No, it is generally illegal to drive a car with a failed MOT on public roads. The only exceptions are if you are driving it directly to a pre-arranged repair appointment or to a pre-booked MOT test centre. Even then, the vehicle must be roadworthy, meaning the specific reasons for its MOT failure must not make it dangerous to drive. Driving a car with a known serious fault, regardless of the MOT status, is an offense and can invalidate your insurance.
The MOT test is an annual safety and emissions inspection mandatory for most vehicles over three years old in the UK. A failure means the vehicle has one or more "dangerous" or "major" faults as defined by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Continuing to drive with these faults poses a significant risk to you, your passengers, and other road users.
Common reasons for MOT failure often relate to critical safety systems. Here are some examples of faults that would make the car illegal and unsafe to drive immediately:
| MOT Failure Fault Category | Specific Examples of Dangerous/Major Faults | Why It's Critical |
|---|
| Brakes | Brake pad wear below the legal limit, significant fluid leak. | Drastically increased stopping distance or complete brake failure. |
| Steering | Excessive play in the steering mechanism, a broken component. | Loss of control over the vehicle's direction. |
| Tires | Tread depth below the legal 1.6mm, cuts or bulges in the sidewall. | High risk of blowouts and loss of traction, especially in wet conditions. |
| Lighting | Headlight or brake light completely inoperative. | severely reduced visibility and inability to signal your intentions to others. |
| Visibility | A large crack in the windshield directly in the driver's line of sight. | Obstructed view of the road, leading to accidents. |
If your car fails its MOT, the garage will provide a failure document listing all faults. Your first step is to understand the severity of these issues. For any fault categorized as "dangerous," the car must not be driven away. For other failures, you should carefully assess if the drive to your chosen repair garage is safe. The most responsible course of action is to have the repairs done at the test centre or arrange for the vehicle to be towed.
