If your car isn’t roadworthy you’re not insured

If you drive an unroadworthy vehicle that is involved in an accident you can be prosecuted, fined and have points put on your licence and your insurance company can refuse to pay out for the damage.

According to Direct Line Insurance, a vehicle should be roadworthy prior to an accident in order to make a claim. Simply having a valid MOT certificate is not enough to ensure you are covered on your car insurance policy.

The car insurance companies employ engineers who inspect vehicles to make sure they were roadworthy prior to an accident. Driving with defective brakes, steering or suspension or other safety critical component at the time of an accident could result in your insurance company refusing to pay out.

Mark Cornwall of Car Parts Direct said: “Many motorists believe they are driving a roadworthy vehicle because they have an MOT certificate. This only shows the condition of the vehicle on the day it passes. If a suspension coil spring snaps on a speed bump the day after an MOT the car is no longer roadworthy.”

It’s obvious when items such as wiper blades or bulbs need to be replaced. Other safety critical parts, however, are not quite so simple to detect. A knocking noise when turning bends is normally a driveshaft, brake judder is often caused by warped discs. A leaking steering rack can leave a driver with unresponsive steering. A leaking shock absorber or broken coil spring can double the length of time it takes to stop a vehicle and cause a vehicle to skid off the road.

Motorists can download a free online MOT checklist to help ensure their vehicle is roadworthy an view helpful videos on how to replace safety critical parts such as wiper blades, brakes and shock absorbers. There’s also a discounted range of around 60,000 car parts at carparts-direct.co.uk