BRITAIN’S MOT FAILURE HOTSPOTS REVEALED
Drivers in Essex and London most likely to pass their MoTs first time, while Scotland and the South-West trail
- Romford, Essex, has the highest MoT pass rate in the UK
- Essex, London and the Home Counties show best record of MoT passes
- Kirkcaldy, Fife, has lowest pass rate in the UK
- Devon and Cornwall also see poor MoT pass rates
Motorists in the South-East of England are some of the luckiest without fail, according to Government figures unearthed by leading consumer motoring site HonestJohn.co.uk.
The site revealed that the Essex town of Romford has the best MoT pass rate in the UK, while all of the towns and cities in the top 10 were located in the South-East. By contrast, the two areas with the highest fail rate (Kirkcaldy and Dundee) were in Scotland, while failure rates were also high in the South-West, with six towns and cities in the region in the bottom 10.
The leading consumer motoring site analysed millions of MoT records from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), as HonestJohn.co.uk published the MoT Files for the first time in three years, following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request and a protracted fight with the DVSA to make the data public. Success in this long-running battle means that for the first time in years owners and prospective buyers once again have detailed access to the latest MoT records and reasons for failure. It has been published in full at HonestJohn.co.uk/mot
The research also showed that the most common reasons for failure related to defects with vehicle lighting, steering, suspension and tyres.
Daniel Powell, Managing Editor of HonestJohn.co.uk said: “While the research may initially suggest that if you want to pass your MoT first time, you should jump in your car and drive it to Romford, there are other factors at play here.
“Drivers in and around London, for example, generally cover a much lower mileage leaving less likelihood of wear and tear, while household incomes are often higher, meaning many people own newer cars.
“In less wealthy areas, some aspects of car maintenance can often be overlooked, whilst in more remote parts of the country the mileage covered between MoT tests is often much greater.”
ENDS
Top 10 regions
1) Romford (RM) – 72.7% pass rate
2) Enfield (EN) – 72.3% pass rate
3) Bromley (BR) – 71.5% pass rate
4) Croydon (CR) – 71.2% pass rate
5) Ilford (IG) – 70.6% pass rate
6) Chelmsford (CM) – 70.3% pass rate
7) Dartford (DA) – 70.1% pass rate
8) Southend-on-Sea (SS) – 70.1% pass rate
9) Slough (SL) – 69.9% pass rate
10) Kingston-upon-Thames (KT) – 69.8% pass rate
Bottom 10 regions
1) Kirkcaldy (KY) – 53.4% pass rate
2) Dundee (DD) – 53.4% pass rate
3) Plymouth (PL) – 54.2% pass rate
4) Truro (TR) – 55.1% pass rate
5) Exeter (EX) – 56.0% pass rate
6) Torquay (TQ) – 56.1% pass rate
7) Hull (HU) – 58.0% pass rate
8) Aberdeen (AB) – 58.0% pass rate
9) Bristol (BS) – 58.2% pass rate
10) Taunton (TA) – 58.4% pass rate
