An offensive MOT advisory notice for a 2004 Smart has been branded “completely unacceptable” by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
Forget failure notices for diesel particulate filters, this MOT advisory requires a profanity filter.
An item on the car’s MOT history has been dubbed “the most offensive MOT advisory ever”, following widespread sharing on social media.
https://twitter.com/MeekSoItIs/status/1163134170505383936
The MOT advisory – which isn’t safe for work – was entered by an MOT tester at an independent garage, and called the Smart’s owner a rather crude word.
To compound the misery for the owner, the Smart failed its MOT on account of a registration plate lamp not working.
The DVSA is investigating the MOT advisory notice
Neil Barlow, DVSA’s head of vehicle engineering, told Motoring Research: “DVSA’s priority is to help everyone keep their vehicle safe to drive.
“The comment posted on the MOT history service is completely unacceptable and how now been removed. We are investigating this further.
“Since 2017, there has been a profanity filter in place to stop MOT testers being able to include these words on a certificate.”
Last month, the DVSA published a new guide setting out 15 important points to ensure MOT testers carry out each test to highest possible standard. There are penalties for failing to meet the required standards, and the DVSA can ban a garage from running an MOT centre for up to five years in the most serious cases.
MOT test stations are required to check at least one MOT test from each tester every two months and must check that new staff are eligible to meet the standards. All MOT testers must complete their annual training and assessment programmes by the end of March every year.
A total of 31 million MOT tests were recorded on the DVSA database in 2018, each one free of swear words and offensive remarks. That said, we suspect the responses to many MOT failure notices were greeted with phrases that aren’t necessarily safe for delicate eyes and ears.