Some of you may not have heard about the welcome announcement made by the Government a few weeks ago that cars and motorbikes built before 1960 will not require an MOT from 18 November 2012.

In the current financial climate, with so many people having to tighten their belts, this news will no doubt please the majority of classic car owners.

The thinking behind the decision is that it was felt that the owners of classic cars pay a great deal of attention in maintaining their loved one (their classic car in this case!)  not only “bodily” but also mechanically. In fact many classic cars are possibly in better condition than some fairly new cars.

In reaching this decision the Government no doubt also took into account the fact that there are only about 162,000 classic cars in this country and that only accounts for a very small percentage of the total number of cars on the roads. The Government are also aware that many of those cars will not travel many miles each year.

It was also felt that classic car drivers are very careful when driving on the roads and statistically their accident rate is far lower than the norm.

Having said all of the above, classic car owners of vehicles built before 1960 will still be responsible for ensuring that they are well maintained and, if not, could face prosecution.

Interestingly, some of these facts also account for why classic car insurance premiums are usually lower than that of standard car insurance. On this point there are some owners of more modern classic cars who have got standard car insurance and may be able to replace it with classic car insurance.

Some road safety campaigners have not welcomed this decision feeling that it could lead to an increase in accidents and deaths on our roads.