Being forgetful will cost you, motorists warned

What with the global economy falling to pieces and health experts warning of a looming flu pandemic, the typical British motorist could be forgiven the odd mental slip.

However, it's not just small things such as changing the oil or remembering where a car has been parked at the local supermarket that are troubling drivers but big things such as keeping all the relevant legal documentation up to date.

Just a few weeks ago, the DVLA warned that drivers could face hefty fines should they fail to update the photo on their plastic licences after ten years, with thousands expected to be hit in the pocket simply because they believe the new versions are valid for life, just like the old paper ones.

Now, a new study has warned that a large proportion of cars currently on the UK roads are illegal given that they do not have a valid MOT certificate.

According to the research carried out by the consumer website uSwitch, about two-thirds of Britons have, at some point, taken a car onto the road without a valid MOT, whether knowingly or unknowingly

Refreshingly, rather than attempting to shift the blame onto complicated bureaucracy or stress factors caused by the financial meltdown, 79 per cent of those drivers polled put their hands up and said that sheer absent-mindedness was the main reason they have got behind the wheel of a car lacking an MOT.

Meanwhile, one in ten put their forgetfulness down to switching cars midway through certificates.

As Mark Monteiro, an insurance expert at the website, noted: "Life moves at a pretty fast pace and so it is understandable that many consumers may find themselves losing track of deadlines and commitments."

While this may be perfectly understandable, even the best-intentioned driver could be subject to a £1,000 fine if found driving around illegally.

On a more positive note, drivers will no longer be running the risk of a fine from an over-officious traffic cop for displaying national flags on their number plates, it has been confirmed.

While in the past the inclusion of the Union flag, the crosses of St George or Andrew or a Welsh dragon on a plate could have been deemed against the rules of the road, transport secretary Geoff Hoon has come up trumps for patriotic drivers across the land by securing a change to the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001, though vehicles will still be required to sport the appropriate identifiers when taken abroad.