There are a number of offences relating to the state or condition of your car or vehicle with which you can be charged, and it is important to bear in mind that the fact that you were unaware of the defect is no defence. It is your responsibility as a driver to ensure that your vehicle is free from defects

There are four common offences with which you may be charged in relation to vehicle defects. These are:

• using a vehicle which is in a dangerous condition;
• using a vehicle which has faulty brakes;
• Using a vehicle which has faulty lights;
• using a vehicle which has defective tyres.

If the defect which your vehicle is subject to is a minor one then, if stopped by the police you are likely to be offered the opportunity to have your vehicle dealt with in accordance with the Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme (VDRS). This scheme replaces the verbal warning that police officers used to give when minor matters were noted. The basis of the scheme is that you will be required to right the defect or face prosecution. It is a voluntary scheme under which you will be given a form setting out the defect and requiring you to put that defect right, have the vehicle inspected by an approved garage and to return to the police within 14 days with the defect form endorsed by that garage. This procedure will tend to be used in connection with such minor matters as faulty lights or marginally defective tyres.

If, however, you are using a vehicle on the road which is dangerous, then you are likely to face a more serious charge, namely that of using a vehicle in a dangerous condition. This carries with a fine of up to £2,500 (more if you are the driver of a large goods vehicle or passenger-carrying vehicle), 3 penalty points on your licence and the possibility of a disqualification. Indeed, if you have committed a similar offence in the past three years there is an obligatory disqualification for a period of at least 6 months.