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Is your MOT due? - ANPR cameras around Northampton could be checking for you.

Feb 14, 2022

We have been servicing cars and performing MOTs in Northampton for a long time and trust me on this, you would be surprised how often we hear someone telling us that they need a quick appointment because they forgot to renew their MOT.

With all the changes and extensions to MOTs that happened over the pandemic, it all got a bit confusing and forgetting your car is due is easily done. By law though if your car is over three years old you do need an MOT and the ANPR cameras absolutely will not forget it is due.

Does this sound familiar? You are driving into Northampton and as you come down the A43 you see the speed camera van parked up. There’s no shortage of static traffic cameras either and you probably already know where they are. Moulton, Western Favell and Spinney Hill are all hot spots for the yellow perils or good places for the police to wait with the speed gun. So, as you get close to the cameras you check your speed to avoid a trip to naughty driver school. However, the truth is that these cameras do more than just check your speed. They are usually part of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. That means they also know if you are driving having forgotten to renew your MOT.

How do ANPR cameras know about your missing MOT?

Basically, the cameras read your number plate and this is then checked automatically against a national database. ANPR cameras are surprisingly accurate, and they also frequently take accompanying photographs as verification. The evidence they gather is time and date stamped and accepted as proof by the legal system unless there are exceptional circumstances that prove otherwise.

When the number plate is identified it is checked against everything held on the vehicle. This includes tax, MOT, insurance as well as criminal activity such as registered stolen vehicles.

What if you don’t have an MOT?

Here is the scary part, without an MOT you will usually be fined up to £1000, but it gets worse. The purpose of an MOT is to make sure that the vehicles on our roads are checked as safe and without major defects. If you are found to be driving without an MOT and your car also has a major defect that fine could go up to £2500. If you get two fines for this you could face a 6 month ban. As always, the law does tend to have a little leeway but essentially having no MOT means a hefty fine and possibly points on your licence.

It doesn’t stop with a fine either. If you have no valid MOT, you will most likely invalidate your insurance and that often means a further fine and 6 penalty points.

All this may sound like a harsh response just for forgetting your MOT, but being ‘road safe’ is really important. When think about the traffic that builds up around Western Favell during peak hours or driving at night along those little roads around Pitsford or Overstone, the last thing you want to have on the road is an unsafe and uninsured car.

If you are caught by the ANPR cameras that are dotted around Northampton and you forgot to renew your MOT, you could be in real trouble. You can check online at the link below to see if your car has a valid MOT so why not check now and then call us to book your appointment. Even if it isn’t overdue, it’s good to get the appointment in the dairy so you know you are safe.

Check your MOT status here

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status 

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