The Importance of MOT and Road Tax Disc in Vehicle Maintenance: Future Studies and Recommendations

1. Introduction

For a vehicle owner, following necessary government rules and regulations cannot be denied as it includes safety checks and taxes regardless of driving the car or not. If people happen to own a car, the first thing that needs to be ensured is that the vehicle has the necessary tax disc and undergoes MOT checks. In the UK, the road tax discs represent a form of vehicle taxation. These are circular pieces of paper indicating the details of the taxed vehicle. These paper discs are to be affixed to the windshield of a car. The details printed on these discs include the date until the vehicle is to be taxed, the tax number, the license number of the motor vehicle, and details of the vehicle owner. The road tax disc is a proof document of vehicle taxation, and the absence of the disc denotes the car not being statutorily taxed. This gives law, regulation, and authority to subjugate the car and fine the owner. The revenue accrued from road tax discs by the government is put forth into the maintenance of the roads and highways, security of the defense, and improvement and development of new road infrastructures. MOT checks stand for an annual safety inspection of the vehicle done by a certified technician. The checkup is done with regard to the brakes, gears, speedometer, engine, suspension, etc. In short, everything that is related to the safety of the car is examined in the MOT. They examine headlamps and reflectors, tires, registration plates, filter indicators, stability, and security for safe driving. There is heavy punishment for not passing the first-time MOT as it indicates forensic evidence of dangerously unfit vehicles endangering general road users. The revenue accrued from MOT checks remains with the car servicing vehicle owner.

2. Overview of MOT and Road Tax Disc

The MOT test, established in 1960, is a compulsory, annual safety test for vehicles over three years old. It aims to ensure that vehicles on the road comply with safety and environmental standards. The test checks various vehicle parts, including brakes, tires, lights, and emissions, and is carried out by authorized testing stations. Failure to obtain an MOT certificate can result in a fine, and vehicles without a valid MOT are not legally allowed on public roads. The MOT testing process involves an inspection of key components to determine their condition. Initially, the vehicle’s identification number is checked along with current registration details. An examination is then conducted of front and rear lights, tire pressure, fuel, hinges, seat belts, mirrors, general body condition, speedometer, wipers, brakes, exhaust, doors, and general safety features. MOT tests cannot be carried out in a garage or place of work that has carried out a service on the vehicle for the last 30 days. No alterations to the vehicle should be made before an MOT. The MOT certificate is valid for one calendar year; the current markings on the number plate will not change; reminders will still be provided, although customer service will not be available over the phone. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy; if not, the vehicle must not be taken on public roads even if the driver has third-party insurance. Over the years, there have been many small changes to the MOT rules in the UK. The Road Tax Disc is a form of vehicle excise duty in the UK that must be paid for all vehicles driven on public roads. Road tax has been imposed since it is believed that vehicles cause wear and tear on roads, requiring repairs, and that people should pay for the roads they use. Due to the invention of the internal combustion engine and the spread of faster transport post-World War II, funding for road maintenance was required. The Road Tax Disc continues to raise revenues for the maintenance of the UK’s road system. It was a green circular paper disc that drivers displayed on their windscreen. Since 2014, tax discs in the UK were replaced by a fully online system, but dead discs can still be seen on car windscreens as people have not taken them down yet. Failure to display a current road tax disc could result in fines of up to £100. With the test being scrapped, it is now open to speculation whether the vehicle tax disc system will follow suit. (Lee & Hess, 2020)(Wishart et al.2020)

3. Significance of MOT and Road Tax Disc in Vehicle Maintenance

Road safety should be a prime concern for all road users. However, road conditions and driver negligence account for most road accidents. Regular vehicle maintenance is one way to ensure accident prevention and safety, and in the context of this work, the Vehicle Maintenance's MOT and Road Tax Disc are explored. Vehicle maintenance checks and inspections were introduced in the UK by the Transport Acts of 1960 and 1968. It was made compulsory by law to have insurance and a road tax disc for all vehicles using UK roads, under the Road Traffic Act of 1988. The application of MOT and Road Tax Disc schemes intends to promote road safety, environmental protection, and crime reduction. (Khan et al., 2020)

Roadworthiness The main aim of the MOT maintenance initiatives is to ensure the roadworthiness of vehicles. It is mandatory for all vehicles over three years old in the UK, apart from the exempted class of vehicles like forklifts and agricultural tractors. During the MOT certification examination, 20 items regarding the vehicle's functionality, security, and braking system are checked by a licensed engineer. Vehicle owners can repair the defects pointed out in the examination by investing about £335; however, if the defects are more expensive to repair, vehicle owners can scrap the vehicle. (Solah et al.2021)

In the case of a more severe failure, vehicle owners should repair it within ten working days or face a fine of up to £1,000 if a car is caught by roadside checks. Similarly, motorcycle and goods vehicle failures have harsher punishments. The Road Tax Disc scheme supports the MOT scheme, as proof of road tax disc, insurance coverage, and vehicle fitness are compulsory for all vehicles to be on the road. Annually, the notarized statutory off-road notification should notify that the vehicle is not being used on the road; otherwise, a road tax disc and an £800 fine may apply. (Manville & Pinski, 2021)

Legal Compliance and Consequences If there are no road tax discs in vehicles over £20,000, vehicle owners can face up to a £5,000 fine and the crushing of the vehicle, as well as a breach of driving without insurance. Apart from these charges, imprisonment for criminal offenses can be for longer durations. Such consequences for breaches of laws have decreased road safety violations. The MOT scheme, which begins with tracking numbers, has been proving standards against bribery, as it takes an average of eight days to complete. The digitized Road Tax, insurance, and MOT certificate systems are interlinked, and the police can track the entire records during road checks automatically, which indicates improved applications. (Attwood, 2021)

3.1. Ensuring Roadworthiness

One of the primary purposes of both the MOT and the road tax disc is to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy and in a condition fit to drive on public roads. Ensuring roadworthiness is a major issue with regard to vehicle maintenance, as unroadworthy vehicles represent a safety hazard to other road users and the driver, as well as contributing to negative environmental effects. Vehicle maintenance should be conducted by the driver of the vehicle as a condition of driving. It is the responsibility of everyone using public roads to ensure their vehicles can drive safely and without damaging the environment. (Cavender & Haggerty, 2023)

The vehicle maintenance that must be conducted is covered in large part by the Road Traffic Act and its many subsequent amendments. The Act covers the works that must be completed, as well as the frequency with which they must be conducted. Though this may vary based on the year, make, and model of the vehicle, there are vehicle maintenance issues that are common to many vehicles on the road, such as brakes, steering, and emissions. Some aspects of vehicle maintenance, such as brake pad wear, are not visible from an outside examination of the vehicle, and therefore an MOT check is required to determine their state. Ensuring the roadworthiness of vehicles through an MOT check would prevent such vehicles from driving publicly in many instances. At the time of writing, the government estimates nearly 40% of vehicles on the road do not have a valid MOT or road tax disc, representing a significant risk to public safety. (Gómez–Huélamo et al.2021)

Ensuring vehicle roadworthiness and conducting vehicle maintenance is directly relevant to the upkeep of public vehicles, though vehicle maintenance should be viewed as best practice among owners of all vehicles that drive on public roads. Businesses such as bus services and haulage services are responsible for their vehicles not affecting public safety. Vehicles maintained by businesses pose reduced risks to public safety, though the maintenance is required nonetheless. (Sopjani et al., 2020)

3.2. Legal Compliance and Consequences

The legal ramifications of neglecting the MOT and road tax disc obligations can be extensive and severe. Driving a vehicle that lacks a valid MOT certificate or the proper road tax disc can lead to fines and penalties from authorities. In the UK, one can be fined up to £1,000 for operating a vehicle with an invalid MOT or £2,500 for doing so without insurance. Furthermore, prosecution under section 47 of the Road Traffic Act can result in fines of up to £5,000 and points on one’s driving license. Continuous failure to comply can lead to a shattering £5,000 maximum fine. If the vehicle is declared 'off the road,' one can be further subjected to a £1,000 maximum fine and a maximum £2,500 penalty for not displaying a 5-year physical registration. (Cavender & Haggerty, 2023)

In addition to financial penalties, the ramifications of avoiding MOT and road tax disc obligations can also have dire effects on one’s insurance policy. Most insurance policies stipulate that the vehicle must possess a valid MOT and road tax disc. Failure to comply can lead the insurance company to declare the policy invalid, putting the vehicle owner and other road users at risk.

In summary, the importance of MOT and road tax disc obligations should not be overlooked. The potential consequences of neglecting them can have lasting repercussions. Therefore, to ensure safe and legal driving conditions, all vehicle owners should adhere to these obligations. It has been proposed that future studies employ policies to improve awareness among vehicle owners of the significance of the MOT and road tax disc. Possible recommendations include legislative settings, influence policies, and education and awareness campaigns.

4. Current Issues and Challenges

The importance of MOT testing cannot be understated, as ultimately it is a check for both safety and environmental purposes, and needs to be carried out once a year on cars over 3 years old. MOT test safety factors include: body structure, steering, brakes, wheels, lighting, seatbelts, mirrors, etc. Changes in the law could affect MOT testing requirements, lengths, and costs where some motor vehicles would only require initial assessment. In the main, adjustments would pass more vehicles and demand fewer checks. In respect of the road tax disc, many drivers still do not know how to read their vehicle’s tax test certificate. The problem is actually worse than a lack of independent information. Unlike the noise test, there is no control or independent verification of the system. All that exists for compliance checking is the need for compliance with guidance on print quality inspection at the time of manufacturing. In this context, it gives the impression that something is being done when in fact nothing is. As a result, the current situation runs the risk of a tragic repetition of the “no one saw it coming” culture which followed the storm surge tragedy. The initial vehicle requirement data supplied to all contractors was, on average, fourfold greater than the actual implementation contract value. The position pertaining to compensation for the additional work incurred by these contractors after the awarding of the contract and commencement of vehicle fittings appears to be hardening, and discussions regarding the introduction of a smaller implementation level were unequivocally opposed. (Rahman et al.2021)(Dendorfer et al.2021)

5. Future Studies and Research Directions

This chapter summarizes the importance of future studies and research directions in the field of MOT and road tax discs. Technological innovations such as automatic recognition systems and new testing procedures can enhance MOT systems. Policy and regulatory changes can enable extensions to cover new vehicles and changing contexts. The combination of these two types of improvements is suggested. There is a further need for studies to be conducted in new countries in addition to existing techniques.

Future studies are suggested in the field of MOT and road tax discs. Two important areas are identified, one focusing on technological innovations and the other on policy and regulatory changes. Recent years have witnessed the introduction of technological innovations into existing manual city center road toll systems in various countries, for example, by introducing automatic vehicle class recognition systems in conjunction with ANPR systems. However, these innovations typically do not alter the basic functioning of the system and just aim at enhancing the MOT. There are further innovations that would change the existing MOT systems drastically. These involve the introduction of better new traffic enforcement technology as a replacement for the existing vehicle registration plate recognition systems, such as detecting new vehicle characteristics from the radar signal of the vehicle coming to the toll point, i.e., vehicle class characteristics. Thus, there is still a need for studies to be conducted in this area. (Cavender & Haggerty, 2023)(Irani et al.2023)

Due to regulatory and policy changes, there may be a need to extend existing MOT systems to cover new kinds of vehicles or changing contexts. This is the case in regard to the now transportable road user charge systems based on 5.9 GHz DSRC technology, which was initiated by several European countries. As soon as there is a need to extend policy or regulatory road tolls to cover new kinds of vehicles or changing contexts, as illustrated by the current introduction of the Euro I standard for all vehicles, it is feasible for new vehicles to install an OBE. However, it would mean drastic changes to the operation of existing vehicle registration plate-based road toll systems, as vehicles registered before 1994, the year when Euro I was implemented, would fall outside the new system. Consequently, these vehicles would simply not be tollable within the new European highway charge context. As manual toll enforcement was carried out on an international highway section with privately owned and wholesale operated toll gates so far, road tax disc reconciliation in the highway context is a totally new area for established MOT policy and regulations, as toll and road tax reconciliation were previously only considered within countries, and relatively simple specific national traffic enforcement technology was used. Therefore, existing vehicle registration plate-based road tax discs should be extended to cover also vehicles of the new types. There is still room for further studies in this context.

5.1. Technological Innovations

The analysis and research findings indicate that there is a need to improve service facility performance and service quality with the aim of increasing MOT uptake. In order to achieve this, future studies should address the role of technological innovations in the development of MOT. It is believed that in the near future, the provision of interim and full MOT services will be automated and safety checks will be performed automatically by the onboard computerized system of the vehicle, and then passed to the relevant authorities. Such vehicle regulations are expected to become obligatory in the framework of applicable law, as in other common safety checks of the vehicle such as insurance cover. Technological innovations are likely to reduce costs of the interim and full MOT checks and services in the network of service providers where it is not already widely implemented. However, it may have a potentially negative impact on the safety upgrade and maintenance of older vehicles. (Feng & Magee, 2020)

At present, an increasing number of automotive manufacturers are negotiating with relevant organizations to introduce innovative technologies allowing for the measurement of safety standardization, servicing, and monitoring of its correct performance through the Internet. The assessment of the vehicle’s technical state will be performed in the initial and continued monitoring of the performance of the electronic safety systems of the vehicle. Following the six-year period of comprehensive monitoring of the performance of safety electronic systems through onboard capabilities, the accumulated data allowing for proper benchmarking of vehicle use in terms of mileage over harsh weather and road conditions presents a sufficient basis for the evaluation of standards of vehicle use. In addition, the continuation of the monitoring period and gathering the data is expected to point out the change in performance and ensure the assessment of safety standardization through its systematic regression. Inhibiting continued monitoring is going to result in the neglect of the currently needed follow-up checks required for full MOT pass assurance.

5.2. Policy and Regulatory Changes

The plans for a future digital MOT and road tax disc involve improving the method in which vehicles are regulated for road safety and tax purposes by supplying a digital record for the driver of the vehicle instead of the traditional paper format. Despite the government’s wishes to change to a fully digital system, there have been small improvements that have only begun to reduce this reliance on paper. Expansions for small number plates to be declared invalid by driving on certain roads were added recently; however, this requires a more substantial study and changes to how those that produce number plates are regulated to be reactionary against new plate styles. A future in which NAV technology is fully realized would mean that unfit vehicles cannot be driven, so it would be good to change where the responsibility of regulations of a vehicle goes. Outside of lobbying manufacturers to create systems where only safe and fit vehicles are allowed on the road, the best approach would be to make the MOT part of the vehicle registration. In certain countries and states, vehicles have to be inspected by a licensed garage to assess their fitness for the road and are given a stamp of approval that is sent to the state. This means the state knows every vehicle’s upkeep, and there is no reliance on drivers doing it themselves.

Substantial changes to policy and regulations should be processed to help maintain these technological innovations. Furthermore, improvements should be made to lock in and change policy and regulations from the best supporting technology to the best that will increase equality and safety on the road. For example, if next-generation LIDAR is taken up by all manufacturers, laws around LIDAR should be implemented to boost expansion and development of the technology, continuing the positive effects of stopping crashes. Consideration must be given to security in a transition to a safer road future to avoid replacing one dangerous system with another. Another example to limit this change from merely preventing the accidents that wreck vehicles and kill drivers and passengers is to subsidize the market by improving public transport and ride-hailing. Transport for London is showing this with their services, meaning that with new technology in autonomous and electrified public transport, safer vehicles can be given control of a dangerous and complex set of roads. Also, there should be regulations on how much competing transport can charge, and vehicle size and trailer limits for shared transport such as buses so that people cannot disrupt potentially life-saving innovative vehicle technologies.

6. Recommendations for Improving the System

The following recommendations can help improve the current vehicle safety and pollution control system. Firstly, the background data can be further used to develop more advanced versions of the proposed models and information system. Also, the models can be applied elsewhere in conjunction with similar background data to explore the extent of various influences on the performance of MOT, road tax, and vehicle ownership policies. Secondly, it is essential to study new regulations or policies before their implementation, based on an understanding of how they interact with existing policies. This will help understand the consequences of policies before they are implemented and allow for optimization of implementation. Policy trade-offs can also be explored through such analyses. Thirdly, a better understanding of vehicle ownership policies' effects is of considerable interest to many countries with large numbers of vehicles. This includes attempts to maximize the potential impacts of vehicle ownership policies through knowledge of previous experiences in similar environments. Fourthly, upon the implementation of TBAT, it may be good to revisit the proposed analyses. Since it is unclear when and how such a technology is likely to be implemented, scenarios for and impacts of TBAT can be devised here as well. Finally, aside from vehicle ownership, it can be interesting to study how air quality is influenced by transport company driving behavior, public transport, or emission trading. These factors have not been considered in this study's background, but many of them can be included in an extended analysis.

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