DRIVERS have been warned over seven little-known festive decorations that could cause your car to fail an MOT this Christmas.
Expert mechanic Ollie Green urged drivers to avoid going over the top with the cheer this year or risk thousands in fines.
ShutterstockAn expert mechanic has revealed which festive car decorations could see you slapped with hefty fines and failing an MOT[/caption]
Ollie, who owns car maintenance firm Collect Service Go, set out which mods can put you on the wrong side of the law.
Christmas car decorations have gone viral on social media, with related search terms gaining over 50 million views on TikTok, so it’s vital to know the dos and don’ts of vehicle decoration.
First of all, Ollie advised against adding a novelty horn as a temporary replacement for your factory standard one.
While it can add a bit of Christmas spirit to your drive, many might not know that it’s actually illegal.
The Road Vehicles Regulations of 1986 state: “No motor vehicle shall be fitted with a bell, gong, siren, or two-tone horn.”
As such, changing your beep to sleigh bells or even La Cucaracha could land you in trouble.
Next up, you should always avoid making any change that could restrict your view as you drive along.
Covering windows in festive stickers, hanging a large decoration from your rear-view mirror or setting up a Christmassy scene on your dashboard could all see you slapped with a hefty fine.
Any limitation to your ability to see out of the windscreen without distraction could see you in the dock for not being in “full control” of your vehicle.
This can carry a fine of up to £1,000 and a driving ban.
But you can also see yourself hit with penalty charges for external decorations.
Using tinsel to add a bit of sparkle to your licence plate can actually see you £1,000 out of pocket.
Anything that could obscure any part of your plate is actually illegal and can attract fines and an MOT failure.
Finally, you mustn’t add fairy lights to your dashboard or alternative coloured headlights.
While the Christmas colour scheme is traditional red and green, both of these colours are actually legally reserved for emergency services.
Only white and yellow headlights are legally allowed and no unconventional lights can legally be visible from the front or rear of the motor.
The only red light you can have on a standard car is the brake lights that come as standard.