Dreaded MOT day!!

[Oneball]

As far as the MOT and construction and use regs are concerned it’s a hand brake not a parking brake. You have to have two separate methods of braking the car as a fail safe. Same for bicycles that’s why that guy got done in London for killing that pedestrian he only had a rear brake on his bicycle.

 

[RoaryRati]

Agree ^^ with Saigon and Catman on all counts for DuoSelect and full auto cars.
Any of the outlier three pedal cars must have the jurassic park function.
#AccidentalPartridge

Me too - especially after we spotted our S2000 gently rolling down the hill, but we stopped it in time

 

[CatmanV2]

As far as the MOT and construction and use regs are concerned it’s a hand brake not a parking brake. You have to have two separate methods of braking the car as a fail safe. Same for bicycles that’s why that guy got done in London for killing that pedestrian he only had a rear brake on his bicycle.

Yeah, I get that. I would contend, though, that in an emergency it's pretty useless

C

 

[Oneball]

Yeah, I get that. I would contend, though, that in an emergency it's pretty useless

C

I have had total brake failure in a Beetle and stopped it at a zebra crossing using the handbrake. They do work when properly maintained.

 

[rs48635]

Maybe the chap at Autolusso is correct , about my own "dangerous" car
Lower than specification is Major
Less than 50% of value is Dangerous ?<-- insert almost every Duoselect car
MOT guide section 1.4 last paragraph

Defect	Category
(a) Parking brake efficiency: (i) below minimum requirement (ii) less than 50% of the required value	Major Dangerous

 

[CatmanV2]

Maybe the chap at Autolusso is correct , about my own "dangerous" car
Lower than specification is Major
Less than 50% of value is Dangerous ?<-- insert almost every Duoselect car
MOT guide section 1.4 last paragraph

Defect	Category
(a) Parking brake efficiency: (i) below minimum requirement (ii) less than 50% of the required value	Major Dangerous

Ahh, that would be it. Was working fine on one side.

C

 

[CatmanV2]

I have had total brake failure in a Beetle and stopped it at a zebra crossing using the handbrake. They do work when properly maintained.

Bit different from 2 tons of GT, but fair call.

C

 

[rs48635]

Bit different from 2 tons of GT, but fair call.

C

Indeed.
Part of the reason my handbrake was never working might be the ability to drive away withe the handbrake "on".

 

[CatmanV2]

Indeed.
Part of the reason my handbrake was never working might be the ability to drive away withe the handbrake "on".

Never had a car that couldn't

C

 

[midlifecrisis]

Me too - especially after we spotted our S2000 gently rolling down the hill, but we stopped it in time

H Brands Hatch Italian festival 2018 (?) springs to mind

 

[rs48635]

Never had a car that couldn't

C

This car can pull away; even with supposedly working handbrake applied. Any car with a clutch should at least try to pull down the revs or maybe even stall the engine. Maybe the shi!tty handbrake was designed to protect the DS clutch

 

[RoaryRati]

My 20 year old daily with its 170k miles has just scraped through its MOT - but I had an interesting chat with the mechanic re emissions - apparently they need to be the same as when the car came off the production line. At an up to date testing centres when they do this the sensors are automatically linked to the DVLA (or something like that) and if they don't match the car promptly fails. However at a centre like mine with slightly older equipment the mechanic has a chance to adjust/warm the engine up/whatever to get the emissions to the required level - could make life very interesting for older vehicles.

 

[lifes2short]

However at a centre like mine with slightly older equipment the mechanic has a chance to adjust/warm the engine up/whatever to get the emissions to the required level - could make life very interesting for older vehicles.

just stick the sensors in a neighbouring modern motor in the workshop works rather well

 

[philw696]

With modern cars now being connected to the system via the obd port they know everything about your car apart from which tail pipe the probe is in.

 

[Phil the Brit]

Not any more, my QP failed on hand brake with was deemed major failure. Car could not be driven away from MOT centre.

Can they stop you from driving away even if current MOT is still valid?

 

[rs48635]

Can they stop you from driving away even if current MOT is still valid?

Good point, and only thought of this once I had the new MOT in my hand. In this case my existing MOT was still current but strongly suspect I would have been in the wrong if stopped driving car in that state.

 

[safrane]

Use/Cause/Permission law would come into play if you were to use the car knowing it was defective

 

[2b1ask1]

You always used to be able to drive a vehicle without an MOT to and from the test centre on the proviso that you had phoned and booked an appointment so that if it failed you could reasonably argue your case. About 6 or 7 years ago one of the testers at my 'pet' garage got pulled over and then prosecuted whilst on a road test during an MOT! It got thrown out in court but he refused to do road tests after that. Shortly after they changed to the new MOT test and introduced minors and majors and even if your existing MOT doesn't expire for a month if you get a major it voids the remaining MOT! Yes they have to tell you now that it must not be driven without repair. I personally would never leave a vehicle at the testers as I would want to be fixing it myself. The exception being my van in Jan this year when they ar$e raped me for a set of front pads nearly £300 because I forgot to get the MOT till the afternoon of the last day and was off up north for 3-days the next morning!