The MOT Test was introduced in 1960 by the then Ministry of Transport. Back then it was only for vehicles over 10 years old and only the lights, steering and brakes were checked; remember this was a time when new cars were very expensive (relative to wages) and most cars being driven on British roads at that time were actually pre-war. There was no real culture of car servicing then either so many were in very poor and frankly dangerous condition; it’s easy to imagine how many accidents and injuries were caused by brake or steering failures.
During the 1960s the MOT Test became more stringent and by 1967 was applied to vehicles over 3 years old, as it is today.
Since then many further checks have been added to the test – tyres in 1968, windscreen wiper, indicators and brake lights only in 1977 believe it or not, exhaust emissions in 1991, rear wheel bearings in 1992 and so on. In 2012 and 2013 there are yet more new checks, but more about that later.
Right from the start the Ministry of Transport decided that MOT Tests should be performed by authorised local garages rather than Government-run centres (an early case of free-market thinking perhaps) but they laid down very strict rules for garages to follow in order to be authorised as an official “Testing Station”, which have also been extended and added to many times over the years, and are now an excellent cure for insomnia.