Before becoming a tester myself I have been failed for things that are not even testable even though some can get you nicked under the road traffic act
these are bike specific
EG
Number plate light being out ..... not testable on a bike (it is on a car)
Disc under minimum wear limit ..... a tester has no way of measuring this within the rules
A nail in the rear tyre .... if no cord showing & no cracks present & the tyre has legal tread there is no reason to fail
No front brake light switch...... legal on a bike made before a certain year (no I cant be arsed to look it up at the mo)
Of course common sense says the above needs mentioning or sticking on an advisory but a tester cant legally fail any of the above
Crazy I know but that's the way it is :-0)
The year front brake switch is needed is 1986 Slim.. There were a few exceptions as some bikes still managed to get their SV approval without one being OEM ( lord knows how !! )
Number plate light
True if fitted but has not been a requirement for many years .. Its an odd one this.. It is not even a legal requirement now on any vehicle fitted with reflective plates ( this only applies to the UK as there are many many counties where a 'tag light' IS a legal requirement ) The number plate light is not even mentioned in modern MOT hand books
Even back in the day it fell under 'weird'...
I attended a course back around the early 70's .. I was invited to attend but was really meant for serving police officers.
Some smart alec noted that the station car enrolled as the class Guinea pig had both the plate lights out
When questioned the answer was nowt short of obtuse !
Apparently ( back then ) a lack of number plate light was a 'moving traffic' offence.
Which ( taking the letter of the then law) meant that while an officer might see a plate light out on a stationary vehicle, it was not an offence..
Of course, by that time 90% of vehicles had reflective plates so a police car behind with its headlights on could not determine if the lights were on or off !
It was suggested that it would be a difficult case to prove as a clued up driver/rider COULD say they were working just fine before being stop checked and they must have just that minute failed !
g0551p
The only recourse then would be for the officer to issue a correction order ( a pain in the bum all round ! ) and allow the vehicle to continue to its intended destination
