Getting an MOT check for all vehicles is a mandatory requirement to drive them on the roads in the UK. They should check them annually to make sure they are roadworthy, safe and not polluting the environment. Vehicle owners have to take their cars into the testing centre for them to be tested thoroughly, with the UK going through 30 million tests every year. The Coronavirus pandemic did cause some hardship regarding the tests, and many people did not want to get their vehicles tested since it was quite a challenge to leave their homes during the pandemic.
Some of the changes that were implemented by the Government revolved around getting an MOT test online. Since most of the jobs around the world are moving around the theme of remote working, companies were not seeing the people coming into the office, which was positive from the Coronavirus. In terms of businesses and jobs that were remote working, some that could not embrace the change were garages, while they could not handle them online, there were aspects of their work that moved to the internet. People could book MOT online, which was a new experience but saved them the time of having to travel and wait at an office, surrounded by others.
The tests connected to the MOT system were changed and upgraded at the beginning of 2018, which was the first time in several decades that the tests saw a change. The reasons for getting it done was too many new features that vehicles were being fitted with, that were not even tested, whether it was for the safety of the driver, the protection of the people in the car, or the safety of others around. In the first year that the new test was pushed live, there were more than 10 million vehicles that did not clear it, which is about 33% of all vehicles in the UK, and the reasons were that many people did not know what to expect, with many of the tests not having been done before.
With people being sceptical about leaving their homes, MOT tests had to revamp themselves to match the way people behaved if the Government wanted to make sure that they fixed their cars to keep the roads safe. They temporarily delayed the MOT tests since it was unsafe for people to be leaving their homes, but added rules on safety features that MOT tests needed to take care of.
The cars had to be cleaned and sanitised. Some garages also picked up the vehicle from the house and dropped it back after completing the tests. These made a big difference, and during the peak of the pandemic, more than 1.3 million people in the UK got their cars tested. While there was a delay in place, the Government still made it mandatory to make sure all vehicles were roadworthy and in good condition.