Rules and law

What does the coronavirus pandemic mean for cars and motorists?

Our March 2020 guide for UK motorists during the first coronavirus lockdown: driving rules, MOTs, servicing, car tax, driving tests and your insurer.

This article was first published in 2020 and is kept for reference. Rules may have changed since.

Restrictions were put in place to stop people leaving their homes except for necessary travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. With no sign of it slowing down, motorists were wondering whether they could still get maintenance work, MOTs or servicing done.

Critical workers would have no trouble getting repairs done, as they needed their vehicles to get to important work. For everyone else, here is how the lockdown was going to affect cars and motorists in the UK.

So, can I still drive my car?

You could still use your car, but not in the way you were used to. The UK government said vehicles should only be used for a few approved reasons:

1. shopping for essentials (food and medicine)
2. attending a doctor's or hospital appointment
3. helping an elderly or vulnerable person
4. travelling to and from work if you couldn't work from home

Motorists were not allowed to drive for other reasons, including driving somewhere to go for a walk or exercise. Police forces were watching for this and would question people they thought were travelling for other reasons. As of Friday 27 March 2020 there were no plans to close roads, though that could have changed.

Motorists were also told not to be tempted out for a drive on empty roads. Anyone caught doing so could be fined by the police.

My MOT is running out and I can't leave the house. What should I do?

On 25 March the government announced that cars with MOTs due from 30 March would be exempt for six months. If your MOT was due before 30 March 2020, you still needed to get it done. The exception was if you were self-isolating, in which case the advice was to apply online to take the vehicle off the road (a SORN, or Statutory Off Road Notification).

If you couldn't get your vehicle to an MOT centre, it was important to keep it roadworthy. That meant keeping your tyres in good order and making sure your lights and windscreen wipers worked.

If your MOT was due from 30 March, the government said you would get an automatic six month extension. Again, you had to keep the vehicle roadworthy during that time.

It was worth looking for local garages offering a collect and return MOT service, or mobile MOT testers, so you didn't have to leave home. A representative from the garage would collect your car, test it and bring it back. This might have been the preferred option if you didn't want to take any chances.

Can I still get my car serviced?

Garages were staying open for essential repairs to vehicles used by critical workers, although many had closed because of the pandemic. It was worth contacting them to check.

Car dealer showrooms were closed across the country. If your service was due, the advice was to contact your dealer to check whether missing it would affect your warranty.

What about my car tax?

You still needed to tax your vehicle. Motorists whose MOTs were due to expire from 30 March had been told their MOTs were extended by six months, so they could use their existing MOT certificate when taxing and insuring the vehicle.

I need petrol. Can I still fill up?

Petrol stations were open and expected to stay open, mainly for critical workers. If you needed fuel to go out for food and medicine, that was fine. Driving just to pass the time wasn't worth the risk.

It was worth taking extra care at the pumps. The advice was to use disposable gloves when handling fuel pumps, as viruses can survive on surfaces, keep hand sanitiser in the car and use it straight afterwards, and avoid touching your face. Where possible, paying at the pump reduced contact with other people.

My driving test is in the next few weeks. What does this mean?

Driving tests were suspended for three months, although tests were still available for critical workers such as NHS staff and some delivery drivers. The suspension covered theory tests, driving tests and ADI standards checks (for approved driving instructors).

If you had booked and paid for a test, you would get an automatic refund, confirmed by email. Because of the number of refunds, this could take a while.

You couldn't book a new test in the meantime. When testing restarted, priority would go to people whose tests had been cancelled, so waits were likely to be longer than usual.

Should I tell my insurer about changes to my driving?

The pandemic changed a lot of people's routines. If you had insurance on your vehicle, it was worth telling your insurer about changes such as these.

No longer commuting. Many policies include social, domestic, pleasure and commuting use. If you were now working from home for the foreseeable future, you might want to let your insurer know.

Where you keep the vehicle during the day and overnight. Your insurer will have a record of where you keep the vehicle. If you were now keeping it somewhere else, such as in a garage instead of on the street, it was worth letting them know.

Your annual mileage. If you weren't a key worker you were probably driving less, so your mileage would be lower than you'd estimated. Key workers, on the other hand, might be driving more than they'd said.

What if I can't keep up with my repayments?

If you were struggling to keep up with payments, the advice was to contact your insurer or lender as soon as possible. They may have been able to help or explain your options. If you didn't tell them, there was a risk the policy could be cancelled.

At the time (Friday 27 March 2020), the government had not issued specific guidance on this, but it had announced a range of support for people in financial difficulty. Current help with money worries is available from MoneyHelper, and current information on MOTs and vehicle tax is on gov.uk.