Changes in Road Law: 6 Things All Drivers in Manchester Need to Know About

A lot of road laws have been changed in the last few months and if you are driving around in the city of Manchester, you need to be aware of them to avoid paying heavy fines, exorbitant taxes, and maybe even take advantage of a few of them. While there will be even more changes and regulations employed by the end of the year, here are the top six facts and law changes that everyone needs to be aware of.

Access the Motorway with a Learner License

When you are trying to learn how to drive, you will now be able to learn directly on motorways, as long as the car is equipped with dual controls and you are accompanied by a certified and licensed instructor. This is a good move as learning to drive on real roads with real traffic, while being accompanied by an instructor is definitely a better idea than learning it on empty streets and then trying to take on busy motorways directly after getting your license. This should bring down the occurrence of new-driver related accidents significantly.

Fixed Fines on Entering a Closed Motorway Lane

If the driver chooses to ignore, or simply misses the overhead gantry signalling a closed smart motorway lane, there will now be a fine of £100, alongside a penalty of three points. The GPS system might not be able to let the driver know of the closed lane beforehand, so you better be looking out for the gantry.

Car Tax Surge for Diesel Cars

The new car tax rules in Manchester have been effective since the 1st of April and they are aimed primarily at reducing pollution in Manchester and the whole of UK. Now might be the best time to scrap that old diesel car because as per the new rules, they will cost you a good deal of money in taxes, especially if you have an old diesel model. Even the latest diesel models cannot meet the Euro 6 standards under real world testing conditions, but if you have a significantly old vehicle running on diesel, your annual tax amount could go up as high as £500+ in the very first year. To avoid the massive increase in your annual tax expenses, get a newer model (preferably one that doesn’t run on diesel) and scrap your old car by visiting https://www.scrapcarnetwork.org/scrap-car-areas/manchester, where they offer the best price for scrap cars in all of the UK, and free pickup is available from all locations in Manchester. Just in case you needed another reason to scrap the old diesel, then consider the fact that any smoke that can be seen during your annual MOT test will inevitably get your car failed, which will further increase your annual expenses on the car quite significantly. If you have been thinking about getting a new model and scrapping that ancient hunk of metal for a while now, it is as good a time as any.

The Headlight Washers Must Work

If you have headlight washers installed and it was registered post September 2009, you need to make sure that they are working in full capacity under the new regulations. Failure to do so will result in penalties and fines. Odd as it may seem, that’s the rule right now and you should get the headlight wipers checked during your next servicing.

No MOT Test for Classic Cars

The annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) test is now unnecessary for any classic car that’s more than 40-years old. While that’s excellent news for classic car enthusiasts, there is a very clear and strict restriction at play here; the car needs to be completely unmodified in any way to qualify for the exemption and the same will need to be declared during taxation as well. This puts the deadline on the registration date at 1978 as of 2018, but a classic car registered in 1979 will also become MOT-free in 2019 and so on.

MOT Restrictions are Even More Strict Now

MOT tests were never particularly lenient, but it’s about to get even tighter as something as seemingly trivial as low tyre pressure can ensure that you won’t pass the test. It makes sense nonetheless, since underinflated tyres can potentially cause accidents by disrupting the steering control and the balance of the vehicle. That’s not all though, a malfunctioning signal light or an inappropriately sounding car horn can also be reason enough for your car to fail the MOT. In general, the whole test is going to clamp down on any problem a lot harder.

While these new changes may seem annoying initially, they are moves made to ensure better road safety and air-quality control. Now that you know what to look out for, get your car in order before the next MOT.