By Chris Price
DVSA has completed the first Images in Garages trial – one of the
building blocks that will help us tackle errors at MOT and
fraudulent “Ghost” MOTs.
In March, we asked a group of garages to take a photo of each car
when it comes in for an MOT – providing evidence that the vehicle
was present – this photo being automatically uploaded into the
digital MOT Testing Service.
In time, this change will help reduce fraudulent MOTs, ensuring
all vehicles are present for tests and retests, improving road
safety and compliance.
We're pleased to share the results of the first round of this
trial – and to update you on where we're going next.
Trial results
The six-week nationwide trial saw just over 170 MOT testers in 62
garages take part. Together, they cover all vehicle classes and
include independent garages, chains, dealerships and local
council testing stations.
Using a mobile phone or tablet, testers were asked to take a
photo and upload it through the MOT Testing System (MTS) – where
it was attached to the MOT record for that vehicle.
The response has been impressive.
Around 450-500 photos were uploaded each weekday – by the end,
over 13,000 photos from all 62 garages had been submitted.
Testers were able to get to grips with the technology quickly and
by the end of the first week, the top 10 busiest garages in the
trial had an upload success rate of 90.2%.
Image quality
The trial has allowed us to review the images and see where any
common mistakes are. We know that testers needed to get used to
uploading photos – so spotting common themes helps us to provide
the best guidance.
We've included a few examples here. The number plates have been
blocked out for the blog – but testers will be pleased to hear
they were visible when they came in.
This is a strong example. It clearly shows the vehicle in a
garage setting with the number plate visible. Sharp-eyed testers
may not be surprised to see it failed its MOT.
A perfect illustration of a tester following MTS guidance.
It also highlights a well-maintained workshop, which could spark
conversations within your garage around good housekeeping.
A great example in terms of image quality, though not taken in
the right location. This is a useful example which prompts
us to clarify our guidelines.
The trial has allowed us to catch these issues early – but it
also raises some important changes we will need to make. For
example – if we evolve the system to automatically capture
registration plates, we will need to make sure the software can
sift out those on other vehicles.
Spotting these help us plan for the future – and will be
considered when we run the second phase of the trial.
Early feedback
We surveyed those involved in the trial and found that half of
the respondents said the experience was “easy” or “very easy” –
with only 7% reporting it was “difficult”.
When we spoke to garages, one user said it was “painless and
stress-free” – with another describing it as “wonderful!”
When users encountered technical issues, they remained positive,
and we were able to fix some of these as they were reported to
us. An issue with expiring QR codes was resolved through the
trial, image timestamps were fixed, and we fixed an issue with
the QWERTY keypad opening when it shouldn't – all contributing to
a smoother user experience.
It was suggested that taking images would lead to longer testing
times. Photographs are taken at the beginning of tests and
retests – so vehicles need to move back into the bay.
For the top 10 garages, the average test time for the first test
remained at 40 minutes. The retest time was at 9 minutes – up
from 7 previously. We are now working with garages to reduce this
time by removing any technical barriers to the photos being
uploaded.
The future
The success means DVSA will be widening the trial with more
garages after we've collated all of the feedback from the garages
who took part in the first trial. This will help us to get
insight on how we can improve the software and process for every
kind of garage.
We know there's still room to refine and enhance image capture
and upload, and we'll continue making improvements as we go. The
second phase of the trial will focus on testing the system at
scale to ensure it's ready for a phased rollout.
But we also know the garages who signed up for the service are
continuing to use this – and anyone involved in the trial can be
sure they are working with DVSA to combat MOT fraud.
Read more about why we're doing this here: How we're combating fraud
and error within the MOT – Matters of Testing
