When it comes time to outfit your garage with equipment that can perform an accurate and thorough MOT test the equipment you use to test a car’s brake systems play a significant role.
What exactly do you want to see in your brake testing equipment, and what do the laws require that that your garage is required to meet?
What is a brake tester supposed to do?
The most recent generation of automated equipment for testing brakes at the MOT bay is designed to calculate and track the effectiveness and force of the brake for vans, cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles including four-wheel drive systems.
If you are looking to purchase an updated brake tester should think about one that has dimpled roller surfaces that allows for the highest protection of tyres as well as an index that is comparable to the road surface to ensure precise results. For garages who want to be flexible and adaptable, adapter kits for four-wheel drives as well as motorcycles are available.
What are the latest MOT brake testing requirement?
As part of its push towards connected MOT devices, The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) issued new rules for those who purchase a roller brake tester. It was changes that took effect on the 1st of October, 2019. This requirement is mandatory and means that the data gathered and recorded through the tester’s brakes will automatically be recorded using MOT Testing Service. MOT Testing Service (MTS). Garages looking to purchase new equipment must therefore seek confirmation that the brake tester is certified under this system.
The simplest way to put it is that anyone who purchases a brake roller tester today should ensure that it is hooked up with the MOT testing service. That means, as an MOT testing garage you must ensure that the new tester you purchase is able to connect to the DVSA’s testing service. This rule applies regardless of whether the equipment is purchased for a brand new MOT garage or a brand new MOT site name , or as a replacement for an older or damaged model.
There’s good news that the DVSA has been working closely with the producers of brake testers to make sure that their centrally managed software can be connected to approved products. With these steps now implemented, it will be a breeze to locate equipment that is compatible and enable connected brake testing to be the normal practice.
What are the advantages of the new requirements for testing brakes?
The main goal for the DVSA is to ensure that brake testing is conducted faster and more precise. In the meantime the DVSA hopes that motorists be more confident about the accuracy of the tests they have to pay for.
First of all, automating the process that information about car brake tests is recorded eliminates the chance of human errors. As with any other industry that relies on manual input of data there have been occasions when incorrectly entered information led to incorrect data being recorded with the DVSA. With the automatic recording of data this risk is removed of the calculation.
The accuracy and speed with that test results are recorded will eventually free up the time of test garages. This allows test garages the chance to improve their efficiency and expand the amount of tests they’re able to run during a typical day.
What’s next for my other MOT equipment?
The DVSA has made a significant investment to make it easier for garages to keep Test results for MOT. This is why it’s not surprising that the utilization of connected MOT devices is beginning to be seen as the best method. It’s almost obvious that the better connected MOT equipment that we encounter in a typical test bay, the less possibility of human errors entering the process.
This is considered a win-win situation for both garages and motorists as it speeds up the process of testing as well as recording results more precisely.
Although there isn’t an official date set to launch the service an emissions test MOT is scheduled to be the first test that will require connecting with the testing services for MOT. In the future, additional practices such as headlight alignment or wheel play detection could definitely be added in the near future. The fully-connected test lane might be right in front of you.