MOT testing is getting a new layer of verification, with garages now being asked to take photographic evidence of the vehicle being tested.
The Driving and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) are introducing the measure following cases of so-called ‘ghost’ MOTs, where vehicles are passed despite never actually being presented for testing.
In fact, ghost MOTs are reported to account for nearly 80% of fraudulent MOTs, including one recent case where a tester and mechanic passed 223 vehicles they had never inspected.
The rollout is initially covering around 2,500 garages, with the potential for photographs to become mandatory in future.
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For fleets, there’s an obvious compliance benefit here, but there’s a wider road safety point too.
An MOT certificate should provide confidence that a vehicle has actually been inspected and meets minimum safety standards. If vehicles are able to bypass that process altogether, potentially serious defects involving brakes, tyres, suspension or steering could remain on the road unnoticed.
And with fleet vehicles often covering significantly higher mileage than privately owned cars, making sure inspections are both genuine and effective is particularly important.
Of course, we know that fleets shouldn’t rely solely on an annual MOT to identify developing vehicle faults.
But could stronger verification of MOT testing be another important step towards a more proactive approach to fleet road safety?
At Driving Monitor, Fleet Monitor and Risk Monitor help operators maintain greater visibility over vehicles, drivers and potential risks across their fleet.
