First time ever, my tax and MOT have expired (1st september) Can I drive to an Mot or will I be ANPR- fined?

[ashtony]

Hi All....I'm a super-reliable avensis driver. I've completely forgotten to update my tax and MOT because I am living away from home looking after my Mum...consequently I missed mailed reminders to my home address in London.

I want to drive 35 miles from her home in Leigh on Sea to my super-reliable/trusted garage man in East London to have the MOT. He has sent me a text confirming I have an MOT appt with him. 

My worry, about which I have no knowledge, is whether I will fall foul of ANPR cameras and get posted fines to deal with for making the journey 35 miles to my booked MOT? I would MUCH rather go to my guy in London that I've always used and who is right near the postal address that the car is registered to. Or, should I go to a garage local to my mum? My past experience locally there has been much more expensive and a right rip off 're MOT repair costs.

So; Will I get ANPR-fined for sure then if I drive, even to a necessary mot test, whilst untaxed?

 

Thanks avensis owner's.  Tony 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Yes you could be ANPR'd as regards having no tax.

See: https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot

An extract from the above for when an MOT has expired, states:

You cannot drive or park your vehicle on the road if the MOT has run out. You can be prosecuted if caught.

The only exceptions are to drive it:

* to or from somewhere to be repaired

* to a pre-arranged MOT test

Not sure whether, if you decide to return to London for a pre-booked MOT and were stopped, what view the Police would have as you could have booked it in near to your Mom.

[Cyker]

You could get ANPR'd (In fact you probably will, going that sort of distance!), but the law says you are allowed to drive a car with no MOT or Tax if it is to a pre-booked MOT test, so make sure you keep some documentation of this in case you get pulled over.

I don't remember there being any stipulation of a maximum distance you're allowed to drive for the MOT, but it's a sort of unspoken expectation for you to go somewhere reasonably local, so you may get questioned about why you're going so far. As long as you can prove it's legit and you're not trying to spin them a yarn they'll probably be okay with it. Just be polite and don't get shirty if they do pull you!

[essldn]

If you are driving to the MOT centre then you will be OK. If stopped, show them your appointment. 

[Catlover]

So, you at your mums looking after her in Leigh on Sea, but you permanent residency is Aberdeen and you have a nice friendly good priced mechanic/Mot man in Aberdeen. Would it be ok for you to drive from Essex to Aberdeen?  What do you think? 
 

if you do get picked up travelling back to London I don’t think it will be any defence for you to say “half a dozen guys on a forum said I would be ok, your honour”.

[Yugguy1970]

I think the expectation is that you go somewhere local.

If you are worried about being ripped off, is there a council mot place near your mum's?  I would always take my cars to the Rugby Testing Centre, run by the council, not linked to any garage so just do fair MOTs.

[Catlover]

Seeing as you can have a car MOT'd up to month before expiry it seems a bit lax on your part.

Do you get reminders sent to you letting you know your MOT expired?  Mines due 29th Sept and I not received a reminder yet.

Once MOT has expired it is an offence to park your car on a public highway, does your Mums place have off road parking?

No MOT usually means no insurance. Of course if the law states you can drive a roadworthy vehicle for a pre booked MOT, then you would expect the is insurance cover, that is if your insurance has not run out as well.  And you cant get insurance without a MOT.

May be best to check with your insurance company if they will cover for a 35 journey to a MOT station whe there are probably couple dozen much nearer....... after all the insurance company is covering the risk.

Lot to think about.

[Cyker]

7 hours ago, Catlover said:

So, you at your mums looking after her in Leigh on Sea, but you permanent residency is Aberdeen and you have a nice friendly good priced mechanic/Mot man in Aberdeen. Would it be ok for you to drive from Essex to Aberdeen?  What do you think? 
 

if you do get picked up travelling back to London I don’t think it will be any defence for you to say “half a dozen guys on a forum said I would be ok, your honour”.

Well, Dominic Cummings drove 260-odd miles while he had COVID during lockdown with his whole family in the car, and then another 30 more miles to 'test his eyesight' while he still had COVID during lockdown, and apparently this was deemed perfectly legal and reasonable distance so who knows what the police will decide at the end of the day!

The letter of the law says it's okay when driving to a pre-booked appointment, and (crucially) doesn't explicitly give a maximum distance allowed (Presumably because some villages might not have MOT test stations and might genuinely require them to drive 30+ miles), so as long as he's got the paperwork I doubt the police would care, esp. as he's headed to London - The police down here are so stretched you have to be doing something real bad to attract their attention!

(Apparently things like jumping red lights, speeding, riding bike on pavement etc. are not in this list)

[Catlover]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

Well, Dominic Cummings drove 260-odd miles while he had COVID during lockdown with his whole family in the car, and then another 30 more miles to 'test his eyesight' while he still had COVID during lockdown, and apparently this was deemed perfectly legal and reasonable distance so who knows what the police will decide at the end of the day!

The letter of the law says it's okay when driving to a pre-booked appointment, and (crucially) doesn't explicitly give a maximum distance allowed (Presumably because some villages might not have MOT test stations and might genuinely require them to drive 30+ miles), so as long as he's got the paperwork I doubt the police would care, esp. as he's headed to London - The police down here are so stretched you have to be doing something real bad to attract their attention!

(Apparently things like jumping red lights, speeding, riding bike on pavement etc. are not in this list)

I did take into account before I typed that he said it was a 35 mile journey from Essex to London.

Here is a copy/paste from askthe.police.uk

• The law makes no mention as to how far you can go for an MOT but we would suggest the distance is kept as short as possible because even though you are exempt from having a valid MOT certificate in the circumstances described above, if you are stopped by the police you could still be prosecuted for any defective parts on your vehicle e.g. exhaust, brakes and tyres etc. If you call in at shops etc. on your way to the MOT, it may be held that you are using the vehicle for other purposes and the above exemption won't apply. The further you travel the more likelihood there is of your vehicle triggering an ANPR camera and you being stopped.

[Rosgoe]

Why don’t you get it done locally at an mot station just this once.

[Auris James]

15 minutes ago, Rosgoe said:

Why don’t you get it done locally at an mot station just this once.

Sound advice.

If your car does have a fault and god forbid even if fault didn't cause  an accident I bet your insurance would be declined or 3rd party only. Not worth the risk, especially as MOT place near. 

James.

[Cessna]

I don't think 35 miles to use a much preferred test station, in a car that is in good condition, with an MoT missed due to caring for an elderly relative is a problem at all. I am not aware of ANPR cameras being used to automatically issue fines for not having an MOT (particularly as it would catch people genuinely driving to pre-booked MOT appointments). I am sure the police are extremely unlikely to be concerned about 35 miles if the car is in good order, which it sounds as though it is in this case, and the driver is polite.

[Catlover]

15 minutes ago, Cessna said:

I don't think 35 miles to use a much preferred test station, in a car that is in good condition, with an MoT missed due to caring for an elderly relative is a problem at all. I am not aware of ANPR cameras being used to automatically issue fines for not having an MOT (particularly as it would catch people genuinely driving to pre-booked MOT appointments). I am sure the police are extremely unlikely to be concerned about 35 miles if the car is in good order, which it sounds as though it is in this case, and the driver is polite.

Where does the original poster, Ashtony (Tony) indicate what condition the car is in, good or bad. He doesn’t. But he is concerned if, at a local mot garage, it fails and he lumped with a larger bill then if he had it done 35 miles away.                 
Tony has not visited this forum since the time he posted last Friday. I just have his Mum is doing ok.

 

[Cessna]

He said "super-reliable avensis driver" in the original post, which could be taken to indicate well maintained. As we all know, Toyotas are super reliable anyway, so is not conclusive, hence the later "if the car is in good order" caveat. If I was in his situation I would do what he would like to do. It's not unreasonable, and in the unlikely situation that he is pulled by the police he will be on his way in no time, unless he's driving a shed or he has an unpleasant attitude.