Dundee has highest MoT failure 12 | 07 | 2016
DUNDEE CAR OWNERS have the highest MOT failure rate in the UK, according to research by Automyze, the AA’s innovative car management website.
Automyze analysed more than one million MOT records of UK registered vehicles owned by AA members, looking at pass and fail rates, and found that more than half of cars in Dundee (53.5%) failed their last MOT, most for preventable faults such as tyres, headlights and indicators.
Seven out of 20 towns and cities with the highest MOT failure rates were in Scotland, with almost half of cars in Aberdeen, Perth and Falkirk failing their last MOT. In Edinburgh the fail rate was 47.4%, with Glasgow 46.5%
The research also revealed that four out of the five UK towns and cities with the lowest MOT pass rates were in the West Country; with Truro (51.5%), Plymouth (51.3%), Exeter (50.5%) and Bath (49.5%), failing their last statutory roadworthiness check.
By contrast, the Isle of Man has the highest MOT pass rate in the UK with 71.8% (failures 28.2%) of vehicles passing their last test at the first time.
And 18 out of the 20 towns and cities with the lowest MOT failure rates were in the south east of England – London (38.7%) and the commuter belt such as Twickenham, Harrow, Dartford, Sutton, Enfield, Croydon, Kingston and Ilford all doing relatively better than other parts of the UK.
“There could be a number of reasons why MOT failure rates are higher in Dundee,” Lucy Burnford, Director of Automyze, explained, “from the length of time people own their cars to the types of vehicle they own.
“However, some basic checks could bring failure rates down and save both time and money. There are multiple reasons why vehicles fail their MOT, but the most common are tyres, headlights and indicators, which can be so easily fixed before the statutory roadworthiness test.
“Ahead of your vehicle’s MOT, it’s always worth doing some simple checks yourself to ensure anything straightforward, like filling up the screen wash, can be fixed in advance of your test.
“Also, make sure you have addressed any previous ‘advisories’ – that’s the maintenance work recommended by the garage during its last MOT.”
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Jim McGill