Help...
My friend was driving my car (with my permission) and was stopped by police.
When asked why he was stopped, they said that it was because there was no valid mot on my car.
I bought my car from a garage in November 2007 and naturally thought that the mot would be up for renewal in november 2008. The police advised my friend that the mot expired on 26 august 2008. I have never received a reminder for this so therefore i had not had my car mot'd.
the police contacted me and advised that i would be formally charged with allowing my friend to drive my car with no mot.
my friend will also be charged with driving the car with no mot.
(does this mean that i will also be charged with no insurance as my mot was not indate? i was fully comprehensive cover with my insurance)
I have since had my car booked in for an mot (as i was not aware that the mot had expired at that time)
will this be points or fine or both or will this result in a court appearance with a criminal conviction for which i may need to do time...or community service?
this is the first time i have been in a situation with a driving offence.
would you suggest that i go see a lawyer?
please help, any advice greatly appreciated.
Foxierox
Edited by Pugugly on 29/09/2008 at 18:48
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i would be formally charged with allowing my friend to drive my car with no mot. my friend will also be charged with driving the car with no mot.
You'll probably both get a £60 (or thereabouts) fine (no points).
(does this mean that i will also be charged with no insurance as my mot was not indate?
Not as long as your insurance was otherwise OK.
I have since had my car booked in for an mot
Tell 'em in your letter that you had it MOT'd immediately this "oversight" came to light (if you did), and that it passed with no work required - if it was not MOT-worthy at the time, though, don't! You never know, it might influence someones thoughts.
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Just a couple of notes. It is the owners responsibility to ensure the car is MOT'd and there is no reminder except looking at the cert which you should have in your posession.
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You don't get reminders for MOTS. The onus is on you to keep track.
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naturally thought that the mot would be up for renewal in november 2008.
That's an odd assumption to make.
As others have said though, it's not the end of the world.
It is strange there's no reminder for MOTs, but apparently there isn't for expired driving licences either.
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In the big scheme of things having no MOT is a minor offence. It does not attract points. You've had to learn the hard way, but my advice is to converse with the authorities, showing (as stated above) that the car has in fact passed...you never know you might get a warning letter.
Don't for goodness sake do what a surprising number of people do, which is get a dodgy one from 'down the pub'. That means a transition from a minor traffic offence to either 'Handling Stolen Goods' or 'Uttering a Forged Instrument', depending on whether the dodgy one is stolen or forged. Both of those = a criminal record and nowadays are easy to find out.
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No MoT is relatively minor, but a RTA causing death or injury caused by a mechanical fault in a car with no MoT might make the bench purse its lips a bit.
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Lot's of people drive around these days without a valid MOT, not deliberately, but because, as you say, there's no reminder letter sent for MOT's. The police are well aware of this fact.
Assuming the car passes then I would take the new MOT into the police station and explain that it was simply an oversight on your part. With any luck they will accept your explanation and won't seek to take any further action. This has previously been the case for several other similar incidents reported on this forum.
Also, don't rely on receiving reminder letters for tax or insurance. My brother has just discovered that he has been driving around for two weeks without a valid tax disc because he didn't receive a reminder letter. Has now renewed online and sent an e-mail to the DVLA regarding the lack of a postal reminder; to date, no reply received.
I myself recently renewed my car insurance. Four weeks later no renewal documents received to on the phone again to the insurance company. They said the documents were sent out a couple of days after I had made contact to renew but apologised and agreed to send out a duplicate set. A few days later these arrived, followed a week later by the originals.
Don't rely on the post for anything, it just isn't reliable anymore.
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with ANPRS being as active a tool as it is - I am surprised it took so long for your vehicle to be caught...
You are lucky not to have had your vehicle seized.
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Policy may vary depending on Force area but here - 1 month and providing the vehicle was given an MOT = a written warning (smack on the wrist). I have no reason to believe it has changed. That of course is providing there are no other offences.
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What's the power to seize - may be my brain's re-booting today.
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I find it slightly odd that he was stopped for no MOT.
I didn't think it was part of the ANPR system as yet. If they were suspicious of something else they may have checked though.
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MoT details are held on PNC.
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MoT details are held on PNC.
That's what I thought. Does that pass through to ANPR or has it to be enquired about?
If it is now on ANPR then their Flintstones shout is going to be much busier than it used to be.
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Yes MOT on ANPR. Yabba Dabba Dooooooooooo!
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No power of seizure and not endorsable.
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Oh, brain must be running normally then.
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