§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he gave advice to those carrying out the MOT test that they should use only hand and thumb pressure and that they should not probe with a hammer or with a screwdriver when checking for rust; in what circumstances and by whom such advice was issued; and in what form.
§ Dr. GilbertProbing with a hammer or screwdriver is not necessary to determine whether corrosion exists, and may only make the condition of a defective part worse or impair a vehicle's underseal. The Department's advice to nominated testers is based on many years' experience of roadworthiness testing. It will be incorporated in the revised tester's manual, which has been agreed by the technical committees of the Motor Agents' Association and the Scottish Motor Traders' Association, which I hope to publish shortly.