The responsibility of car ownership can be exhausting at times. You’ve most likely come across bumps in the road, both literally and figuratively, but perhaps these were only small incidents. Perhaps you’re efficient when it comes to maintaining your vehicle, but there may come a time when you’re not. There may also come a time when you miss something vitally important not only to the upkeep of your car, your safety or the safety of those on the road around you, but important in terms of the law.
So how do you keep your vehicle roadworthy?
Of course, first and foremost, regular checks for tyre pressure and cleanliness are vital. A partially-deflated tyre is an obvious hazard, but dirt can also clog and jeopardise your brakes.
It’s easy to let standards slip and summarise road safety as a matter of your own personal skill or the skill of other drivers on the road, but a surprising number of road accidents are caused by gross negligence in terms of vehicle maintenance. It’s easy to blame the person behind the wheel for their driving, but sometimes the car itself is the issue. That might not just apply to the other person’s car; it might apply to your own.
You’ve been a safe driver all your life. Maybe you’ve never had an accident. Why change?
Many people consider car repairs, maintenance or check-ups to simply be a matter of choice; as if the condition of their vehicle affects only their personal satisfaction. That isn’t the case, as nice as that would be. A car on the road in any manner of ‘unfit’ condition poses a risk to all those around you, as well as threatening your personal safety, which makes it a matter of public interest. As you’re essentially threatening public safety, you could be breaking the law.
You’re responsible for your own vehicle, but that doesn’t always mean manual repairs are your job.
Of course, there are ways to ensure that your car classifies as legally roadworthy, as you most likely well know. MOT tests should be regularly carried for peace of mind in the interests of both safety and avoiding legal repercussions.
This really isn’t something that’s ‘up to you’, despite how common that belief may be. If you get an MOT, you’re learning a lot more about your vehicle than anything you might have figured out by checking your tyre pressure or car cleanliness. Keeping on top of those things is important, of course, but a professional hand can help.
There are so many things that you could have missed when checking over your car.
The reason an MOT test is so vital, if you want to ensure that you’re driving on the road legally as well as safely, is because there are so many strange components to an MOT test that you most likely never thought to check yourself.
You might have decluttered your car and ensured it was clean, but vehicles can fail MOT tests for reasons as seemingly-trivial as an overpowering air freshener. Whilst you might think this would be seemingly harmless, any object obscuring the windshield could obscure the driver’s visibility.
It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes not only to obeying the law, but staying safe on the road. The professionals conducting MOT tests know what they’re doing.
