Not bothered to read up on these yet ..but after wifes car failed ( Major defects) she was told she could not drive it except back home. Now the garage cant fit the work in for about 9 days.

Looking on Gov website it only says dangerous defects you cant drive it and major ones must be repaired immediately ???

I , perhaps wrongly, used to drive my car as long as the previous MOT was still not expired until i could get any MOT works done..

Gov website says " You can be fined up to £1,000 for driving a vehicle without a valid MOT." Does a failed MOT document overirde the old MOT certificate if thats still in date?

Under new rules, a failed MOT overides any previous MOT.

Major is the same as the old fail, you can take it home or pre-booked to a place of repair or an MOT station.

Change does seem to make sense if you accept a passed MOT as a reflection of general roadworthiness. if are still coverd by last years certificate, are re tested during its 12 months and major defects show up on current test, how much validity has the passed test from circa 12 months ago now got?

If car needs work to correct 'major defects' I know i would want it corrected before trusting it carry me or mine anywhere.

Out of interest, what were the defects?

Mine failed on the handbrake last week.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a government plan to get older cars off the road and get folks to buy new cars in an attempt to keep our car makers happy enough to stay in the UK if Brexit goes awry and think of leaving

Quite the opposite, a lot of the new rules don't apply to old cars and cars older than 40 years no longer need an MOT.

The UK has historically been quite flexible compared to many other countries (EU and non-EU) eg you can modify cars in this country such as installing a bigger engine which you can't in some EU countries. The changes have been imposed by the EU to harmonise MOT's across Europe, as part of this process some test have been removed from the MOT eg shock absorbers (dampers) are no longer a fail which is ridiculous, the suspension damping is a critical part of vehicle safety as demonstrated by the Suzuki cars that used to roll over at 10mph.

The DVLA website is still saying I have a valid MOT !

Major defects were excessive corrosion on brake pipes and too much play in suspension bushes (which were renewed 2 years ago)

I'd rather see it as a way of forcing motorists to do more to look after their cars and not just rely on an MOT to verify its roadworthiness.

In theory its possible to drive out of an MOT centre with a full MOT, hit a pothole and break a spring and drive on that broken spring for 13 months.

I do diagnostics on cars and have seen a shocking rise in the lack of basic maintenance over the years - people not even bothering to lift the bonnet to add screenwash - "I just let the rain wash the windows when they're dirty" said one.

Gibbo, you are spot on there. None of our sons pays much attention to their cars unless they come and stay with us when I go over the very basics of oil, water, tyres, screen wash. I think that modern cars are so much more reliable than those of yesteryear people are more complacent and just get in and drive.

Certain generations do treat everything as a disposable commodity