Force MOT initiative proves a hit

12 April 2021

Humberside Police Federation’s roads policing lead has detailed a new way of dealing with MOT offences that the Force is trialling.

David Williams said the pilot is in response to public confusion around when their MOT certificates expire.

During the first coronavirus lockdown last year, the need for annual checks was paused and millions of drivers across the country had their test due dates changed.

Writing in the latest edition of the national Police Federation’s Roads Ahead newsletter, David said that when the MOT extensions ended, some people continued to believe it was still valid.

He explained: “It was clear that in a number of expired MOT cases it was a clerical error and people weren’t trying to avoid having their vehicle tested. It then seemed harsh to issue a Traffic Offence Report (TOR) and have individuals fined £100.

“My belief was that if they spent that money having their vehicle MOT’d straight away, it would be a win-win all round – the police benefit because they know the vehicle is roadworthy to pass the MOT and the driver benefits as they get their MOT and don’t receive a financial penalty.”

David said each case is dealt with on merit. Officers establish when the MOT expired and the reason why, and then use their discretion as to whether the driver should be fined.

“If they believe it’s an error, they’ll issue the driver with a HORT/1 and request they produce an MOT certificate within seven days,” he said.

“They then report the driver for driving without a valid MOT, but explain that if they produce one at the nominated police station, they’ll face no further action. However, if they don’t comply, they’ll be dealt with as normal.

“The Central Ticket Office (CTO) are on board and supportive of this process, as it doesn’t cause any additional work – in fact, it reduces it slightly.” 

David added: “We’ve been running this in Humberside since October 2020 to see how effective it is and the feedback from both traffic officers and the public has been very positive, as it applies fairness.

“Current figures suggest that around three quarters of the public who have been dealt with in this way have complied and produced an MOT certificate within the required seven days. As a result, we’re now looking at rolling this process out across the Force within the next few months.”