MOT crisis: Driver ‘left in limbo’ following suspension of tests

All tests for private cars have been suspended indefinitely over concerns about car lifts at test centres.

Alan Flowerday’s 2011 Mercedes was due for an MOT at the Lisburn centre but said that he has been left in limbo about what to do.

He doesn’t know whether he should bring his car to the MOT centre and he has still not received an exemption form that would allow him to drive it.

“I rang the Lisburn office but no one seemed to know what was going on,” he said.

“They have said that their machinery is unsafe and cannot be used. How can 59 car lifts become unusable at the same time?

“Are all these machines in all the MOTs centres all faulty? How can this be allowed to happen in this day and age? Are there no maintenance checks?

“Who is going to be held responsible? The entire system has come to a virtual standstill because of this.

“I have been told about an exemption certificate. My car is due but I have not received an exemption certificate and don’t know how to get one. Does this mean I cannot drive my car until I get the exemption certificate?”

Mr Flowerday also questioned if there would be another backlog of MOTs and when he might be able to be booked in again given the ongoing issues.

“Without an MOT it is illegal for me to drive the car,” he said.

“This has been talked about for weeks but from what I can see little has been done. Too many people are running around like headless chickens.

“There are people in the MOT centres who check vehicles every day. Surely these machines are checked regularly, are they not?

“If the powers that be have known about this since November surely they know when it should be fixed. I’ve been left in limbo as I’m sure many others have.”

Another driver, who did not wish to be named, said he had taken the day off work for an MOT check yesterday only to find out about the closures.

“I’ve lost out on a day’s pay,” he said.

“Cracks in lifts don’t happen overnight.”