DVSA to launch new MOT changes impacting thousands with certain vehicles from April

The DVSA has made key revisions to inspection standards with the main changes covering updates to side guards, rear under-run devices and bumper bars, glass and view of the road, pressure/vacuum warning and build-up, fuel tanks and systems, and brake systems and components.

These modifications will directly affect how vehicles are inspected and the standards they must meet to pass mandatory testing and continue travelling on UK roads.

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One of the most significant updates is to the side guards section, which now includes a revised list of exempted vehicles first used from April 1, 2025.

The new exemption list includes articulated tractor units, category T vehicles, gulley/cesspool emptiers, and car transporters where chassis rails are on the vehicle's extremities.

Tank vehicles designed for carrying fluid substances must be fitted with side guards that comply "so far as is practicable" from April 1. The manual also includes new pictures of the side guard area for different vehicles and a new image for lateral projection.

Additional information has been added regarding Blind Spot Information System radar devices fitted in side guard gaps.

The glass and view of the road section have also been updated to include new standards for monitors for indirect vision devices.

Meanwhile, other changes in the inspection manual now include specific requirements for these monitors, which are increasingly common in modern vehicles.

The update clarifies that the standard to apply for the view to the front on dash-mounted monitors will depend on the "function that the system provides".

This change aims to recognise the growing use of camera systems and other technologies that replace traditional mirrors or supplement driver visibility in commercial vehicles. The pressure and vacuum warning and build-up section has also been clarified regarding towing vehicles.

Other updates inthe manual now include the phrase "whether one is attached or not" to clarify the pressure build-up time for towing vehicles. This means that Type Approved vehicles designed to draw a trailer must meet the same build-up time requirements regardless of whether a trailer is currently attached.

The standard allows for a build-up time of up to six minutes for these vehicles, compared to the normal three minutes for pressure systems and one minute for vacuum systems.

The fuel tanks and systems section has been changed to include hydrogen fuel cell tanks within its scope. A new paragraph has been added to the procedure and standards section covering LPG, CNG, LNG and hydrogen tanks, which are now testable.

The brake systems and components section includes important clarifications about pipe wall thickness standards. It now states: "A pipe with its wall thickness reduced by more than one-third of its original thickness is considered a major or dangerous deficiency depending upon severity."

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The changes aim to provide clearer guidance for inspectors when assessing the condition of brake pipes during vehicle examinations.

The clarification also ensures consistent application of standards across testing centres and gives operators a better understanding of what constitutes a deficiency in this critical safety system, the DVSA stated.