Mechanic warns drivers popular summer accessory could cause cause car to fail MOT
One of TikTok's most popular mechanics has shared how a cheap car accessory can lead to fines and the vehicle failing its next MOT.
A popular mechanic has taken to TikTok to warn drivers against fitting a common accessory to the windscreen of their vehicle.
Craig Cox is a mechanic for Walsall Wood Tyre & Service and regularly posts videos to the company's TikTok channel to advise on how motorists can avoid costly fines and lower their running costs.
In a recent video, Craig suggested that drivers should avoid sticking a sun strip on the windscreen of their vehicle, warning that they can block their view of the road.
He advised: "Sunstrips, they're an absolute hornet's nest of problems. So, straight away, we can see that this particular car has a very large sun strip.
"Now, the law that the police are enforcing is, if that sunstrip is encroaching into the swept area by more than 10mm, then they consider it unsuitable."
A sun strip is a piece of vinyl film that is placed on the top of a vehicle windscreen to tint or, in some cases, completely obscure the sky in order to prevent being dazzled by the sun.
However, whilst they do help to prevent drivers from being blinded whilst on the road, the DVSA states that the sun strip must not affect the swept area, the part of the screen that the windscreen wipers can reach, by more than 10mm.
This law is enforced to prevent the sunstrip from damaging or interfering with the windscreen wipers during harsh weather conditions.
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Later in the video, Craig warned that adding a sun strip that blocks the view of the road could also cause a vehicle to fail its next MOT.
He continued: "Now, under the MOT regulations, we have to assess if it physically affects the driver's view of the road or if it's only stopping them from looking at the clouds in the sky.
"It is a very, very grey area, but technically, from a police perspective, they can do you for it. So, personally, I would suggest that it should never go beyond 10mm into that swept area."
Similarly, motorists looking to give their car a little more personality must be considerate about where they put any smaller window stickers.
Any items placed directly in front of the driver that are more than 10mm can cause a vehicle to fail its MOT, whereas items in front of the front passenger can be no more than 40mm.
Moreover, whilst the law is less strict about the size of stickers on side windows and the rear windscreen of vehicles, motorists must make sure that any sticker or accessory does not block their view.
