CRACKED WINDSCREENS WILL FAIL THE MOT
Every day cars fail their MOT tests due to having a cracked windscreen, but many fail when in fact they should have passed, but why does this happen?
The main reason windscreens fail the MOT test, when they should ordinarily pass, is because MOT testers read two paragraphs in section 3.2 of the MOT testers manual (1) which states a tester should check for:
· Damage in windscreen zone A more than 10mm in diameter,
· Damage in the remainder of the windscreen’s swept area more than 40mm in diameter,
However, what some fail to read, is the paragraph afterwards, which states “Failure for damage is only justified if the damage significantly affects the driver’s view of the road ahead.”
To be clear, the swept area of a windscreen is the area the windscreen wipers clear. Zone A starts at the centre of the steering wheel and is an area of 290mm wide (in other words 145mm either side of the centre of the steering wheel). An image of the swept area is shown above. Zone A is also only in the area where the windscreen wipers clear, so the extreme tops or bottoms of the windscreen are not considered in zone A.
Therefore there are two standards the first being whether the damage in zone A is more than 10mm in diameter or in the remaining swept area of the windscreen the damage has a diameter of more than 40mm, if not, then it has to pass.
Where the damage is more than those dimensions, the question the tester needs to ask is whether that damage significantly affects the driver’s view of the road ahead, the key part of that statement being “significantly” and “view of the road ahead”. This means if it affects your view of the sky or your own bonnet, it is not a failure, because it is not the road ahead. Secondly, significantly, which the Oxford Dictionary (2) describes as “in a way that is large or important enough to have an effect on something or to be noticed”. So if you have a crack that runs edge to edge, if it is thin enough not to be of any significant distraction and you have a sufficient view of the road ahead, your vehicle has to pass.
The final thing to consider is The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. Section 30 states (3) “Every motor vehicle shall be so designed and constructed that the driver thereof while controlling the vehicle can at all times have a full view of the road and traffic ahead of the motor vehicle. In other words, you need to have a clear view of the road ahead. The second part states “All glass or other transparent material fitted to a motor vehicle shall be maintained in such condition that it does not obscure the vision of the driver while the vehicle is being driven on a road”.
When thinking about how this fits in to your windscreen, you effectively need a full view of the road ahead at all times and the condition of your windscreen cannot obscure your view of the road ahead. Provided your windscreen complies with these two sections, your vehicle with respect to the windscreen would be considered roadworthy.
If you need an independent inspection of your windscreen, contact Driven Forensics. We provide an unbiased assessment and can prepare a report for Court should that be required.
(2) https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/significantly
(3) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/part/II/chapter/E
