takes care of its roadworthiness.

To make the distinction clear: a car with a failed MOT but in good running order might be difficult for other drivers to see on the road; it might struggle to pull over to the side smoothly and stop promptly; or the number plate could be loose, not present or unreadable.

On the other side of the equation, a vehicle with passed MOT, but in sore need of mechanical repairs to the engine, will be able to activate warning lights, will be able to stop safely, and the stricken vehicle will be steerable while it is in motion. Furthermore if you are driving in London or a nearby area , you can also book an MOT in London by contacting DAT Tyres today.

With these fine distinctions in mind, let us take a look at four tips that will help you sail through your MOT without any issue. 

Brakes, Steering & Lights

These three items: brakes, steering and lights, were the only three checks on the very first MOT tests, back in 1960. The tests were performed on vehicles that were over ten years old, but so many of them failed the tests that the time limit was brought to just three years in fairly short order. Make sure your brakes, steering and lights are always in good condition, and not just to meet the criteria to pass your MOT! Being safe on the roads also means being able to react to other road users in a safe and timely fashion.

Good Visibility

As well as ensuring that you can be seen, you should make sure that you can see as well as possible too. This means fixing cracks and chips on your windscreen promptly, keeping all the windows clear and free from obstruction (no stickers, for example) and ensuring that your mirrors are clean, in good condition and positioned so as to give you the most comprehensive view of the road and the sides of your vehicle.

Solid Body

Having bits of your car falling off – bumpers, number plates, important chunks of the exhaust system – is never a good idea, and having these hanging loose or beginning to wear or fracture is a sure-fire way to fail your MOT and endanger other road users to boot.

Keep It Clean

Having a clean car is good for visibility – it is hard to see through clutter and treat packets blowing around – but it also helps you to keep an eye on the overall condition of your vehicle. Clean bodywork will show up signs of damage or wear much more readily than a car that is caked with mud. An MOT inspector will also fail you should you take your vehicle in for its test in such a grimy condition, so do try to get in the habit of keeping it clean.

Hopefully these tips will help you pass you MOT. Do you have any other tips you could share?

Michelle