A third of cars have failed tighter MOTs tests in its first year, with 3 million ‘dangerous’ vehicles being taken off the road as a result, the DVSA has confirmed.

33 per cent (10,329,534) of the 31,285,618 MOT tests up to 19 May 2019 failed, with 2,952,487 of these failed vehicles were deemed to have dangerous defects.

The failed vehicles had to be either removed entirely from the roads or fully repaired and retested before owners could legally drive them again.

The stricter rules, introduced by the DVSA on the 20 May 2018, include new defect categories to aid motorists’ understanding of their vehicle’s issues. These categories were named minor, major and dangerous.

Dangerous and major issues always result in an automatic fail, with minor faults being recommended fixes that should be done before the car is driven again. However, with the latter, garages won’t stop owners from driving their vehicles away.

The most common failure was found to be related to suspension, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. Other common problems include brake, tyres and visibility issues.