Driving without speedo etc.

[weirdfish]

As my binnacle is away having the dreaded pixels repaired, and it's not being returned until Monday, ( he's let me down a bit ), and I've got someone that wants to view the car over the weekend, am i going to break too many laws driving with the unit removed, I know you shouldn't, but I don't want to put people off viewing.

[X5Sport]

Strangely enough, one of the few 'mandatory' instruments that all cars must be fitted with if to be used on the public road is a working speedo.  I think the regs you may fall foul of are the 'Construction & Use' ones - but only if you get caught..

When the X6 binnacle failed we were OK as I have a GPS based safety camera detector which actually gives me a live speed display.  That was apparently good enough, as long as we were only going home and went nowhere else until fixed.

If you have an iPhone....is there an 'App for that!'?

The text below is an extract from Thames Valley Police......

Q.  Is it illegal to drive a car with a broken speedometer?

A.  Any speedometer that is fitted to a vehicle must be kept in good working order whilst the vehicle is being used on a road. The penalty for failing to have a speedometer in good working order is a fine.

However, if the speedometer develops a fault whilst being used or a defect has been discovered then all steps must be taken to rectify the fault with reasonable expedition. This exception applies only when the defect develops and must be repaired before the next journey.

So the answer is yes it's illegal, and yes you can be fined.


Richard

[shadrack]

as above a working speedometer is not an mot requirement, use a gps sat nav to stop you getting done for speeding, as its not an mot requirement i would argue that its not needed for road driving

[weirdfish]

I think it's down to whether you get caught or not, I will wait and see how keen the guy is before deciding whether to take it out for a spin.
Thanx.

[X5Sport]

MOT covers fitness of the vehicle to be on the road, Construction & Use covers what MUST be fitted and in what condition etc it MUST be to be legal on the road to meet type approval requirements (and as a former 'Special Vehicle' developer and operator I came to hate with a passion!).  There is a big difference between the two.  A working speedo is in the MOT.

The 2012 MOT (Section 6.7) now says the speedo must be operational and a car will fail if the speedo is not fitted, not operational, incomplete or has a broken 'dial glass'.  Double whammy then.

Other considerations are what your insurance terms & conditions say.  If they state that your vehicle needs to be operated in accordance with all the current rules etc, then they might reasonably argue that no speedo means you are 'non compliant' and therefore not insured.  That could mean you lose the car if caught.

Personally I would not take any chance, but each to their own.

[jaynana]

i'd hook my phone on the dashboard temporarily and run an app that will show the speed on it, until the speedo is back in action.

i wouldn't take the risk of runnin thru a speed cam.


j

[Raj]

Thh the likelihood of being spotted without it in is very minimal. Just don't go spinning the tyres up...lol.

Also you'll need to reset error messages as I'm sure it will throw some up without it fitted.