A report analyses the impact of MOTs on road safety and the environment
Prepared by UC3M researchers
7/5/22
This Monday, the Duque de Santomauro Automobile Vehicle Safety Institute (IVSA, in its Spanish acronym) of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) presented the results of the study on the “Contribution of MOTs to Road Safety and the Environment”, which has been commissioned by the Spanish Association of Collaborating Entities of the Administration in the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (AECA-ITV, in its Spanish acronym).
According to the report, thanks to the technical inspections carried out during 2021, at least 15,641 road accidents, 13,110 injuries and 148 deaths have been avoided. In economic terms, the study shows that the contribution of MOTs to saving lives and reducing the number of road accidents could translate into savings of almost 395 million euros.
Furthermore, if the vehicles that didn’t pass the inspection had done so, an additional 13,517 road accidents, 11,643 injuries and 146 deaths would have been avoided.
From an environmental point of view, MOT centres have prevented 575 premature deaths due to exposure to particulate matter (PM). If all passenger vehicles were to pass an MOT, 207 premature deaths due to exposure to particulate matter could be avoided in a year.
The number of vehicles that didn’t pass the MOT rose in 2021
The report reveals worrying data on the number of vehicles that didn’t pass the MOT in 2021. In terms of passenger vehicles, the percentage that didn’t pass the MOT reached 26.48%, given that at least 4,717,227 of the inspections that should have been carried out didn’t take place. This represents an increase of 64.04% compared to 2017.
In terms of light goods vehicles (VTML, in its Spanish acronym), 54% didn’t pass the MOT, corresponding to 3,242,570 mandatory inspections. This represents an increase of 82.12% compared to 2017. As for mopeds and motorcycles, the percentage that didn’t pass the MOT was 65.1%, as 1,535,722 mandatory inspections weren’t carried out. This is an increase of 11.42% compared to 2017.
Relationship between the MOT status, road accident rate and age of the vehicle fleet
This study, which updates the previous one carried out in 2018, also shows the substantial increase in the number of vehicles involved in road accidents with fatalities whose MOT had expired at the time of the accident. It also highlights the correlation between the severity of road accidents and the age of the vehicles involved; showing that, between the fifth and sixth year of activity, the number of serious road accidents (with fatalities) related to technical faults is increasing substantially. Hence the importance of vehicles having their periodic roadworthiness tests up to date.
These conclusions were presented at UC3M’s Madrid-Puerta de Toledo campus, in an event in which the General Director of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Galo Gutiérrez Monzonís; the president of the Road Safety Commission of the Congress of Deputies, Juan José Matarí; and the professor and director of the UC3M Mechanical Engineering Department, José Luis San Román spoke, accompanied by the president of the AECA-ITV, Alejandro Pastor, and the managing director of the association, Guillermo Magaz.
