Worrying figures suggest many businesses and sole traders are failing to maintain their vehicles properly, with a third of light vans and pick-ups falling foul of appointments with an MoT tester.

Given that they’re classified alongside passenger cars for MoT purposes, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) must also face their first test at three years old. A freedom of information request made by Select Van Leasing to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reveals that between 2023 and 2024, a significant 36 per cent of LCVs failed the annual safety checks. With almost two and a half million vans going in for a test annually, that means we can assume around 890,000 vehicles are being driven on the road with significant defects. 

According to the DVSA, the bulk of the failures (47 per cent) are for lights, but there are also concerning numbers of more significant defects being found during MoT tests. For example 34 per cent of test failures were down to suspension faults, while 28 per cent were due to brake problems. The government agency also told Select Leasing that issues with body, chassis or structure made up 18 per cent of the failures, with worn-out tyres at 17 per cent.

“Heavy payloads place extra stress on van components while increasing stopping distances. So, with that in mind, it’s worrying to see high numbers of van MoT initial failures linked to brakes or suspension defects,” says Select’s MD Graham Conway. “I’d urge all business owners or van drivers to pay close attention to potential problems as soon as they arise - such as poor handling or the vehicle pulling to one side when the brakes are deployed – rather than waiting for the issues to be highlighted during the annual MoT check.” 

For context, over the same 12-month period, the MoT failure rate for passenger cars and light commercials combined was 28 per cent.