Why Getting Your Car checked is important
Getting your car inspected by professionals on a regular basis is one important habit that benefits all drivers in the long-run. Every country has different departments that oversee these inspection tests. In the United States, the Department of Transportation (DOT) encompasses all car-related tests. In the United Kingdom, this falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport (MOT). In the UK, you can book online appointments to get your MOT test done. I mean seriously how cool is that? No more waiting around for what feels like hours to see if your motor vehicle passed the test. Hassle-free booking of the MOT test is available online at Calmac Northampton Branch.
So the MOT test is a little stricter than the normal test. They check everything from the standard to the unusual. I think the only thing they don’t check is the engine itself. I mean just look at some of the things they look at.
- Tires-
Riding around on bald tires isn’t any fun. I have experienced a few flats in my time. In fact, one day I went to school and couldn’t figure out why the car wasn’t handling well? Come to find out, I totally had a flat, I was lucky that I didn’t destroy the rim of the tire. But ever since then, if the car drives a little wonky, I pull over and make sure I don’t have a flat. I am so paranoid about it. Ask my girls, how many times I have made them get out and check the tires- they will roll their eyes and say too many.
- Emissions-
We have enough pollution already in this world, we don’t need to add to it.
- Lights-
How many times have you noticed that your brake lights are out? I bet not many unless
You are driving behind yourself I bet you can’t tell. And how about your high beams and low beams- Sometimes the covers of our lights get so dirty that you can’t see, even if they are on. And let’s talk about turn signals, you know the things that most cars have but very few people use.
- The Exhaust System-
It is really important to get this checked out. You don’t want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning just from driving your car. There have been incidents where people have gotten carbon monoxide poisoning because of a faulty exhaust system which allowed the fumes from the exhaust to circulate inside the car.
- The Condition of the Chassis ( the body of the Car) and Structure-
I think this one is self-explanatory. Who wants to fall through the floor of a car? Remember Safety First.
- Horn–
If there was one thing that I would say beside the normal suspects that would be one of the most important things on a car that would be a horn. Within the past two days, I have had to use my horn on multiple occasions. First to alert a car that they were sliding into my lane. Second, my light was green and the person turning right on a red was about to pull out in front of me – so I honked to let them know my feelings on the subject. And the third time I did it to let Allie, our Shih Tzu, know we were home. I love seeing her furry little black and white head pop through the opening of the curtains on our patio doors.
- Seat Belts–
Regardless, of how you feel about seat belts, they do save lives. The car accident that we had a few years ago could have been a lot worse if we all weren’t wearing seat belts.
- All things Steering–
I will tell you, that you didn’t fully understand how good we have it with automatic steering until it goes out. We had to replace the steering pump on our GMC Acadia. Talk about some tough driving
- Fuel Tanks-
Making sure that there are no leaks. We pay enough money for gas or petrol that if we didn’t periodically check that would be money that we were just throwing down the drain.
- VIN-
Vehicle Identification Number – the number that tells authorities who the car belongs to. If you are sure how helpful that just watch any police drama on the telly to see how they track suspects and then come back and tell me if they are important or not?
These are just a few of the many items that are required by the MOT ( Ministry of Transportation) to make sure your car or motor is ready to take you on your journey.
