Fair enough - it seems that California at least has spot checks, which cover
some of the points in the MOT. I have to say that, when I stayed in Milwaukee
for a couple of months (the only part of the States I've spent more than a
week in) the spot checks must have been few and far between, the number of
cars I saw going down the road that were not roadworthy shocked me (and I was
not crawling underneath them all to check whether their brake pipes were
chafed!). Cars being driven on the freeway with completely flat tyres, cars
with broken suspension, broken or non-working lights etc. etc. I guess this
must be something that varies from region to region, probably depending on
police finance and priorities.
However, I can accept your arguements that your government cannot be trusted to
make the same rules for everyone. I may have some problems with our system of
government, but by the sounds of it I still have more faith in mine than you
have in yours! The MOT is not used as a stick to beat old cars off the road -
there is nothing in it that is not a basic safety essential, and the emissions
test never requires a car to perform better than it was originally designed to
(a Spit 1500 is designed to have a CO output of 3.5 +-0.5 % in the exhaust,
the test limit is 4.5%). However, if that is your government's aim, I'm sure
they could devise a test that would drive old cars off the road unless they
were in mint condition.
It's good to know that there are at least a few things that make me glad that I
live in the UK and not California!
Richard and Daffy
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