MOT defect file
Driver's view of the road obstructed
Last updated
Quick answer
Something fitted to or hanging in front of the windscreen is blocking the driver's view — a dashcam, a satnav mount, a sticker or a permit. The size allowed directly in front of the driver is much smaller than most people expect.
- Typical cost
- £0–£60
- DIY viability
- Straightforward
What you might notice
- A dashcam, phone cradle or satnav mount sitting in the band of screen the wipers clear
- Stickers, permits or a residents' pass built up over the years in a corner of the screen
- Air fresheners, parking discs or hanging ornaments swinging in the driver's line of sight
- Nothing that feels like an obstruction at all — you have looked past it for so long that you no longer see it
What causes it
- A dashcam fitted where it is convenient to reach rather than where it is allowed, usually too low and too central
- Accumulated permits and service stickers that nobody ever removed
- A phone or satnav mount stuck to the screen instead of the dashboard or a vent
- Aftermarket tint film, a sun strip cut too deep, or a repair patch fitted over a chip in the wrong place
Advisory or failure?
Anything attached to the screen is measured on exactly the same basis as damage to the glass. Zone A is a 290mm-wide strip centred on the steering wheel within the area swept by the wipers, and an obstruction larger than 10mm anywhere inside it is a major defect. Across the rest of the swept area the limit is 40mm. Outside the swept area, an item is only a defect if it obstructs the driver's view of the road — which is also the test applied to objects hanging from the mirror or sitting on the dashboard. A satnav or dashcam mounted so that it does not intrude into the swept area, typically high and behind the mirror on the passenger side, is not a defect at all. Note that a legally required item such as a licence disc holder does not get an exemption from these measurements; nothing does.
Can you fix it yourself?
Straightforward
This is one of the very few MOT defects you can fix for nothing in the car park. Sit in the driving seat at your normal position and look at what actually intrudes on the road ahead rather than measuring from outside. Move a dashcam up behind the mirror, relocate a phone mount to the dashboard or a vent, and take old permits off. Warm adhesive with a hairdryer and lift it with a plastic scraper rather than a blade, then clean the residue with an adhesive remover — a razor blade on a windscreen leaves fine scratches that scatter light in low sun and cannot be polished out. If the camera has lane keeping or emergency braking behind it, do not move that; it is a bonded fitting and needs recalibration.
What it costs
Almost always free. An adhesive remover and a plastic scraper are £5 to £10 and will do the whole job. Where a dashcam has to be repositioned and rewired neatly behind the trim, a fitter will charge £30 to £60, and a professional tint removal from a windscreen is £50 to £150 depending on how well the film has bonded and how much residue it leaves. The only genuine expense in this area is a screen that has been scratched by somebody scraping stickers off with a blade, because that is a replacement rather than a repair.
What happens if you ignore it
The obvious cost is a retest for something that takes two minutes and no money to correct, which makes it the most annoying way to fail. The real point is that anything in Zone A sits in the part of the screen you use to read a junction, and a 20mm obstruction at arm's length hides a great deal more of the road than it looks like it should. Driving with a view of the road obstructed is separately an offence, so a dashcam badly placed in the middle of the screen is something a police officer can act on regardless of the MOT.
Common questions
- Where can I legally fit a dashcam on my windscreen?
- High up and behind the interior mirror, typically towards the passenger side, so that it does not intrude into the area the wipers sweep. Mounted there it is not a defect at all. Do not move a factory camera for lane keeping or emergency braking, because that is a bonded fitting and needs recalibration.
- What is Zone A on a windscreen?
- Zone A is a 290mm-wide strip centred on the steering wheel, within the area swept by the wipers. Anything in it larger than 10mm is a major defect, and across the rest of the swept area the limit is 40mm. The same measurements apply to damage in the glass and to items stuck onto it.
- Are air fresheners hanging from the mirror illegal?
- Only if they obstruct the driver's view of the road, which is the test applied to anything dangling from the mirror or sitting on the dashboard. A small freshener usually passes, but a large ornament swinging in your line of sight is a defect, and driving with an obstructed view is separately an offence.
- Do stickers on the windscreen fail an MOT?
- They are measured on exactly the same basis as damage to the glass, so a sticker or permit over 10mm inside Zone A is a major defect, and one over 40mm elsewhere in the swept area is too. Nothing is exempt from those measurements, not even a licence disc holder, so old permits are best taken off.
- How do I remove stickers from a windscreen without scratching it?
- Warm the adhesive with a hairdryer, lift the edge with a plastic scraper, then clean the residue with an adhesive remover, which costs £5 to £10 and will do the whole job. Never use a razor blade: it leaves fine scratches that scatter light in low sun, cannot be polished out, and turn a free fix into a new windscreen.
The warning light behind this
This defect is what a tester writes down. What you see from the driver’s seat is a symbol, and it is worth checking which one, because manufacturers reuse the same shape for more than one system.
This is general guidance, not a diagnosis. The severity DVSA records depends on the specific fault found, so the same item can appear as an advisory on one test and a failure on another. Ask a qualified tester or mechanic to inspect the vehicle.
Has this been recorded on your car?
Check the full MOT history for any UK registration.