T O M

F T E S T IN G M AT T E R S O

Free for authorised examiners and testers

JANUARY 2011 ISSUE 49

Strengthen your skills

The benets of learning and development
iss Inside this
Evolving the MOT test page 4

ue...
Motorcycle test refresher courses page 6

AE guilty of faking MOT tests page 12

Contents
3
Ask Stevo
Stevo talks you through transforming your testing station into an Authorised Testing Facility

News
Evolving the MOT test, Tester training review, MOT test text message reminders, Changes to Matters of Testing, MOT testing leaets, Take That MOT Comp!, Feed into the Trade User Group, MOT training moves to Chelmsford

From the editor

This New Year, our resolution is all about improvement better services, better value for money, better results. So were kicking off with an issue dedicated to learning, training and education ours and yours. Take a look at page 7 for our commitment to learn, adapt and improve based on your feedback. At the top of everyones to do list just now is this years round of MOT seminars. Those of you who havent yet bought your tickets can download and complete a booking form at www.vosa.gov.uk/ events-diary. Some of you may be asking whether you can afford to go. But for just 25 plus VAT and covering important information on 2009/40, changes to MOT Comp and updates on Site Assessment, the question is really, Can you afford to miss them?. On page 6 motorcycle testers get a crash course in items often missed during test, and page 12 warns what happens when authorised examiners start faking it. Weve dedicated our centre spread to telling you more about the MOT test data available on the internet, which you can use to inform your business or just to satisfy your curiosity about the trends and statistics of your industry. Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

Bikes, trikes and quads

Motorbike test refresher courses

Feature
Youre never too clever to learn!

MOT data at your ngertips

Look no further for MOT trends and much, much more!

10

Spotlight on...
MOT Comp time for some housekeeping

11

Horror story
On the rebound; caught in a bind

11

12

AE guilty of faking MOT tests

The consequences of bucking the system

13

The knowledge
Inspection Manual refresher course

Jessie VanBeck
Keep your comments, rants, opinions and ideas coming in to: The Editor Matters of Testing VOSA, Berkeley House Croydon Street Bristol BS5 0DA or email: mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk You can view this magazine, along with previous issues, as a PDF on the VOSA website: www.vosa.gov.uk/ matters-of-testing

14

T-brake
Take a tea break with the funny pages

Your MoT team Editorial Team Jessie VanBeck, Ian Marsh, Alan Wilson, John Stephenson, Andy Cattell MOT Team John Corcoran, Shaun Martin, Roland Batchelor, Dougie Brandon, Steve Kendall, Mark Bennett, Russell Hall

Distribution If you have any problems with or queries about distribution, please contact the editor at mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk Produced by COI on behalf of VOSA (ref 403946) on 50% recycled paper.

Editorial ofce VOSA, 2nd Floor, Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol BS5 0DA While great care has been taken to ensure accuracy, VOSA and the editorial team cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. The content of this publication should not be reproduced without the consent of the editor.

Ask Stevo
Upgrading to Authorised Testing

OPINION

Facility status

You ask: I have a Class 4 and 7 vehicle testing station and tachograph centre. I also carry out national vehicle recovery. I maintain all my recovery trucks on the Class 7 MOT pit, which is 10m long and has proved to be extremely useful for truck maintenance. Can I also use these facilities to MOT test my 7.5 tonne trucks and issue them with certicates?

Stevo says: Its all down to the regulations. The Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981 as amended (MVTR) cover the testing of vehicle classes 1 to 7. The MVTR include goods vehicles but only those with a design gross weight of up to and including 3,500kg. With the exception of Class 6(A), all these vehicles can be tested at a private testing station. Class 6(A) covers public service vehicles (PSVs), and MVTR only allow these to be tested by VOSA. Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) including your 7.5 tonne trucks must be plated and tested and therefore fall under the Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988 as amended. Again, these regulations only allow these vehicles to be tested by VOSA. However, you may wish to consider applying to become an Authorised Testing Facility (ATF).

ATFs are private premises that have been approved by VOSA for the testing of HGVs, trailers and PSVs. As an ATF you can have VOSA staff test your own HGVs and you can even use VOSA staff to provide testing for third party HGVs/PSVs, if you wish to. Customers can choose to use an ATF instead of a VOSA testing station for large vehicle testing and you will still be able to carry out private vehicle testing. Find more information on setting up an ATF at www.businesslink.gov.uk/atf. You can nd more information about ATFs on pages 4 and 5 of issue 33 of Moving On, VOSAs newspaper for HGV and PSV operators, which supplies contact details for VOSAs ATF Business Development Managers. You can browse the Moving On library at www.vosa.gov.uk/moving-on.

John Stephenson heads up the MOT Compliance team and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in all aspects of the MOT scheme. Send your comments, queries and views on the MOT to mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk with Ask Stevo as the subject.

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 3

NEWS

Evolving the MOT test

In the last few issues we have told you about changes to the MOT test resulting from Directive 2009/40/EC, which is being updated through Directive 2010/48/EU. Well, things have moved on leaps and bounds over the last few months and we have now agreed and developed all the changes that need to be made prior to introducing them in 2012. Of course, there is a lot more hard work ahead of us not only to reprogram MOT Comp but also to communicate the necessary changes. All this starts now so watch out for a series of Special Notices over the coming year that will explain what is happening and when. We will be launching new test items, releasing new Inspection Manual pages and helping you to familiarise yourselves with these changes ahead of time. The year is only just getting started if you want to know more about the forthcoming changes why not visit one of our MOT seminars that are currently taking place around the country. Visit www.vosa.gov.uk/eventsdiary to book your place on the 2011 MOT seminars.

Tester training review

Since we asked what you thought about Nominated Tester Training Assessment (NTTA) weve received a lot of emails expressing your views on whether it meets modern requirements for testing. Thank you for taking the time to send these in nding out what you think is important to us. The points of view you have fed back so far are helping us to put together a formal consultation paper to look at the possible alternatives to NTTA. This paper will, of course, include a full impact assessment on the effects on future testers and the costs of potential alternatives. More information on this consultation will be released as soon as the details are nalised. In the meantime, you can continue to email your views or comments to mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk. Type Becoming an MOT tester in the subject line.

MOT test text message reminders

Do your customers have trouble remembering to book their next MOT test dates? Do they book too early and lose free MOT time on their vehicle?
xt Your ne e! du MOT is

MOT test. This charge will be automatically collected via the mobile phone network once the customers registration has been accepted. To use this service your customers will need: a UK mobile phone a UK-registered vehicle the vehicles current V5C document reference number or the vehicles latest MOT test number. Once the service is live, full details will be provided at www.direct.gov.uk/ motreminders share this web address with your customers to enhance your customer service.

Not any more! In 2011 VOSA will launch the MOT text reminder service which you can promote to your customers as part of your wider MOT test service. Your customers will be able to opt to receive a text on their mobile phones to remind them when their next MOT test is due. Reminders will be sent to UK mobiles ve weeks before, two weeks before and on the day before the MOT test due date. There is a single charge of 1.50 (including VAT) for the set of three reminders about the vehicles next

4 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

NEWS

Changes to Matters of Testing

Matters of Testing wishes to announce that we will no longer be published on a quarterly basis but will be printed three times a year in January, May and September. We are pleased to conrm that the MOT Matters series of training DVDs will continue to be distributed with Matters of Testing. We would like to thank all the authorised examiners (AEs) and testers who continue to express their support for this publication. We hope you will nd that the quality of information in future editions makes up for the reduction in frequency.

MOT testing leaets

Although VOSA is no longer able to provide paper copies of MOT testing leaets and posters, these are still available online at www.vosa.gov.uk/vehicletesting-leaets. You can use this website to print samples of these leaets for your customer notice board or provide this web address to customers for their own use.

Take That, MOT Comp!

Some of you will remember getting pushed back to emergency testing in November. This was because the phone lines supporting MOT Comp proved no match for the pulling power of Robbie Williams. When tickets went on sale for his rst tour in 16 years with the rest of Take That, the level of take-up crashed the telephone system.

Trade User Group

Held every four months, usually in Bristol, the Trade User Group (or TUG, as it is familiarly known) discusses long-term issues such as updates to technical standards, policy and the Service Level Agreement, training courses and forthcoming changes to the test and MOT Comp. TUG members include representatives from Siemens (for MOT Comp), operators of national network testing stations, VTS Council representatives and representatives from the trade associations, including the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the Garage Equipment Association and the Scottish Motor Trade Association. If you would like to raise issues at these meetings, you should do so through your local VTS Council for more on how to access these, see the back cover.

MOT training moves to Chelmsford

Recent analysis of trainees using the MOT training site at Canterbury College has shown that most of you travel there east from London. In order to reduce travel time, VOSA will close the Canterbury College venue from 31 December 2010, moving training services to a new facility at the VOSA testing station in Chelmsford. The Chelmsford facility will open on 17 January 2011 and offers free on-site parking as well as a fully equipped workshop and classroom. VOSA plans to relocate more training venues to newer facilities watch this space for more information.
Matters of Testing | 5

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

BIKES, TRIKES AND QUADS

Motorcycle test refresher courses

VOSA can automatically lock testers out of MOT Comp if they have not completed their ve-year refresher course. So why have motorcycle testers been getting away with less training for so long? Here we tell you how the playing eld is about to be levelled.
VOSA has been slow to activate the automatic suspension from testing since the introduction of the ve-year refresher course for Class 1 and 2 testers (the Nominated Tester Training Motor Cycle Refresher, or NTTMCR) because locking the system to those testers who were overdue their refresher course would up until recently have brought motorcycle testing to a complete stop. A Special Notice will be sent out to tell testing stations when the go-live date for automatic lockout will be. In the meantime, anyone who is almost due or overdue their refresh will be sent a manual reminder to attend the earliest convenient course this will ensure that they will be able to continue testing once the system is activated. Also, although the enclosed DVD covers common omissions and errors relating to other vehicle classes, we are aware that Class 1 and 2 testers can get it wrong too! Common mistakes include: not using straight edges or cords for checking wheel alignment especially on sidecars not checking the fuel cap seal incorrectly calculating brake efciency on bikes with link brakes for example, the results from both front wheels of the MP3 must be added together to calculate the efciency forgetting that mopeds do not need to comply with the 1mm tread depth requirement (they only need visible tread). Finally, if you have not yet been invited to a refresher course, it is because you are not yet due to attend one. However, if you know youre due for a refresh within the next six months and would like rst pick of a date that best suits your business needs, you can download and complete your training application form at www.vosa.gov.uk/mot-trainingforms.

Switching on the ve-year rule

Now, however, we are in a position to insist on refresher training for these testers every ve years without serious repercussions to motorcycle testing as a whole. Class 1 and 2 testers can therefore expect to be locked out of MOT Comp if they continue to ignore invitations to attend a training date, leaving them out in the cold when its time to test bikes like the new Ducati Diavel or Aprilia Tuono V4R. Invitations may arrive through the post or as an electronic invitation sent to the VTS Device as an alert message. The refresher training itself is free of charge.

Why do testers need a refresher course?

The refresher course is there to make sure that testers are kept fully up to date with the latest information on new technology and testing procedures. They can also pick up tips on best practice both from the trainer and other testers.

6 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

FEATURE

Youre never too clever to learn!

You may be surprised to learn that VOSA isnt perfect! Most of our work is carried out by people, not machines and people make mistakes. What is important is that we learn not to make the same mistake twice.
The man who never made a mistake never made anything, so the saying goes. But to learn from our mistakes, we need to recognise when weve made them. So rstly we need to know about them. Any customer who believes that weve got something wrong should tell us as soon as possible. That way we can put things right quickly and minimise the effects of any error. So tell us when were wrong please! Lets look at an example. For years we have produced volumes of internal instructions to tell our staff how to do their jobs like a Haynes Manual for VOSA staff. These are our Operating Instructions or OIs for short. To be honest, we never thought that anyone other than ourselves would be interested in them. If we were asked for copies wed resolutely but politely decline. Then the Freedom of Information Act came along, so people who asked for our OIs were given a copy. During the last redraft of the MOT OIs, your representatives asked to be involved in the rewrite. Initially we were sceptical but we went ahead and invited them along. The result was very interesting! You managed to point out things that we had missed. Some of the language we had grown used to could be interpreted as presumptive of guilt on your part. The wording of our MOT caution was described by one correspondent as the best laxative a tester would ever get! So we changed the MOT OIs and ended up with something far more

objective and much fairer: in short, VOSA learned and changed. A further example is the MOT consultant who protested to VOSA HQ that one of our area ofces continued to make so many simple errors that he was, frankly, getting tired of pointing them out! He wanted to focus on the meat of the cases he had, rather than all the trivia that he was duty-bound to mention. This consultant supplied some good examples to us, which we gave to the Area Manager. Within days the feedback was acted upon and measures put in place to avoid similar errors in future. VOSA is only too keen to improve and learn from our mistakes so please let us know where were going wrong. You will not end up being targeted. We strive to be right all the time but we all know

that 100% perfection is impossible to achieve. We genuinely try, but need you to point out where weve screwed up and where we can make improvements. Dont be shy tell us!

You can talk to VOSA: in person at your local area ofce through our website at www.vosa.gov.uk/ contact-us by email to enquiries@vosa.gov.uk by post to VOSA Contact Centre, Ellipse, Padley Road, Swansea SA1 8AN by phoning 0300 123 9000.

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 7

FEATURE

MOT data at your ngertips

Looking for information on MOT failure trends and statistics? Want to identify maintenance issues or component faults? VOSA has placed MOT test data on the internet for your business information. But whats the bottom line?

In 2009, VOSA lifted extracts of raw data from the MOT Comp system and after making sure that the information could not be used to draw out personal details made it publicly available at www.data.gov.uk.

see why, therefore, its important to keep these details up to date (if you needed a reason other than having your copy of Matters of Testing sent to that address!).

You can use this data to: calculate average mileage by make and model calculate failure trends and statistics analyse the rst MOT determined by regulation and mileage identify maintenance issues or component faults list Reasons for Rejection considered as dangerous. Sadly, quite a lot of money had to be spent on cleansing this data after some testers used the free text boxes to insert some insulting and abusive comments. Because these testers are logged on to the system when they type these comments in, its not difcult to nd out exactly who they are (doh!). Its not big, its not clever and its not cheap the going rate is around 3,000 per F-word (good job Gordon Ramsays not a tester). Next time, well forward the bill along to them instead.

MOT non-compliance estimates 2007/08

The title might sound a bit wishywashy but this link takes the reader through to a page on the Department for Transport website that summarises its Transport Statistics Bulletin (the full document is available to download from the same page).

A search under MOT on that website brings up four areas of information:

Class 4 MOT results by make and model 2007

VOSA has provided in spreadsheet format the raw data for Class 4 vehicle tests in the year 2007. This covers all Class 4 vehicles, not just cars researchers should be aware that Class 4 includes goods vehicles up to 3,000kg, and that the data will not differentiate between a Ford Escort car and a Ford Escort van, for example. A full breakdown of vehicles tested as Class 4 can be found in Section A of the MOT Testing Guide at www.vosa.gov.uk/ manuals-and-guides.

Active vehicle testing stations in Great Britain

This allows people using the website to nd testing stations in their area based on town, postcode and class of vehicle tested. This information is updated every three months directly from the VTS contact details maintained on MOT Comp which is to say that its taken directly from the data input by you or your AE. You can

8 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

FEATURE

Anonymised MOT tests and results

Rather excitingly (if youre into this kind of thing) VOSA has also provided a complete listing of every valid MOT test that has taken place since MOT Comp went live (launched in mid-2005, with take-up completed in April 2006) to 31 March 2010 making over 150 million test results publicly available... just imagine what you could do with data like this: you can identify which parts of the country lack MOT testing stations dealing with different classes of vehicle. You can nd out what repairs are conducted most often for a PRS, or for what parts vehicles are most often failed. You can look at these statistics as a national gure or break them down by region. The possibilities are endless. We anticipate that the dataset will be of massive use to both trade and industry examiners, testers, service and repair companies, trade associations, vehicle owners, eet managers, manufacturers, dealers and sales ofces and even journalists all over the country. The newly available information includes test date, test type, vehicle class, make, model, mileage, colour, fuel, date of rst use and cylinder capacity.

Size is important
But its big youll be looking at circa 2.5 gigabytes of compressed data, which translates to about 1820 gigabytes of uncompressed data in comma-separated value (CSV) type format and readers will require a certain level of technical computing knowledge to fully exploit the information that the spreadsheet contains.

Test results are listed as pass, fail or PRS (pass after rectication at station) and will include a more detailed list of reasons for rejection and advisory notices.

Understanding the data

To help people to access the information and understand what it means, what limitations there are and how best to manipulate it, VOSA has also provided a short guide to using the data, which is available on the same website.

VOSA has also provided the alpha part of the relevant testing stations postcode.

We want to know if you access the data and whether or not you nd the information useful from a business perspective. Please email us at mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk using the subject MOT data release to send us your opinion.

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 9

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on MOT Comp housekeeping

It is the responsibility of all AEs to make sure that the equipment used in their testing stations is logged accurately on to their VTS Device. When MOT Comp was originally installed over ve years ago, VOSA provided a default for AEs to use if their brand of equipment was not yet available on the system. It was expected that AEs would update the VTS Device at their earliest convenience. However, we were completely abbergasted to see that after ve years there are almost 16,000 pieces of kit at testing stations across the country with active VOSA default equipment.
Equipment type VOSA Beam Tester VOSA Brakes Decel VOSA Brakes Plate VOSA Brakes Pull VOSA Brakes Roller VOSA DSM VOSA EGA 1996 VOSA EGA Pre 1996 VOSA Tyre Depth Total Volume 1,970 1,419 53 45 1,508 2,151 3,517 301 4,901 15,865

VOSA default equipment should only be used if your approved equipment does not appear on the system. Using VOSA default equipment on the system means that you will not receive equipment recalibration reminders. You can check what equipment is recorded by requesting a test equipment history from MOT Comp see Section 10.Q of the VTS Device User Guide. More advice on how to add or replace equipment can be found in Section 10.P.

To correctly update your equipment on the VTS Device: rst add the correct manufacturers details and calibration date of your equipment request another test equipment history (which will run overnight) once you are satised that the history shows the correct equipment, remove the VOSA equipment. If your test equipment history shows a mixture of VOSA default equipment and specic equipment, for example a VOSA roller brake tester (RBT) and a calibrated Bradbury RBT, make sure that the calibration date of the Bradbury RBT is current and then remove the VOSA RBT. Although recording some equipment such as wheel play detectors is optional, it is best practice to add the maintenance date to be sure that you will receive reminders for all the equipment you use. The VTS Device User Guide can be accessed from your VTS Device by inserting your smart card and then selecting Index from the top left-hand corner. Alternatively you can nd it online at www.mot. vosa.gov.uk/manuals as Appendix 10 to the MOT Testing Guide.

Special Notice 9-2010 recently informed you of changes to the requirements to record tread depth gauge accuracy checks and calibration of all VOSA equipment on the VTS Device.

If you only have VOSA default equipment on your history, you must add your own specic equipment before you remove the VOSA default. If you remove the VOSA default before the correct equipment is recorded you may nd that you are unable to test. Under these circumstances only your local VOSA area ofce will be able to reinstall VOSA default equipment.

10 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

YOU TELL US

Horror Story
A tale of torment

On the rebound
David Shaw of Littlehampton Service Centre (no prizes for guessing where that is) spotted this. Its the top mount for the spring and upper arm on the front of an XJR-S. Weve also seen a video clip of the suspension whilst the vehicle was being rocked and its quite frightening how much movement there was. The top half looked to have completely separated and was oating about, and you have to wonder what the handling was like especially when cornering. This damage looks fairly obvious here but what was it like at the previous test? It might have been corroded but not severely enough to fail which is why you must follow the procedures in the Inspection Manual, look in all the nooks and crannies and use the inspection lamp. If there are doubts or concerns, then pass and advise.

Caught in a bind
Finally, this is from Steve Moth of John Dandy Motors Ltd in Gloucester. The picture quality is not brilliant, as it was taken on a mobile phone, but you can see some gold colouring around the disc. Ring any bells? Yep, good ol copper grease! Seems the owner had a binding front brake on his vehicle and remedied the situation by coating the disc liberally with the stuff. As Steve says, The mind boggles!

Have you got a horror story to tell? Send your photos and ghastly tales to the postal address at the front of the magazine or by email to mattersoftesting@vosa.gov.uk with the subject Horror Story.

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 11

FEATURE

AE guilty of faking MOT tests

Last summer an AE was found guilty on eight counts of issuing MOT certicates with intent to deceive. The jurys unanimous verdicts on all eight counts were handed down at Preston Crown Court on 29 June 2010, following a comprehensive investigation by VOSA using sophisticated surveillance techniques. Mr Noor Hussain ran and tested at Altham MOT Centre in Accrington, Lancashire. One vehicle was not seen on the premises at any time when it was logged on to MOT Comp for test. A further seven vehicles were seen to be in the test bay for between only 7 and 11 minutes, despite being logged on to MOT Comp for much longer. For two weeks, evidence from VOSA ofcials and others was presented to the jury. The court was also told that over a fourmonth period a total of 2,463 vehicles were tested at Mr Hussains garage, yet none had failed. The average Class 4 MOT test failure rate in Britain during that period was 32%. On 2 November 2010 His Honour Judge Knowles QC sentenced Noor Hussain to six months imprisonment and awarded VOSA costs of 60,000. The vast majority of Britains MOT test stations are honest and can be reassured that, once VOSA becomes aware of garages acting illegally, all appropriate resources are devoted to securing the evidence not only from our own observations, but also from MOT Comp and from some very sophisticated surveillance techniques available to us. Noor Hussain has been proven to have cheated and defrauded motorists, compromising road safety in the process. The sentence imposed upon him should serve as a deterrent to others who may be contemplating a similar fraud.

12 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

HOT TIPS

The knowledge
Although recent changes to the Inspection Manual seem to be fairly well understood, there are some issues that appear to cause problems. So we thought wed straighten a few things out for you here.
In the last couple of months, one of our technical standards engineers sat in on part of an MOT refresher course to get a real-life feel for the problems that testers are facing. Some of the issues raised resulted from recent modications to the Inspection Manual although these were generally fairly well received, there were a few issues that seemed to cause problems.

Evidence of tyre contact

You need to demonstrate that the tyre is fouling another component or causing damage before you can fail the vehicle. Evidence of contact itself such as marks on the inner edge of the tyre and corresponding marks on the inner wing panel is not a reason for failure. When you perform your lock-to-lock check, you are checking whether the movement of the wheel or tyre is impeded or is impeding the movement of another component, such as a steering arm/rod. Remember, there is already information in Vehicle Specic Information (VSI) for Volvo and Hyundai regarding tyre contact.

Narrow track vehicles

Many of you seem to think that you still have to refuse to test a quad that is too narrow to t on your lift or pit. Special Notice 2-2006, which is still part of the 2008 consolidation, informs you that these vehicles can be tested on the oor using a jack, for instance provided, of course, that you are still able to perform the brake and headlamp aim tests correctly.

Quad front plates

Whilst everyone knows that all vehicles require a rear number plate, there appears to be some confusion as to whether a quad requires a front one. The simple answer is yes because it is a four-wheeled vehicle, even if it has a handle bar and fork arrangement. Only a three-wheeled vehicle with a motorcycle-derived front end is exempt from the requirements.

Watch this space for more information on recent changes to the Inspection Manual. View the MOT Inspection Manual online at www.vosa.gov.uk/manuals-and-guides.

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 13

T-BRAKE

60-second
INTERVIEW
Mike Westerman is VOSAs MOT training manager covering the whole of the UK.
How long have you been working for VOSA? I joined in March 1985 as a Vehicle Examiner (VE) in Inverness, where I later became station manager. Then I moved to Livingston as a technical trainer, before becoming a training manager. What made you take the step from management to training? Ever since I went to college I wanted to be a college lecturer but for different reasons I ended up as a VE instead. When the opportunity came up to join Training Services in 1995 I jumped at the chance. When I joined, there were 16 trainers covering the whole of VOSAs MOT, commercial and internal training. Whats the best part of the job? Denitely the travel. Ive been all over the UK and the European mainland, and spent three weeks in Jordan in the Middle East. When I arrived in Jordan to support the formation of an inspection scheme for all vehicles, all they had was a checklist on a side of A4 my rst job was to write a draft manual before I could even start the training! But during my stay, I managed to visit the incredible buildings at Petra that were carved into the slopes of Mount Hor they were magnicent. And the worst? Trafc jams. How do you unwind at the end of the day? Maintain and polish my old red BMW. Ive had it for 24 years now.

DVD review
Where did it all go wrong?
This time we decided to do things a little differently in our latest motion picture we take you through a test (of sorts!) with the roles reversed. Our intrepid presenter, Robert, is in the hot seat, demonstrating a test for the vigilant VOSA trainer, Brian Gray. Brian stops the test at areas of common misunderstanding, to explain what should be taking place. We all make mistakes sometimes thats why we collected together the most regularly observed problems and demonstrate the correct methods. From suspension checks to roller brake tests, the most often misunderstood parts of the MOT test that is to say, the parts you ask about most are covered in this DVD. Share the lm with your testing colleagues the items demonstrated may settle some longstanding disputes! If youd like to suggest a topic for future lms, email mattersoftesting@ vosa.gov.uk with the subject MOT Matters DVD, or send a postcard to the Editor at the address at the front of this magazine.

On the job
At a recent MOT refresher course, the trainer arrived early so that he could greet the delegates on arrival, only to nd that one of the candidates wasnt on the register. This wasnt unusual, as Training Services sometimes include a last-minute booking if they have received a cancellation. The trainer phoned the training administrator to nd out whether this was the case. However, the answer came back that this gentleman was not booked onto the course. The trainer asked whether the delegate had a call-up letter or printout. Yes, I printed it out, he replied. Ill get it from the car. On the delegates return, the trainer read through the letter, which gave a training date six weeks earlier! When the trainer pointed this out, the delegate argued, No, it says I must attend within six months of that date, so I came today! Well, that isnt quite what the instruction means, but luckily there was space on the course that day, so the delegate stayed.

14 | MOT computerisation enquiries can now be made through the VOSA service desk: 0845 071 1973

T-BRAKE

Competition
Can you nd the 15 training-related words on this grid? Send your answers, along with your name, address and VTS number, to us by 25 February 2011 at Competition, Matters of Testing, VOSA, Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol BS5 0DA.
ADVISE ASSESS DEVELOP DISCUSS EDUCATE GROW GUIDE IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE LEARN SKILLS STUDENT TEACH TEST TRAIN

E G D E

L W O N K U I I S E S A S O I L C E T A

D H E A D V C A E O P R A E T E

U C V W N M H D T S L R S U A U K K T S E I T

The rst correct entry drawn will win 20 of vouchers that can be used at most high street stores.
Youve won! The winner of last issues competition is Andy Lauton of HiQ garage in Deal, Kent. Congratulations Andy the vouchers are winging their way to you!

T O G G S C E T R A

E V P E

N E S L I

S T U D E N T D S N G E U K W G C C

MOT test enquiries can be made through our contact centre: 0300 123 9000

Matters of Testing | 15

VTS Council reps

Your VTS Council representative is your voice to VOSA. Because reps are consulted on the future of the MOT test, they are up to date with any changes that may be proposed.
If you have an issue or concern that youd like to see taken up with VOSA, contact your local VTS rep and ask them to raise it at the next Council meeting.
SCOTLAND Bridge of Allan
William McLellan bsaltdalva@aol.com Stuart Kinghorn stuart.kinghorn@talk21.com Tom Arnott arnott4@aol.com James Seath jamesseath@tiscali.co.uk Jim King jimkingauto@btinternet.com Malcolm Evans jim.mth@btconnect.com Elliott Kilday kelvinsidegarage@btconnect.com Jim Holden jim.mth@btconnect.com Ian Walker iwalkc77@virginmedia.com Robert Smith enquiries@bonjedwardgarage. co.uk Dawn and Mike Leonard dawnleonard@btinternet.com John Campbell john.campbell12@btconnect.com Barry McGowan dmcgowanson@btconnect.com Gary Hughes gary@mvcscotland.com Jim Reape reape@btinternet.com Fred Henderson FredHendersonLtd@aol.com

NORTH Leeds
Glynne Lever whitecroft1@hotmail.co.uk John Hall john.hall14@btinternet.com Jim Belt jim@motshop.co.uk Barry Chandler baz657@gmail.com Peter Mitchell peter.mitchell2@btconnect.com Esmond Kielty esmondkielty@googlemail.com Richard Mattock mattockmotors@ calaisstreet.fsnet.co.uk David P. Walters enquiry@dkw-autos.co.uk Kim Raw 0113 284 9904 David Taylor dtaylor999@btopenworld.com Ian Kerr ickerr@ntlworld.com Derek Hemmingway delhem@hotmail.co.uk Kirk Armitage windmillgarage@hotmail.co.uk

WALES Swansea
R. Babbage 029 2075 2663 Colin Allen colindallen@motorvation.net D. Roberts gimbermotors@hotmail.co.uk Peter Williams tmdaniel@btconnect.com Martin Lilygreen martinlilygreen@sky.com Dave Sherwood dave@dmsmotors.co.uk Paul Thomas paul.thomas29@ntlworld.com Neil Jones 01443 835905 Richard John richardjohn1@sky.com

SOUTH EAST Gatwick

Martin Herbert archway.motors@btconnect.com Alex Betts alexbetts@mrcautocentres.co.uk Martin Smith martin6942@hotmail.co.uk Neil Osman theoastgarage@btconnect.com Richard Strong hopelds@btconnect.com Colin Johnson hopelds@btconnect.com Thomas Williams tom@whiteheathergarage.co.uk Peter Miles petermilesgarage@btconnect.com Lyn Softley surreygarage@btconnect.com Brian Durrant brian-qc-cawtecoltd@live.co.uk John Ball johnhenryball@btconnect.com Paul Michell paulmichell@ymail.com Richard Field richard@eldscarcentre.co.uk

SOUTH WEST Exeter

Keith Redman brmautos@hotmail.co.uk John Medland johnm1960@hotmail.co.uk Andy Reynolds desk@ajreynolds.co.uk Jerry Nicoll jerry.nicoll@tiscali.co.uk Dick Williams dick.williams45@hotmail.co.uk Wayne Caff wayne.caff@peugeotmail.co.uk Andrew MacCreadie braefelgarage@btconnect.com Steve Ingarll steven@ingarll.fsnet.co.uk Dominic Beardmore dominic@dcbautosltd.co.uk Gary Hooper 01395 442775 Richard Cuff 01443 402389

WEST MIDLANDS Birmingham

David Meredith info@relief-mot-tester.com Andrew Stilgoe andrew.stilgoe@btopenworld.com Simon Baughan simon@themerits.plus.com Martyn Langbridge martyn@cheltandglosautocentre. co.uk Keith Barlow c/o richardfraser@ fmscarandtruck.co.uk Nick Tammaro centregarage@hotmail.co.uk Jerry Munslow jerry.munslow@gmail.com Phil Jackson phillipjacko@hotmail.com Mahendra Kotecha 07973 814867

EAST MIDLANDS Cambridge

John Tarbox john@panautos.co.uk Bruce McFarlane jessamine15@hotmail.com John Holland sales@chgperformance.co.uk Chris Larkin camford@talktalk.net Brian Bradshaw 01604 702991 Richard Frood richardfrood@gmail.com