The MOT Certificate
At the present time the law requires that any road vehicle that is 3 years old or over must have a valid MOT certificate to be able to be legally driven on the road.
This certificate must be issued by a qualified mechanic. The reason it is a requirement is to validate the safety of the car and its ability to be driven on the road, this safety is not just for the protection of the people who own the car, but also for those other road users who may be affected by that car should it not be roadworthy.
If your car is three years or over you will not be able to tax it without an up to date MOT certificate and driving a car without this is illegal.
An MOT covers an extensive range of your cars functions and whether they are up to a set standard, this includes items such as:
- The effectiveness of the lights on the vehicle
- The Steering of the car
- The Suspension of the car
- The effectiveness of the brakes
- Whether the tread on the tyres id legal (i.e.over 1.6mm)
- Whether the seatbelts are in working order
- The Exhaust system of the car including whether the emission levels are within acceptable levels
- The mirrors of the car
- The Registration Plate and VIN Number of the car
- Whether the windows are in tact
For full details of MOT's please visit the VOSA website.
Car Road Tax
Car Road Tax is applicable to nearly all cars in the UK, even if that car is not being driven on the roads, unless a SORN application has been completed (see later).
The only cars that can be exempt are vintage cars, but this needs to be checked on case by case basis.
To apply for Road tax and the tax disc for your car, you will need to provide the following items;
A valid MOT Certificate
A valid Car Insurance certificate or Cover Note
A cheque for the requisite length of tax (either 6 or 12 months).
The amount that you are charged for these periods of tax will change depending on the size of the cars engine. The latest cost car tax is available at the DVLA website.
The easiest place to attain your car tax from is the post office, although some of the smaller branches may not be able to issue them, the best thing for you to do is check before you make your trip.
If your car is going to be kept off the road then you will need to declare it as so, this is done by completing a SORN declaration form which is available from the post office.
Driving a car without valid road tax is an offence.
In the event that you have an accident, what does the law require?
Whether you have been driving for years or have only been driving for a short time, an accident is likely to be a traumatic event.
Should you find yourself involved in an accident please follow the following procedures to make sure that you do not end up breaking the law.
If you are the driver of a vehicle which has been involved in a road-traffic accident (RTA) and if at least one of the following circumstances has arisen then you must both, stop at the scene of the accident, remaining there for a reasonable period of time and also give your registration number, your full name and address or those of the owner if the vehicle (should that not be yourself) to any persons who, given the nature of the accident has 'reasonable grounds' to ask for them:
These circumstance are:
- If a person/s other than yourself has been injured
- If amage has been caused to another vehicle or to somebody else's property
- If an animal has been injured or killed that is not within your own vehicle or trailer. The definitoion fo an animal in these situations is defined as 'any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog'
If you are unable to exchange the details at the scene, you are required to report the accident either at a police station or to a police constable within 24 hours.
Is another person has been injured then you must also do the following:
Produce your valid certificate of insurance should, once again, anyone at the scene of the accident have reasonable grounds to see it.
Once again, if you are unable to do this at the time, you are required to report the accident at a police station or to a police constable within 24 hours.
At your nominate police station you will be required to physically produce your certificate of insurance within 7 days of the incident.
You're are not only obliged to folow these proceduresif you have been directly involved in the accident, but also if your 'vehicle's presence was a factor'.
As this may be open to a certain level of interpretation it may well be advisable to complete the aforementioned steps as soon as you can, just to make sure.
A failure to comply with these obligations could mean that up to two diffent offences have been committed:
- Failing to stop at the scene of the accident
- Failing to report an accident.
The penalties for that could be incurred from each offence include:
- a maximum fine of £5,000 and
- five to ten penalty points.
The court also has the power to disqualify you from driving for either offence and given both offences being committed at the same incident, is likely to do so although circumstances will be taken on a case by case basis.
You should also report the accident to your insurance company within a reasonable period of time. A failure to do this could give them the right to refuse to cover you in the future.
The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995
The Road Traffic Act for new drivers was introduced in 1995. It was set up as an initiative to try to help to lower the number of casualties on the roads of newly qualified drivers.
This act could only apply to you if you first passed your driving test on or after 1 June 1997. What it can do, is the following:
- Should you attain either six or more penalty points on your driving licence within two years of passing your test, your driving licence will be revoked. (this includes any points you may have attained prior to actually passing your first driving test)
The passing of a retest does not remove these penalty points from your driving licence and therefore if the total reaches 12, you are liable to be disqualified by a court.
If you are disqualified, the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 will reverts your driving status back to being a learner.
This means that you would have to follow the same procedures as a first time applicant, including paying the appropriate application fee for a new provisional licence.
Should you wish to learn more about this legislation further details are at: http://www.direct.gov.uk
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