One-year exemption for car owners whose MOT expires during test centre shutdown
DRIVERS whose Mots are due during the pandemic shutdown will enjoy a one-year exemption, it has been announced.
It would not be possible to accommodate the backlog as well as conduct normal business at testing centres, Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said.
Drivers will instead apply for Mots as normal next year.
Ms Mallon said: “I have decided the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) will continue to issue temporary exemption certificates (TECS) to those vehicles, private cars, goods vehicles, trailers or motorcycles until their normal MOT date.
“This means a
vehicle
will get an exemption for one year which will bring it back into the system when there is capacity to test it.”
On March 24, in the interest of public safety and to tackle the spread of coronavirus, the DVA suspended all vehicle testing for three months until June 22.
It remains the responsibility of the vehicle owner to make sure their car is in a roadworthy condition to continue to be used on a road.
Ms Mallon said from this month reduced red tape will mean “customers will no longer have to book a test that they know they will never attend and pay over money only for it to be returned to them in a refund some weeks later”.
She added the DVA will lose £8.6m in MOT fees if the restrictions on testing continue for three months.
The minister also said she wanted to increase the space available for people to walk and cycle by extending pavements,