The MOT test is all about keeping cars safe on the UK’s wide and busy road network, but how does it achieve this, exactly?

The government noticed that as more and more people invested in new and used cars and learned to drive, the nation’s road network needed upgrading.

This saw the advent of the first motorways: roads designed to keep people moving at speed and in vast quantities so as to achieve a high throughput of traffic. But problems arose when cars failed catastrophically under these conditions, causing large multi-car accidents which often had fatal or severely injurious consequences.

The problem, they realized, was cars that were unroadworthy, and therefore could not cope well with emergencies. Their solution, introduced in 1960, was the MOT test. Having a valid MOT certificate has become mandatory, hence you need to keep it with you wherever you are traveling in the UK, be it in London or any other city.

Let us take a look at how the MOT test safety-proofs your car.

It Ensures Good Steering, Sharp Brakes, and Effective Lighting

The very first test looked at only three items: the brakes, the steering system, and the lights. These three factors were deemed to be the most important when it came to road safety, allowing drivers to stop in good time should they need to steer their car safely to the side of the road should they be the one to break down, and sufficiently good lighting to see the road ahead, and any obstacles upon it.

It Ensures You Can See and Be Seen

The lights in your car have another purpose though: as well as allowing you to see where you are going, the correct lighting allows other drivers to see you too. Likewise, brake lights warn other road users that you are stopping, so they, too, can apply their brakes.

Being able to see a good way down the road is essential to allow you to avoid an obstacle in the road, be it a roadblock, a broken-down car, or a person or animal, and having good lights allows others to see you, and perhaps get out of your way. Issues with a vehicle’s lights are the number one reason for MOT fails, even after all these years, simply because they are so very vital to keeping you safe and sound while on the road.

It Ensures Your Car is Roadworthy

The MOT test comprises some thirty items these days, and all of them are designed to keep you and other road users safe on and around the UK’s roads. As well to the ability to remain in control of your car, the test checks on emissions produced by your exhaust system, and the condition of the car – chips and cracks in your windscreen, for example, can suddenly expand leaving you unable to see through it, or even at the risk of being covered with chips of flying glass.

While this is not as dangerous as it once would have been, thanks to safety glass, it is still unpleasant to have your windshield crumble to nothing, leaving you at the mercy of the elements. The MOT checklist is drawn up as a result of hundreds of accidents over the years and is designed to make driving as safe and pleasant as possible. If your renewal date is coming up, book MOT in London at DAT Tyre’s website.

It Ensures You are Legally Compliant

Your MOT doesn’t only keep you safe on the UK’s roads, it protects you from falling afoul of the law too. The MOT is not just a piece of paper that you need: it is an indication that your car is roadworthy – and is actually the bare minimum of the condition required to safely use the UK’s roads.

Even with a valid MOT certificate, you can receive a fine or penalty points on your license should your car be found to be unroadworthy – for example, your windscreen got cracked sometime after your MOT test. Having a regular MOT ensures that your vehicle is almost always in good repair, saving you from those potential fines and points.

It Ensures That Other Road Users are Safe

It is not something that one tends to think about until it happens, but the guilt of being the cause of a traffic incident can be enormous – the more so should the other parties involved suffer from severe injuries or even die. Knowing your car is roadworthy, thanks to a valid MOT certificate helps to ensure that you do not ever have to face that guilt. Protecting others might not be your primary aim while out and about on the road, but an up-to-date MOT can safety-proof you – and them – from that eventuality.