More than 10 million vehicles have failed the new MOT tests since their introduction a year ago, according to a study by Green Flag.

In just over a year since new MOT tests were put in place, breakdown cover provider Green Flag has led a study that has discovered the pass and fail rates of all drivers across the UK.

Over a third (33%) of vehicles failed the new tests, and almost one-in-10 (9%) failed with a ‘dangerous’ outcome. This tallies to over 10m vehicles that have failed.

The three new failure categories are minor, major and dangerous. If it fails with the latter it is illegal to drive on the roads.

Mark Newbery, Green Flag's commercial director, said: “Drivers should be aware of the risks of driving a faulty car. 

“It not only endangers other motorists, but drivers and their passengers alike. Problems with vehicles will only worsen if not seen to, costing more money in the long run.”

“We are urging drivers to thoroughly check their cars and repair any problems immediately, to give them the best chance of passing the new MOT tests.”

The new MOT test results show: 30,488,960 MOT tests taken nationwide, 10,001,293 (33 per cent) of these were fails and 20,487,667 (67 per cent) were passes. Of these, 2,817,967 (nine per cent) vehicles yielded dangerous results and 9,095,989 (44 per cent) yielded major results.

The regions where the most fails occurred include the South West (38 per cent), Wales (35 per cent), Scotland (35 per cent), the East Midlands (33 per cent) and the North East (33 per cent).

The highest pass rate came from Greater London (71 per cent), which was followed by the East of England (69 per cent), the West Midlands (68 per cent) and the North West (68 per cent).

Any driver driving a car without a valid MOT could be fined up to £2,500.