Vehicle documents part 2 - VC5, MOT, Insurance

In life things often come in threes, from the three nephews of Donald Duck to the holy trinity (not related by the way) Vehicle documents are no exception and just like Huey, Dewey and Louie or the Father, Son and Holy ghost these documents have a natural order to them. So, what comes first? Thanks for playing but let’s just identify them first, (1) Vehicle Registration Certificate, A.K.A the VC5 (2) MOT certificate and (3) Insurance certificate which, phew, we already covered.

(Red Light - On your marks..)The vehicle registration certificate is the first of our document trinity and every vehicle on the road must have one. The VC5 is your car’s identity papers identifying your (1) vehicle make, (2) engine size and (3) its registered keeper (you). *Fair warning* another multiple of three coming up. If, for instance, you decided to use your new pride and joy to ram-raid the local jewellers and, as a result you, had to (1) change your name (2) change your address and (3) change your vehicle, you would need to inform the DVLA. Actually, in such a scenario informing the licensing authority might be a bit stupid but that's a whole different blog. That said, if you did change your name or address or you sold your car then you would indeed have to inform the DVLA and return part of your Vehicle registration document to them for an update. Word to the wise, if you lose your VC5 you will pay handsomely for a replacement.
(Amber light – Get set..) The MOT (Ministry Of Transport) certificate comes next. Now you have acquired your car you become responsible for its roadworthiness. If the VC5 is your car’s I.D papers then the MOT certificate is its bill of health which must be renewed every year. Quick note, the MOT only comes into effect from your vehicle’s third birthday (Three’s the theme remember) We will revisit the MOT topic another time.

(Green light – Go) Insurance documents come last, Why? because you must be in possession of the first two before you can get insured. (remember the three levels of insurance) Good let’s move on. Oops, we’re not going anywhere until that police officer comes over, get ready, looks like he is getting out now and he doesn’t look too happy, anything you want to tell me? How about your road tax disc, is it up to date?

Just enough time to mention SORN documents (Statutory Off Road Notification) You could include this in with our vehicle documents if you wanted to be mean and make a mockery of my neat little trinity theme, however, SORN documents only apply if you want to declare your vehicle off road (thus exempting you from paying road tax) and like the MOT this must be renewed after 12 months. Ok, here he comes, be polite now...
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Vehicle documents part 1 - insurance

So this is the vehicle documents bit, perhaps the least interesting and unpalatable of all the theory test/driving related issues we could talk about but hey, if you don’t experience the sour how can you appreciate the sweet? Think of this post as the coffee flavoured revel, you need to digest it before you can finish the pack. Ok let’s talk quickly before that police officer gets out of his cruiser and comes over, no doubt he’s running a check on your vehicle right now to see if you are insured. You are aren’t you?
There are three standard levels of insurance, beginning with (1)Third Party, which is exactly that, it covers damage to other vehicles and injury to other people i.e the third party in any accident, you are not covered in any way here. (2) Third party Fire and Theft adds another layer and now covers your own vehicle for.. oh you got it, fire and theft (3) Comprehensive insurance (fully comp), covers everything, that’s pretty comprehensive then.
Staying in the insurance zone for a moment longer, what is excess? Well in order to achieve a cheaper price when you buy your insurance you can agree to pay an excess amount of money in the event you get into an accident, so if the repair bill on that hypothetical future accident is £500 then you will pay the first £100, if that's the amount you agreed (that’s the excess) The more excess you agree to in advance the less the insurance will cost, and most of us, believing we are invincible, will agree to any old excess right? cos we are going to be the best driver on the road and that accident aint happening so its a redundant issue. It’s a brain/ego versus wallet choice really.
Ah, I see you just have a cover note at the moment, this is the temporary insurance document companies sometimes issue while they are preparing your full documents, that’s fine, your cover note is valid for a month and will be accepted by the officer. Something else temporary is the anesthetising effects of this topic on your brain maybe so lets conclude this necessary discussion on documents next time...
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The Demon Road : A Theory Test Intro

Welcome to the Theory Test Novel blog. Over the coming months I will be writing this companion blog to run parallel with the release of The Theory Test novel on june 1st. So if you are studying for the driving theory test and would like a silent partner and guide on your quest to theory test success please read on and I will throw lots of theory test knowledge your way with the guarantee that I can make it stick. As we go along I will break down the theory test into easily digestible bite size chunks and blend them with tasty memory-trick morsels from the demon road, a book that reaches the parts all other literature on the topic can only dream about. Now I have laid my cards on the table will you open your passenger door and allow me in so I can share an amazing new resource with you... the ultimate theory test cheat sheet. There's so much for us to talk about, so much for you to know, I hope you're ready ;)  
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