According to Government rules and standards terms in the UK, all vehicles are required to clear their MOT test if they are to ply across streets and bi-lanes in the United Kingdom. The inspection is handled to make sure all cars or bikes being used are roadworthy, safe, and environment-friendly. Post three years of purchasing any motor vehicle, it has to be tested annually. While many consider the MOT test redundant, it has been made mandatory by the Department of Transport.

The MOT certificates are currently issued in Great Britain through the Driver and Vehicle   Standards Agency. A little more than 20100 local car repair garages across the island nation, employ about 53000 authorised testers to perform the MOT tests and issue certificates to the car owners.

Have there been any changes to the MOT system post Brexit?

It’s safe to say that Brexit and its implementation has been responsible for multiple changes throughout the UK. One of the moves being discussed is Jersey vehicles meeting international standards if they are to pass through the European Union, post the finalisation of Brexit. While most see this move as an overreaction, the Government is keen on making it work.

The idea is still being reviewed and doesn’t seem to have taken off yet. If however, it does, there will be an addition of approximately 40,000 vehicles a year to get through the MOT test. The number of staff currently handling the process would have to significantly increase to manage the overload.

According to a panel of politicians currently reviewing the idea, they mentioned that although the MOT test handles many aspects of the vehicle, there are certain situations where the basics are looked at, while the rest of the car isn’t. There were instances where vehicles were so rusty they were barely holding together but had a couple of months on their MOT registration.

What would it take to get the MOT system up and running for additional States?

While the idea is currently being reviewed, there are a couple of details to be worked out for the implementation. For instance, the number of people needed to inspect and review these cars would be immense since there are a giant number of them getting into the system.

Another factor that seemed to deter the idea was the necessity to MOT verify cars in Jersey. Multiple points of contention were stated concerning the current system and it didn’t make sense to handle additional MOT tests for new areas until those were addressed.

Finally, the money that people would spend seemed like a large expense, not ignoring the deadlines needed to have everything sorted.

If the system was implemented, all the cars driving in Jersey would need to be MOT registered. This would increase the amount of work handled by the current garages and they would not be able to deal with the load. Most importantly, it would need drivers across Britain to shell out millions of pounds to get all their vehicles passed.