MoT in Europe??

[John H]

I'm glad we now all appear to be singing from the same hymn sheet - this matter is too important to leave any room for doubt.

 

[maingate]

Look lads,

This is Norris we are talking about. Are we really bothered if he gets banged up in some foreign hell hole? Of course we are not. Just tell him anything you want and let him go abroad.

With a bit of luck he might not come back.

That`ll teach him to call me a tit and a chav. Bleeding TV celebrity.

 

[John H]

Look lads,

This is Norris we are talking about. Are we really bothered if he gets banged up in some foreign hell hole? Of course we are not. Just tell him anything you want and let him go abroad.

With a bit of luck he might not come back.

That`ll teach him to call me a tit and a chav. Bleeding TV celebrity.

Ah, yes - but would your reaction be the same if it was your van he ran into the back of??????

 

[maingate]

I was only trying to lighten up this thread as his dilemma has been solved several postings ago.

He gets an MOT before he goes and the other things are easily sorted (including insurance for when he runs into me).

Tis the season to be cheerful, John.

 

[Channa]

You might be able to get away with the MOT if you say you are on your way to the nearest testing station (although I wouldn't try it). As far as tax and insurance are concerned - you will definitely not get away with it.

Interestingly as Mike suggests in his post, MOT regulations here make no mention of,or reference to the nearest testing station' So it is perfectly feasible to designate a pre booked MOT test in a locality near to your residence.

Hence a trip from Dover to Newcastle or wherever in a non tested vehicle is legally legitimate.( unwise perhaps but legal)

That said,John H is absolutely on the nail with his observations, i.e a visiting vehicle from the UK should in every respect comply with the regulations of its home nation.

On the subject of Insurance, I am sat on the fence, There is nothing in an insurance contract that should catch out any sensible individual particularly since the arrival of FSA regulation

Tis important we dont choose our own interpretations as to what all the bollox means !!Tis my experience that is when the fun and games starts.

Channa

 

[style]

i no in ireland you must have your uk van tax and mot by law but as you want to stay after you mot runs out should have your van moted early to make sure it safe

 

[guerdeval]

Not so Channa, it has to be the closest DVLA test centre to port of embarcation (according to their helpline or whatever its called this week), by the way,in France you can present any foreign registered vehicle for a Voluntary test,might help to prove road worthiness but unlikely as the French system allows you up to 2 Months to rectify most faults including tyres.

 

[CliffyP]

The insurance is not invalid just because the vehicle has no MOT or Road Tax,
The question is, what can he do about his dilemma, I am advising him from from experience and first hand knowledge, having lived in Germany, France and Spain for 23 years, there are some police officers who will wave you on with a cheery smile! But many others will be delighted to see your pride and joy towed away.

In short if your MOT runs out while you are overseas then they are taking a big risk, as the question will eventually boil down to road worthiness and proof thereof and really that is the crux of the matter.

Contrary to popular belief the foreign police do know what an MOT is!

I think you will find that if you are on the road with a vehicle that is not taxed or mot'd the isurance is not valid as the vehicle is not Legal and Roadworthy. If you read your policy its in there somwhere.

 

[Channa]

Not so Channa, it has to be the closest DVLA test centre to port of embarcation (according to their helpline or whatever its called this week), .

An interesting comment. My source of information is as follows.

VERA1994 Sched.2 S.22


Quote:
(1) A vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used solely for the purpose of— (a) submitting it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) for a compulsory test, or
(b) bringing it away from a compulsory test.

It is possible it is out of date. and you might take note I did in brackets suggest it was unwise the Dover Newcastle idea. But there is no reference to the closest test centre.

In reality I would agree with you that should you attempt to drive a vehicle a long distance with no Test, VED most magistrates courts would take a dim view that the vehicle was being used beyond the scope of the exemption i.e pre booked test and you would be found guilty.

I recall a few years ago where a motorist was on the same charge, and found not guilty having travelled 40 miles from his home to have an MOT done.

He successfully argued that it was important the test centre was sympathetic and understood the technology of his vehicle. There where not to many places he argued familar with a 1913 Rolls Royce.


channa

 

[Hymerkar]

Thought for a while you was banging your head against a brick wall there John! However, you got there eventually.

 

[Norris]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my query. I have stopped a traffic cop and asked him and he said I can renew my insurance and tax online. He said that if my Mot expires whilst abroad I would technicaly be committing an offence in wherever country I then drove in, but it would not invalidate my insurance as long as the vehicle was roadworthy. He said that to remain within the law I should get whatever is the local equivilent to the UK MoT, but to be aware that this might not be acceptable to DVLA when I come to re tax next year. Upon returning to the UK I would have two options. 1) book the camper in for an MoT at the nearest garage capable of doing the job; this could lead to problems if the van failed on something that required me to take it away to do work on it. 2) Book it for MoT at the garage near my home where I normally get it done and go there. There is no requirement to use the nearest garage, only to drive there by the most reasonably direct route. I asked him again about the insurance and he confirmed on his radio that an expired MoT will not invalidate the insurance, otherwise people without an MoT would not be able to drive to the test station. He has advised me on learning of my travel plans to get a new MoT before we leave, so that is what I will do. Many thanks to MOST of the people who posted replies, may you lead interesting lives.

 

[John H]

He said that if my Mot expires whilst abroad I would technicaly be committing an offence in wherever country I then drove in, but it would not invalidate my insurance as long as the vehicle was roadworthy. He said that to remain within the law I should get whatever is the local equivilent to the UK MoT, but to be aware that this might not be acceptable to DVLA when I come to re tax next year.

Hi

I agree with the advice you were given by the traffic cop, with a couple of reservations:

First, if you were simply driving from home to an MOT centre then your insurance company would probably not invalidate your insurance BUT if you had been driving around Europe for weeks without an MOT then they would almost certainly take a different view.

Second, a Spanish ITV or equivalent in other countries is NOT recognised on a vehicle registered in the UK. One criticism that many people have of the EU is that it is standardising laws and taking away our sovereignty - as far as vehicle testing is concerned, would that this were so - but unfortunately it is not. If you get an ITV then our authorities could simply say that it means your vehicle may be roadworthy according to Spanish law but not according to UK law! If they do that then you have no comeback. Its not worth the few pounds you would lose by getting an MOT for your van two or three months earlier than normal.

PS I know a retired traffic cop who used to regularly SORN his motorhome when he spent the winter in Europe - so not all the information you get from traffic cops may be entirely reliable!!!!!

Happy travels

 

[biggirafe]

Hi
Slightly off topic but whilst looking for other information related to this thread I found this useful tool which will tell you the information that is showing up on the national vehicle insurance database. Just enter your reg if its on the database it will tell you, it will also tell you what your vehicle is. If it does not show up check with your insurance company immediatley as they are supposed to register your vehicle within 7 days of you taking out insurance with them and you will get a tug from the police if they use their cameras on you.
ASKMID

You can also use this tool to check if the other party in an accident is insured, by paying £3.50 they will give you the details of the insurance company for nothing you can put your mind at rest

 

[Channa]

Insurance, Mot, and roadworthy are three different bedfellows.

A vehicle can fail a mot and be roadworthy.!!!...an example a delaminated numberplate?

Insurers normally require that the vehicle is roadworthy and that bears no relation to an MOT which is simply a snapshot of a vehicles condition at a given time.

All A very grey area, and interesting that your policeman supported my earlier assertation that there is no requirement for a test at the nearest test centre.

I would entirely agree if only for simplicity, Try and ensure you Have a valid MOT for the duration of your stay.

I met a fella who was fulltiming and thought that a MOT in Gibraltar was a good idea and preferable from returning to the uK....Uou guessed it not as simple as that.

Channa

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

Hi everyone you can only MOT Gib reg vehicles in Gib and to regester you must have lived there for 3 months
a happy new year to everyone
fron Brian and Marion

 

[John H]

an MOT is simply a snapshot of a vehicles condition at a given time.

Channa

Agreed that an MOT is a snapshot but it also has a lifespan of 12 months and it is the law that you must have an in-force certificate if your vehicle is over three years old. If you know of any insurance companies that happily give the benefit of the doubt as to roadworthiness then please let us know - in my experience they always look first for ways not to pay out. Why give them the opportunity for the sake of a few pounds?

 

[Channa]

Agreed that an MOT is a snapshot but it also has a lifespan of 12 months and it is the law that you must have an in-force certificate if your vehicle is over three years old. If you know of any insurance companies that happily give the benefit of the doubt as to roadworthiness then please let us know - in my experience they always look first for ways not to pay out. Why give them the opportunity for the sake of a few pounds?

I think you have mis interpreted my post John, I was illustrating that a valid MOT and roadworthiness is not one and the same.

If you have an early MOT done and your vehicle fails does that negate the original MOT ?....A thread initself.

I would partially agree Insurers do look at the fine print on occasion when there is a claim, conversely a lot of people dont take the trouble to read terms and then bleat when they have a claim.

Channa

 

[John H]

I think you have mis interpreted my post John, I was illustrating that a valid MOT and roadworthiness is not one and the same.

Channa

Absolutely agree but whereas we can all make sure our vehicles are roadworthy at all times, the key question in this thread was about the legality of travelling around Europe without a valid MOT. I am sure you will agree that it is a very unwise thing to do.

 

[Channa]

Absolutely agree but whereas we can all make sure our vehicles are roadworthy at all times, the key question in this thread was about the legality of travelling around Europe without a valid MOT. I am sure you will agree that it is a very unwise thing to do.

Absolutely 100 percent!

Channa

 

[fred ee]

Hithree months earlier than normal.

...PS I know a retired traffic cop who used to regularly SORN his motorhome when he spent the winter in Europe - so not all the information you get from traffic cops may be entirely reliable!!!!!

Happy travels

Neither from forumites