HISTORIC VEHICLE MOT EXEMPTION REVIEW (FBHVC)

As has been reported in recent FBHVC Newsletters, the possibility of exempting certain groups of vehicles from the requirement to have an annual MoT has been under discussion since the end of 2010, with the expectation that there would be a consultation on the subject towards the end of this year.

The consultation was published at the beginning of November with the proposal that all pre-1960 vehicles should be excluded from MoT testing - this goes beyond the possible exemptions that had been mentioned in the Newsletter. We are seeking members' opinions before responding, but time is short and the only practical way to get sufficient feedback to enable us to gauge members' views is by means of an on-line survey, which will be on our website www.fbhvc.co.uk from early December to mid-January 2012. We ask all readers to alert as many historic vehicle owners and enthusiasts to this survey as possible by putting links on club websites, using e-circulation lists and so on. FBHVC cannot represent members' views in the light of this wider proposal unless it knows what they are.

We have reproduced, below, the Introduction to the consultation in full (this sets out the legislative framework and DfT's thinking), followed by a summary of the options being considered by DfT. We urge members to read the whole consultation on the DfT website: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-27 as it is not possible to reproduce the entire text.

1) Introduction

1.1) As part of the Reducing Regulation agenda and the desire to remove unnecessary burdens, the Government is proposing to exempt pre-1960 manufactured vehicles from statutory MoT test, as allowed under Article 4(2) of the EU Directive 2009/40/EC, and bring the age of vehicles requiring the statutory MoT test in line with The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988.

1.2) We consider vehicles manufactured prior to 1 January 1960 to be of historic interest. The purpose of this consultation is to invite views on proposals to exempt these vehicles from the statutory MoT test in GB.

1.3) Sections 45 to 48 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provide the legislative basis for MoT testing. The purpose of the MoT test is to ensure that cars, other light vehicles (including some light goods vehicles), private buses and motorcycles over a prescribed age are checked at least once a year to see that they comply with key roadworthiness and environmental requirements in the Road Vehicle Construction and Use Regulations 1986 and the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 (both as amended). A test certificate is issued following successful completion of an examination.

1.4) Whilst it is important to ensure that vehicles are safe to use on the highway, it is also important to ensure that regulations imposed are not excessive. Currently, both the age and the categories of vehicles requiring the MoT test in GB go further than the EU Directive on roadworthiness test 2009/40/EC, which only subjects post-1960 registered vehicles to a compulsory roadworthiness test and does not require motorcycles of any age to do a statutory roadworthiness test.

1.5) The EU Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council, Chapter II, Exceptions, Article 4 states: “Member States may, after consulting the Commission, exclude from the scope of this Directive, or subject to special provisions, certain vehicles operated or used in exceptional conditions and vehicles which are never, or hardly ever, used on public highways, including vehicles of historic interest which were manufactured before 1 January 1960 or which are temporarily withdrawn from circulation. Member States may, after consulting the Commission, set their own testing standards for vehicles considered to be of historic interest.”

1.6) The estimated 162,000 pre-1960 manufactured vehicles make up less than 0.5% of the approximately 32.7m licensed vehicles in GB that are required by law to have a MoT test. Two-thirds of pre-1960 manufactured vehicles are driven less than 500 miles a year.

1.7) Pre-1960 manufactured vehicles are largely well maintained by their owners. The initial MoT test failure rate for these vehicles in 2009 was less than 10%, whilst the initial MoT test failure rate for post-1960 manufactured vehicles was over 30%.

1.8) The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988 already exempts unladen pre-1960 manufactured Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) from the roadworthiness test.

2) The proposals for consultation

2.1) (summarised)

[Option 0 Make no change]

Option 1) Exempt all pre-1960 manufactured vehicles from the statutory MoT test.

Option 2) Exempt all pre-1945 manufactured vehicles from the statutory MoT test, but continue to demand that 1945-1959 vehicles are tested (unless already exempt).

Option 3) Exempt all pre-1920 manufactured vehicles from the statutory MoT test, but continue to demand that 1920-1959 vehicles are tested (unless already exempt).

The consultation states that vehicles have not been separated by category or by use in the above options, so any exemption would include exemptions for, for instance, cars used for wedding hire and buses/coaches used for heritage tours.

Section VII of the 'consultation-stage impact assessment' that accompanies the consultation includes a statement that suggests that it will not be possible for any exempt vehicles to undergo a statutory MoT test on a voluntary basis.

We are seeking clarification from the DfT on certain aspects of the consultation, in particular on the ability to submit vehicles that fall inside the scope of any exemption to a voluntary test. This was originally an option agreed in principle by the DfT in talks earlier in the year but the extract from the impact assessment mentioned suggests this position has changed.

We value members' opinion and urge everyone to read the DfT consultation and impact assessment www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-27 then go to the FBHVC website www.fbhvc.co.uk and complete the short MoT survey.