There is plenty of evidence that the driving public does not believe that MOT frequency should be reduced.

In December 2010, the MOT Trade Forum surveyed 4,200 motorists at their garages on attitudes to reducing MOT frequency. It found:

 

• 92% of respondents believed that vehicles should be tested annually on road safety grounds, rather than every other year.

• 93% of respondents did not believe the current cost of an annual MOT Test was an unnecessary burden on motorists.

 

A survey of 18,700 AA members undertaken by Populus in March 2011 found:

 

• 94% thought the MOT Test was very (71%) or quite (23%) important to road safety.

• 62% thought there would be more hazardous vehicles on the road if the government adopted the continental European system of testing every other year.

• Just 13% of respondents thought the proposed change would save them money.

 

As President of the AA, Edmund King, said:

 

“The Government’s idea to extend the MOT test intervals may be portrayed as an olive branch to drivers by reducing the burden on them, but the AA and three-fifths of our members believe it is a false saving which could lead to more expensive repairs later, and that’s before the safety argument. The Government should abandon plans for this consultation as TRL research shows than more crashes will result from less frequent MOTs.” (Source: AA website, 8 June 2011)