Testers in the dark on tinting

By Chris Thorp

11th October 2006

If you think passing an MoT makes your used car legal, you could be wrong. Auto Express has discovered that the Vehicle and Oper­ator Services Agency (VOSA), which is responsible for the MoT system, is certifying vehicles that break the law as cash-strapped test stations can’t afford the latest equipment.

Regulations state that if your car features tinted windows, they must allow at least 75 per cent of light through the windscreen, and 70 per cent for front side windows. However, the devices required to check glass are considered too expensive by the agency.

A VOSA spokesman said: “To include this test [for tinted glass] in the MoT, all 18,000 garages would have to incur expenditure on new equipment, and the time taken to carry out inspections would increase. Fees would have to be raised to cover the extra time and investment. This would affect all motorists to spot a small number of law-breakers.”

Instead, VOSA runs roadside checks to catch offenders. However, the implications reach further than the small minority of vehicles with tinted windows. As the technology in new models races ahead, the increasing presence of hi-tech add-ons

– such as headlights which move with a car’s steering, brake assistance and adaptive cruise control – could all have an impact on the amount we pay for our annual vehicle check.