When does a mot'd vehicle become classed as unroadworthy?

That's the way I look at it, it won't be getting used till it's fixed. The only time it will be driven is a mile down the road to the welder I know when I get some money to fix it.

If the vehicle has structural defects that make it unsafe (effectively something that would fail an MOT) then it would be illegal on the road. If you were stopped you wouldn't be done for no MOT as it has one, but you could be prosecuted for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

I was under the impression the old MOT was still valid, but you shouldn't be driving the car without fixing the defects first. Have you got a link to a reputable source detailing the change?

It's a vehicle owner's duty to ensure the car is roadworthy at all times, so the OP shouldn't be driving the car until it's fixed.

^^^^ it hasn't been presented for an Mot and failed the OP has just had a poke at the sills and made some holes.
If you got stopped it would be a driving a defective vehicle type offence.

Interesting. Perhaps they have taken a slightly different view to what was originally the case as before getting the MOT done early was a waste of time just in case it failed.
Depending on what it failed on makes a difference at least if you do get pulled over. A new tyre is obvious but a welded patch under the car is only going to be seen if the car is on a ramp.

Thanks for digging those examples out although I think if a car of mine was to fail on something I wouldn't want the hassle of having to prove whatever it was had been fixed.

What they have done seem fairly sensible for a change !

The answer to the original question is "Whenever a vehicle falls into a condition that would render it failing an MOT test if presented in that condition".

So the rust in question, if having sharp edges or being on or near the structural areas covered by the MOT, would mean the vehicle IS in Unroadworthy Condition and should not be used on a Public Road.

You could get a new MOT, do a massive burnout in the the Test Station car park until the cords were hanging out of the tyres, and in that instant your vehicle is classified as Unroadworthy and you risk relevant authorities if caught driving it on the road.

MOT Certificates are never invalidated, however your vehicle can be deemed Dangerous for Road Use and require a re-test before being allowed back onto the roadm and in that case the new Cert overwrites the old one, as would any test taken within the 11 months after your original test.

Regarding the database, if your vehicle failed a test with a valid Certificate still in place, the MOT expiry date would still remain and it would show as having a current MOT, however the latest entry in the MOT history would show a Fail.

hi, ive been a motorcycle courier in london for about 20 years on and off and i have to say that int he eyes of the law(the courts and the traffic police) that mot certificates mean very little.

most of my bikes after a period become ratbikes, completely legal with nice components etc though lacking the appearance of your typical shiney sports bike.

painting a bike matt black years ago will draw attention to the traffic police who will then issue you with a prohibtion notice for what they call a loose chain or something. not that they are mechanics or even bikers, but it is in their power to put you off the road and out of business because your appearence doesnt fit in with the majority of road users.

ive known the police to prohibit a bike that had a blown tail bulb even and on a motorbike how are you supposed to know when thats happened unless someone is kind enough to poinit it out to you...

ive had an mot on a bike one day and a prohibtion notice on it the very same day, not that anything was wrong with my bike but it was the traffic officers opinion that my bike looked unsafe.

i have had a bike on which i collected 8 prohibition notices on despite it being mot'd literally by the book with the book open out in front of the bike, measuring everything from play in bearings to the length that the mudguard extends beyond the front spindle.

an mot can become invalid the moment you leave the place of issue.

i received a fine on one bike from a court who added that i should never put this bike on the road again due to its 'dangerous condition' lol. not something that a court is allowed to tell you ever and ive been told the same by traffic police.

ps: if you want to find out if your camper is road legal, just pull up next to a traffic car and point out your sills to them and I'm sure that theyll happily issue you with a fine and have you cart your vehicle off on a flat bed as they wont allow you to drive it a inch if its not roadworthy.

i think prohibtion notices are the thing you might want to worry about if your sills are dangerously rotting.

what use to be a notice to repair your vehicle within a specified time is now a discontinued procedure and instead, especially in central london, its normal to have a notice slapped on it in which case youll have to have the vehicle re-mot'd.

ive had a prohibtion issued when i once refused to move off a yellow line that i legally had 20 minutes on. it does happen lol

I seems as so Stinkynails is living in his own little dream word, for starters police can not issue them just because it looks unsafe they have to be mechanically trained and state the exact reason for it nor can a vehicle receive one for length of mudguard as they are not a legal requirement

Also police can issue a ticket given you 14 days to effect repairs and having a PG9 does not mean it will be towed it just means you can't use it until fixed, you can repair it there and then and it doesn't have to be retested it is the item that has been noted that has to be checked. being in London doesn't mean the rules are any different to elsewhere in the UK.

If you did receive 8 prohibitions on one bike then there was obviously 8 different occasions there was a fault that police picked up on, the fact you had 'mot'd literally by the book with the book open out in front of the bike'(?) means that the faults were with other items that are not tested or you modified the bike post test. or you are known to the police and keep giving them a reason to pull you.

a prohibition order requires that you not use the vehicle until you have been issued a new MOT certificate and rectified the faults outlined by the police in the prohibtion notice. so unless you are fotunate enough to pick up a notice right outside an MOT station you will indeed be calling for transport.

when its happened to me i have once been within pushing distance of a workshop and was followed most of the way to it.

i have once been given a prohibtion notice for have low brake pads and even had pads in my courier bag which i offered to fit, but was instead given a prohibtion so i can promise you that i am not living in a dream world.

yes dolly there is a book that sets all MOT standards, they are not made up on the whim of the examiner and ive seen the size of the book on that one occassion where it was brought out to determine how exact the tolerances were on my bike at the time.

as stated aleady, ive been with another courier while he was having a prohibition put on his bike for havingn a blown tail light.

the fact is that once a traffic police officer 'qualified' to issue prohibition notices says that your vehicle is defective and issues you the notice you have no recourse and youll only find that youll be putting your point across to a judge who doesnt know the difference between an artic and a tricycle. ...at your expense.

speaking from experience and that this has been a complete reality for myself and others close to me who work as riders and drivers in central london i can promise you that this is the way it is.

if you leave an MOT station with a shiny new certificate and get a nail in your tyre before you leave the kerb, then your MOT is invalid.

if you leave the MOT station with a slight oil leak and a policeman doesnt like the look of it and says it is a danger and issues you with a prohibition notice, then your MOT is invalid and you will have to have your vehicle recovered and re MOT'd.

ha ha! a mud guard isnt a legal requirement? i can say whether that is true or not but if you have one in place then i can tell you it has to extend beyond the front spindle by x cms.

its not an mot requirement to have a windscreen either but youll get screwed if you turn up with a chip in the wrong place and try tell that to the examiner....even funnier, try explaining that to a traffic officer lol.

prohibtion i promise you