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Do something – make a difference! It is up to us, those of us in the MOT business, Testing Station owners and their staff, Testers, administrators, our families and sympathetic friends – to challenge these proposals – and make a difference. And if you’re thinking “How can I do anything” – here’s how: 1. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT This is the most effective thing to do by far. MPs get your letter and then write to the Minister – this is very effective. Finding your MP: This is easy to do, just go to the website: http://www.writetothem.com/ enter your postcode and you can e-mail him or her directly. Alternatively you can send a letter to the official address at Westminster: [Your MPs name] House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. What to write: We have set out for readers two ‘framework’ letters which can be either copied out, or further down this page you can copy and paste the letter text directly onto your own computer for printing out. Also included is a letter which Testing staff can use. Obviously this is just an example of what to write, and readers can modify it to their own preference if they want to. 2. ENCOURAGE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO WRITE TO THEIR MPS Protesting about Government proposals is a numbers game, the more people complain, the more likely this foolish proposal is to be dropped. The majority of MOT customers won’t want an MOT change that will kill people and increase insurance premiums, so giving them a letter explaining what’s happening and urging them to protest will be very effective. The customer letter: We have also composed a standard letter, further down this page, which Testing Stations can copy and paste the text from to create a letter on their own computer which can be printed out and and given to all their customers. TIME-CRITICAL The Government proposes to start the process of changing the MOT in early Spring (March/April) so we haven’t much time to get our protests organised. As Testing Station owners there is absolutely no excuse for not making your strongest protest to this ruinous proposal. We must all act now! Your letter to your customers: [copy this text and paste into your own Word file to print out and give to your customers] PETITON AGAINST DEADLY DE-REGULATION OF THE MOT – IF YOU CARE ABOUT ROAD SAFETY Gordon Brown has endorsed a change in MOT Testing, recommending delaying a car’s first MOT for a year and then MOTs only every two years thereafter. They’re going to start the change this spring – it’s for real and its madness! Will it save money? No! Will more people die on the roads? Yes! A hundred or more annually – all just to bribe voters by ‘saving’ motorists £25 a year – which the motorist will lose anyway in increased insurance premiums because of increased risk! The MOT critically increases safety and emission standards, preventing thousands of accident deaths and injuries, making UK roads the safest in Europe. Every year approximately 30% of vehicles (8 million) fail when first presented for Test. Change to 2 year tests and these 8M vehicles carry their dangerous faults – brakes, tyres and lights for another year. Few 3 yr. + vehicles are regularly serviced. As an MOT Testing station we see the shocking state of many vehicles MOT Tested just a year before and are horrified that this proposal is receiving serious consideration. We would urge you to resist this deadly threat to road safety by signing an e-petition on the government’s new No. 10 web site. Its easy: just type into your web browser http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/keeptheroadsafe/ In doing so you will help stop: a) 100+ road deaths and 1400+ serious injuries b) Increased cost to the tax payer/treasury £400million + c) More damage to the environment and public health from failed emissions d) 15000+ MOT Tester redundancies and garage closures e) Increased motoring costs through higher insurance premiums For more information visit: www.motester.co.uk/ [sign off the letter with your company details] Your MOT Tester’s letter to his or her MP: [NTs - copy this text and paste into your own Word file to print out and post to your MP] DEADLY DEREGULATION OF THE MOT THREATENS LIVES – AND MY JOB On 28th November, Gordon Brown endorsed the Davidson deregulation report on MOT Testing, recommending delaying the first MOT for a year and two yearly thereafter. I now hear it is going to consultation early this spring – it’s madness! The MOT, now 45 years old, has been developed over time to address increasing safety and emission concerns and has prevented thousands of accident deaths and injuries, making UK roads the safest in Europe. Does this deregulation save money? No! Will more people die? Yes! 100 or more annually – to ‘bribe’ voters by saving motorists £25 a year! Every year approximately 30% of vehicles (8 million) fail the Test. With 2 yearly Testing these 8M cars and vans carry those dangerous faults – brakes, tyres and lights – for another year; few 3 year old vehicles are regularly serviced. As an MOT Tester I already see the shocking state of many vehicles Tested just a year before, I am horrified that this threat to road safety is receiving serious consideration. There’s also the threat to my job. I am a fully qualified Government MOT Tester. If this happens, I (and thousands of others) will be made redundant as the annual number of Tests halves and the viability of my employers business (which has served the local community well over the years) is threatened. I would urge you to resist this serious threat to road safety which will also substantially increase unemployment. Yours Sincerely [Your details] AE Letter to your MP [AEs - copy this text and paste into your own Word file to print out and post to your MP] [Your company details] Dear Sir, DEADLY DEREGULATION OF THE MOT On 28th November, Gordon Brown endorsed the Davidson deregulation report on MOT Testing, recommending delaying the first MOT for a year and two yearly thereafter. I now hear it is going to consultation early this spring – it is madness! The MOT, now 45 years old, has been developed over time to address increasing safety and emission concerns and has prevented thousands of accident deaths and injuries, making UK roads among the safest in Europe. Does this deregulation save money? No! Will more people die? Yes! 100 or more annually – to ‘bribe’ voters by saving motorists £25 a year! Every year approximately 30% of vehicles (8 million) fail the Test. With two-yearly Testing these 8M cars and vans carry those dangerous faults – brakes, tyres and lights – for another year. Few vehicles over three years old are regularly serviced. As the owner of an MOT business I see the shocking state of many vehicles Tested annually and am horrified that this threat to road safety is receiving serious consideration. This will of course be in addition to the threat to the livelihood of my staff and business which has served the local community so very well over the years. Yours Sincerely, [Your details]

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