MOT centre fined £10,000 after boy crushed by car

An MOT testing centre in north London has been fined £10,000 after a child was crushed by a car, sustaining life-changing injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety, reported a 14-year-old boy was sitting down waiting for an MOT to be conducted at New Auto Tech Limited, in Finsbury Park on 4 May 2022, when he was crushed.

The HSE said the boy, who sustained multiple pelvis fractures, was bed-bound for three months and off school for more than a year.

The company, of Alroy Road, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of those not in its employment.

As well as the £10,000 fine, New Auto Tech Limited was ordered to pay costs of £6,810 following the hearing on 10 January.

An investigation by the HSE found New Auto Tech Limited failed to ensure members of the public were in a safe area when vehicles were being moved.

The accident happened when an MOT technician tried to move a car in reverse but drove it forwards off the brake rollers, crushing the boy against a wall.

The HSE said the MOT centre had a designated viewing area to the side of the brake roller bay, which was a painted box on the floor with a chair placed inside it.

However, it found there were no protective barriers and the business failed to stop customers from going into parts of the workshop where vehicles were moving.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Michelle Morphy said: "This case sends a clear message to MOT test centres that HSE will hold them to account if they fail to protect both workers and members of the public.

"On this occasion, they failed to protect a child, by allowing them to move from their allotted viewing area into an operational area, which should have been restricted to workers only."

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