With the announcement of Brexit, there were multiple aspects of the UK administration that needed to be reviewed and improved upon. The conversations taking place revolved around, post the UK leaving the EU, a lot of public documentation would have to be updated. The EU made a mention that a lot of people without paperwork created in the EU had to reapply if they wanted to be a part of the system, whether in terms of their vehicles, insurance etc. The same stood true for car tests, regular maintenance, and MOT which were important requirements to adhere to if vehicle owners wanted to keep their cars on the roads.
Post leaving the EU, many of the people in the UK would have to apply for new drivers licences. The licences issued in the UK would allow them to drive but not cross the border. If they are looking to drive in the EU, they would need an international drivers licence and would have to pay an additional amount for one.
Another piece of paperwork needed is a motor insurance green card for vehicles being driven in the EU. If people are driving a vehicle without one, they could get into a lot of trouble if they are caught in an accident or pulled over for an inspection. Most insurance companies provide these but people have to connect with them about a month before making the trip across the border. Another major change to be handled is adding a GB sticker to all vehicles that are driving in the EU but are not from there. This is especially true for vehicles driving in Ireland.
Additionally, some vehicles come with a number plate that already has a GB logo but would have to get their stickers added. The overall cost of vehicles increased as well. The showdown of the economy among other factors played a massive role in this. Annual taxes increased and there have been significant increases in the amounts that people are paying for MOT tests. MOT tests have also been improved.
There have been additions to the number of checks conducted during the examination. This means vehicles are going through a lot more now than they did before. Additionally, there have been talks to add a few more locations under the MOT which increases the number of vehicles that go through the test. There have been conversations that the MOT tests in the UK might not be valid in the EU and vehicles there would have to adhere to the rules and tests conducted in the EU.
This also means people would be handling their MOT test only for permission to drive in the UK, which wasn’t very appealing. There were mentions that the MOT should be scrapped since it wasn’t keeping up with the times, but counterpoints were raised on why it is valid. The new MOT tests have also been rolled out with a lot of the vehicles finding it difficult to clear them.
