Would it be ok in these circumstances to drive with failed MOT when the current one is still valid?

[juldan]

My car failed MOT on Friday, as 3 out of 4 tyres need changing. The note on the certificate is “dangerous, do not drive until these faults are repaired”.
I have brought it home to have it fixed(which is allowed according to the government website) and have ordered the new tyres to be fitted on my drive tomorrow. I have not driven the car anywhere else.
Here is my dilemma. I have MOT retest booked for Tuesday afternoon and wonder if it would be ok for me to drive to work (on route) and then continue to MOT after work.
The car tyres will be fixed so I will have met the condition “do not drive until fixed”. My current MOT is still valid and when I check the vehicle MOT status it shows up on the website, but I am not sure if I can still be fined.

I think you are allowed to drive from your home to your MOT

Take time off work

Your new mot supersedes the old one.

If the faults have been fixed, taking it to be re-tested is the only allowed driving you can do.

As soon as its has a prohibition notice on it, which it has, you are NOT allowed to drive it on the road. It should have been recovered from the MOT station. You were acting illegally by driving. The mot tester should have advised this but ultimately it was your choice.

You can take it for its retest but not any other journey until that prohibition notice is removed.

A dangerous defect on an mot automatically prohibits you from driving.

You could get 6 points, a 4k fine and if you still had the tyres on, 3 points and a 1k fine for each tyre. Depending on how nice the police officer felt at the time.

My DP is an mot manager for a national.company

If you were to have an accident, your insurance will be invalid. Its a bit risky, I personally wouldn't but know others that would.

My DP says lots of people don't listen and just risk it. All well and good until you have an accident. Don't risk it.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests

This says you are allowed to take it away for repairs, but it needs to be roadworthy. If the current certificate is still valid, the vehicle needs to meet the minimum standards for road worthiness as well. I think with the tyres failing, this condition would not be met, but once they are fixed, it would be.

Poor tyres and bad weather = accident = best take advice not to drive for everyone's safety even if you technically could.
I am sure it is the latest MOT that is recorded against the car, so no you can't drive legally anyway - which is fortunate - other road users don't need dangerous cars out and about 'legally', though with or without the MOT you can be pulled for having a dangerous non roadworthy car, just many won't get noticed so at least the MOT is some checks on safety first everyone.

Poor tyres and bad weather = accident = best take advice not to drive for everyone's safety even if you technically could

It won't have poor tyres though. They're being replaced at her house tomorrow so when she drives on Tuesday it'll be on new tyres

@Dartmoorcheffy
I don’t think I was driving illegally as it says on the website you cannot drive the car “unless it is to have it fixed or for MOT retesting”. I took it home to have it fixed on my drive and booked the tyres to be fitted immediately.
As stated in my post I do not intend to drive till the tyres are changed, but I was wondering if I would be ok to stop on the way to MOT as the car will be safe to drive.

Obviously I do not want to get a fine hence starting this thread.

Why didn't you just as the garage to change the tires while it was there? I would change all 4 though.

You wouldn’t be safe if you were pulled over or had an accident.

can you not drive the car to the MOT centre in the morning and then get a cab (or a lift from your oh) to or from work?

@MsJinks
I fully agree with your post with regards to the tyres.
I do not intend to drive with dangerous tyres, which is why I am having them fitted on my drive tomorrow The MOT is on Tuesday so I will driving a safe car, but maybe stopping on the way is not a good idea.

@gamerchick
Believe me I did. The place was called ‘National Tyres’ but they did not have bog standard tyres for a ‘city car,. They wouldn’t be able to do it before Tuesday so I decided to have them fitted at home to save on time. Yes, I am getting four tyres.

You were driving illegally. Your vehicle has a prohibition notice on it. Until your retest it still will have, even though you have had the tyres replaced.

Stopping in the way is not a good idea but you could drop your car to the mot test centre in the morning and go to work from there? Then pick it up after. Depending on distances and logistics ..

Our last car failed it's MOT and it was permitted to drive the car straight home, take it to be fixed and then drive it to the test centre. DH had to work from home every day while we waited for the part (a heat shield) to be delivered.

Tyres are something you can easily check yourself, for future reference, and avoid putting yourself in this situation again.

@Dartmoorcheffy

From Gov.co.uk
“Taking your vehicle away for repairs
You can take your vehicle away if your MOT is still valid. “
According to this, it is ok to take the vehicle for repairs, which I have done. I have booked the repairs to be done on my driveway.

But if your mot tester put a prohibition notice on the vehicle that then overrules your mot certificate. You can take your car home but it has to be done by a recovery vehicle. Your car was not legal to be on the road as soon as that dangerous defect notice was issued. Your car was not safe to be driven and if you had been in an accident you would have been in an awful lot of trouble.

My three year old car failed its MOT last week. It didn't occur to me to even collect it from the garage. I presumed it would be illegal. They've had it a week, waiting for a new part. I've got a brand new courtesy car. Which I must admit I'm enjoying driving!

With tyres it's pretty obvious you've remedied the problem, but not so with other things so they have to make it one rule for all. It's not legal to drive until it's retested. Same with going to work on the way, I'm not sure how'd you'd go if you stopped to get a bottle of milk on the way. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ all a bit mad isn't it.

Don't you have a work mate who would pick you up from the testing centre in the morning & back after work?? If not I'd get a taxi, just leave the car at the testing station.

oh & shop around for tyres. National Tyres charge like wounded bulls!!

You must have missed this bit

Driving a vehicle that’s failed
You can take your vehicle away if:

• your current MOT is still valid
• no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT

Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive. If you can take your vehicle away, it must still meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times. You can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get 3 penalty points for driving a vehicle that has failed its MOT because of a ‘dangerous’ problem.

Most of the tyre places don't stock tyres anymore they order them in. Is your car booked in on Tuesday? If so as its been repaired you can drive it straight there.

@Dartmoorcheffy
The above quote applies to vehicles which have been classed as dangerous - serious fault. You can only drive to have it fixed or MOT, which I did.
However I accept that you think I was driving illegally. I also accept that you think that the fine is £4000 + 6 points or + 3 points + £3000 for each tyre.
The actual pennalty is up to £2500 +3 points or you can be banned from driving.
This is not what I asked on this threat. I was wondering if it would be ok to stop on the way to MOT if the dangerous faults were removed.
I have received a lot of useful answers here, which confirm my doubts whether it would be a good idea.
I will see if I can push back the MOT by half an hour ot leave work early (not easy at school).
Unfortunately , I can not take the vehicle to the garage in the morning as I need to uber daughter to school and get to work myself.

Why on earth did you let it get into that condition? It's not as if it's failed on a part you cannot see or don't understand...
Three tyres??

So much disinformation here....

A DANGEROUS defect - which you have - means that you must not drive the vehicle. It cancels your previous MOT. What should have happened is that you got the tyres replaced immediately, not driven away. You are currently driving without a MOT and if you are stopped on the way to get them replaced, you have no defence.

A MAJOR defect is one which needs attention right away but which does not mean that your car is necessarily dangerous and if the old MOT hasn't run out yet, you can take the car elsewhere to be fixed before the old MOT runs out and have it re-rested.

A MINOR defect is not a fail and just something to keep an eye on.

You are allowed to drove it to the mot garage.

If you drive it to work first you will be guilty of reckless driving.