This is from official VOSA quarterly news letters, you can down load it from here Jan 09 issue 42
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/publications/newsletters/mattersoftesting.htm
| Matters of Testing
BIKES, TRIKES AND QUADS
We tackle the urban myth of ‘daytime MOTs’!
Doing it with the
lights off
COVER FEATURE
8 | Matters of Testing
We receive a surprising number of
queries from people about daytime
MOTs, most of which come from
motorcyclists who think that
a road-legal track-day bike or
an off-roader with no lights fitted
must be given a daytime MOT
rather than go through the usual
MOT process.
Exploring the myth
But what exactly is a daytime
MOT? Well, to dispel the urban
myth, we can confirm here that
there is no such thing! It is,
however, perfectly acceptable for
a vehicle to have no lights fitted
and still pass a normal MOT test.
This is possible due to an
exemption in Regulation 4(3)(a)
of the Road Vehicle (Lighting)
Regulations 1989, as amended:
‘Nothing in these regulations shall
require any lamp or reflector to be
fitted between sunrise and sunset
to a vehicle not fitted with any
front or rear position lamp.’
Regulation 4 goes on to clarify
that: ‘for the purposes of these
regulations a lamp shall not be
treated as being a lamp if it is:
a. so painted over or masked
that it is not capable of being
immediately used or readily
put to use
b. an electric lamp which is not
provided with any system of
wiring by means of which
that lamp is, or can readily
be, connected with a source
of electricity.’
You should find this information
somewhat familiar, as it provides
the legal backing to the simplified
wording used throughout Section 1
of the Inspection Manuals, where
we also state that such vehicles
must not be used at times of
seriously reduced visibility, as this
would clearly be dangerous as well
as illegal.
Don’t go out in the dark
So, if you are presented with a
machine for an MOT test that has
no lights fitted, test it in the normal
way apart from the lighting checks.
If it meets the test requirements,
simply issue a VT20 test certificate.
This is, of course, the same as any
other VT20, which puts paid to the
myth of a daytime MOT!
However, in these circumstances
you must always also issue a VT32
advisory notice stating that no lights
were fitted at the time of test. This
will provide evidence of the
machine’s condition at the time of
test, should a future query arise.
Other light sources
Remember, if a machine is
presented with neither front nor
rear position lamps, but it has a
stop lamp or direction indicators
fitted, these must still meet the
requirements of the test.
These aspects of the test, plus
many others, are covered on our
motorcycle refresher training
courses, which help to keep your
skills and knowledge up to date.
See the back cover of this issue for
more information on how to book
onto a course.
| Matters of Testing
BIKES, TRIKES AND QUADS
We tackle the urban myth of ‘daytime MOTs’!
Doing it with the
lights off
