According to Government figures uncovered by HonestJohn.co.uk, the proposed new four-year MoT exemption proposal that extends the date of a vehicle’s first MoT from three to four years will put lives at risk.

Analysis of more than 400 million MOT records show that one in six cars fails its first test, so under the proposals, that would allow up to 385,000 unsafe vehicles to remain on the road. Among the most common failures were shown to be brakes, lighting and tyres.

The Government’s plans are currently undergoing a consultation period, but this revelation comes as HonestJohn.co.uk published the MOT Files for the first time in three years, following a Freedom of Information request and protracted fight with the DVSA to make the data public.

Daniel Powell, Managing Editor of HonestJohn.co.uk said: “Many of the common failure items are down to general maintenance, rather than a particular fault with the car. The Government’s proposal to extend the first MoT from three to four years will effectively give irresponsible motorists a free pass to drive dangerous cars for an additional 12 months, without any mandatory safety checks.”

The top five causes of failure during a car’s first MOT at three years were Lighting -169,000 failures, Tyres – 101,000 failures, Driver’s view of the road – 98,000 failures, Brakes – 60,000 failures and Suspension – 27,000 failures.