DRIVERS in West Yorkshire have paid out almost £10 million in fines since 2012 for not having a valid MOT certificate, new figures have revealed.

The statistics, obtained by car review and comparison website Carbuyer under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, revealed West Yorkshire Police has issued more fines for not having a valid MOT than any other police force in the country, and almost double the second placed constabulary.

Since 2012, West Yorkshire Police has dished out 121,650 tickets to drivers, bringing in £9,866,400 in fines. The county accounts for more than a quarter of all tickets issued nationally, and has issued almost twice as many as the Metropolitan Police, which has handed out 64,570 tickets since 2012.

West Yorkshire Police handed out more than 12 times as many tickets as its counterparts in South Yorkshire, and 24 times as many tickets as officers in Humberside.

The lowest ranked force of the 36 forces that responded, out of 45 in the UK, was Durham, which handed out just 108 tickets since 2012, taking in £10,800 in fines.

Nationally, 424,316 tickets have been issued in the last five years, bringing in £35,462,400 in fines.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “Driving a vehicle without a valid MOT is taken seriously.

“The proactive work that our officers continue to do shows that this is an unacceptable risk and as such anyone found without a valid MOT will be dealt with positively.”

The typical fine for an out-of-date MOT certificate is a £100 fixed penalty notice, which was increased from £60 in 2013, however the fine can increase up to £1,000 if taken to court.

The MOT - Ministry of Transport - test is an annual test of vehicle safety, exhaust emissions and aspects of the vehicle needed to deem it roadworthy, required in the UK for most vehicles more than three years old.

A poll carried out by Carbuyer found a third of drivers said they had forgotten to renew their current MOT on time, with 15 per cent leaving it more than a month overdue.

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The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency recently said it is working on an automatic annual notification to motorists to tell them when their MOT is due, which motorists can sign up to.

A spokesman added: “We are currently testing an MOT reminder service where initially vehicle owners can sign up to receive a reminder e-mail at four weeks and two weeks before their MOT is due.”

The other police forces in the top five for MOT fines are third-placed Police Scotland, with 63,366 fines issued, fourth-placed Essex Police, which handed out 23,626 fines, and Merseyside Police in fifth, which dished out 23,224 fines to drivers.

North Yorkshire Police was not able to respond to the FOI request made by Carbuyer.