Keep Your Car Running

Keeping your car properly maintained is essential to road saftey – and it will ensure you are driving legally on the roads.
Vehicle spot-checks are becoming increasingly popular with the police so it is essential your car and documentation is all in order, you could face a fine, a driving ban, or even a prison sentence if it is not.
There are a number of legal requirements you must meet in order to keep your vehicle on the road – many well known but others not.

MOT
Cars that are less than three years old (starting from the date of its initial registration) will not require an MOT. However, at the end of its third year, you will need to book the car in for its MOT test. Your car will then require a MOT test every year from then onwards, in order for the car to be deemed legal and roadworthy.

If you keep your car well maintained then it will be less likely to fail it's MOT test, but you should be aware that relatively small faults, such as a chip in the windscreen, can lead to a failure.


Look after your tyres
Many car legality issues involve tyres and their condition - understandably it is crucial that your tyres have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm in order to be legal. For safety reasons most vehicle manufacturers do advise replacing them at 3mm. Make sure your tyres are inflated to their recommended pressure advised in the handbook.

There are two main types of tyre, 'Radial' and 'Cross-ply', and fitting one of each to the same axle is illegal. It is advisable that you should habitually check your tyres for irregularities. Any bumps, bulges, tears or distortion you find could lead to a fine and three penalty points. Poor tyres could also contribute to a tyre ‘blow-out’ which can be fatal on a Motorway.

Stay topped up
You should always ensure that you keep your engine oil, coolant and windscreen wiper fluid regularly topped up to the levels recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
Did you know that is actually illegal to drive a vehicle without any windcreen washer available for use.

Always display a tax disc
Your car must be fully taxed each year (or six months, depending on how you choose to pay) and the tax disc should be displayed clearly in the windscreen. It is illegal to be travelling with an expired tax disc, the moment your tax runs out, the DVLA computer can issue you with an £80 fine. Continuing to drive without a tax disc could lead to an even greater fine.

Dead car batteries are common especially on a Monday morning, after being left standing over the weekend. Try to ensure your battery stays charged.