1 in 9 vehicles unroadworthy, due to faulty brake lights

29th March 2012

One in every nine vehicles on the road may be missing one or more brake lights, increasing the risk of an accident and rendering them ‘unroadworthy’ by official MOT standards.  They would also potentially be liable for a £60 fine and three penalty points if stopped by the police.

The data was gathered by Tesco during busy rush hour periods and highlights a significant increase in the number of failures – up from one in every 15 vehicles in 2010.  Around 4% of all the cars and vans spotted with missing brake lights had no bulbs working at all.

The survey, of 3,000 vehicles, also found that 3% had at least one non-functioning headlight.  Despite it being a more obvious fault to identify than brake lights, the results suggest that many UK drivers are not making regular checks or solving the fault quickly enough.

As a matter of safety, van drivers should regularly check both front and rear lights to ensure their vehicles are as visible as possible.