Michael,
Yes, I sort of agree. Having lived and worked in the US, Germany, the UK etc, I can say that cars in Europe where there are mandatory tests are far, far safer than in the US with the result that driving here is far safer. I could honestly not believe the state of some of the cars I saw on the road whilst living there. Perhaps some states have tests, but clearly not all. Buying a used car is even more of a lottery than in the UK, and frankly the cost of getting a used car checked out probably costs far more than the MOT process. That was my experience, at least.
In the UK, probably wisely, there is an assumption that older cars are more likely to exhibit safety issues as they become worn out. However, there is a point where most crappy old cars are scrapped as uneconomical to repair. There is also a point where really old cars have survived because they are so well looked after, like ours. In the UK last year I think, they stopped requiring MOT tests forreally really old cars on the assumption that they are likely to be well looked after. The 113 isn't there, sadly. At least in the UK we don't pay road tax for cars built before 1973 - they are regarded as classic cars. In Germany the situation is better whereby they have a rolling period of - I think but am not certain - 20 years, which is a far better idea. So in Germany, I suppose, the 129 could one day become a classic, where as in the UK it cannot.
I suppose my point is that the government has to draw a line somewhere. For red rear lights, that line was in Sep 65. The general outcome, though, is safer roads, at least as far as the UK is concerned. Under the Believe it or not heading, the UK has the safest roads in the world I read a few months back. (by road deaths per capita).
But this lights thing is a colossal pain and expense.
