More than a million unsafe vehicles are being driven on UK roads as motorists choose to ignore official recalls.

Auto Express is calling for recall checks to be made part of the MoT after figures from the Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) found that less than half (47.7 per cent) of the 2.2 million models affected by manufacturer recalls actually went into dealers to be fixed.

Many owners may not even be aware their model has been subject to a recall as issues don’t always affect how a car drives. However, some issues have the potential to cause sudden failure and could be deadly in an accident.

By far the most widespread recall concerns an exploding airbag fault that affects 40 million vehicles across 12 car brands including BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. BMW has fixed just 1.5 per cent of cars affected, while Toyota has addressed one in four.

Vauxhall’s fire-starting Zafiras have a much better recall rate of 69.7 per cent, thanks to how the brand has worked with the DVSA to ensure work has been carried out during MoT tests. This is why Auto Express believes recall checks should be made part of the MoT.

John McIlroy, deputy editor of the weekly motoring magazine, said: “It’s scandalous that so many dangerous cars are driving around with faults which could be fixed for free at a dealer.

“Owners are either unaware because records aren’t up to date or they just don’t think it’s worth their time to get it fixed.”

Ben Robb, brand manager at The Fuelcard People, adds: “If a car is being driven with a potentially fatal fault, then there’s no way it should be considered roadworthy. Implementing recall checks into a scheduled MoT would quickly put an end to this highly risky situation.”

You can check if any of your vehicles are affected by any outstanding recalls at themotorombudsman.org/vehicle-recalls.