Insurers will demand a ‘test’

I think Howard Bowles’ letter on MoT exemption ( Your Letters, 14 March) was a little pessimistic about bodged classic cars, but I do agree that this exemption will bring problems.

The test was introduced in 1960, so you could say that pre-1960 cars were never built to meet the requirements of an MoT – and it’s sad to note that this is becoming less of a problem as their numbers reduce.

However, there are many more pre1978 cars and although they were built to meet MoT standards, without adequate maintenance they will represent a much larger risk to safety on the road.

In the event of an accident I can foresee problems with liability as there will be little evidence to prove that your non-MoT’d pre-1978 car was safe to drive. So I reckon insurance companies will demand some kind of certificate of safety, probably loosely based on the MoT standards of the 1970s, which were much less stringent than today’s version.

Drivers are so contentious nowadays and claims for personal damages for fake injuries have become commonplace. That modern development adds weight to the notion that insurers will soon require some kind of assurance that the classic vehicle was, at the very least, safe to drive at the time of a professional MoT-type test. Of course, the knock-on effect will undoubtedly be increased insurance premiums.