The operation of vehicles is prohibited if:

Explanation

The failure of the fuel tank cap provided for in the vehicle's structure.

Identification marks on a vehicle fall into two quite different categories, and the exam tests precisely that boundary. The first category is mandatory, because they tell other drivers what behaviour to expect from this vehicle: "training vehicle", "carriage of children", "long vehicle" and the like. The second is optional and their absence creates no prohibition; the "Doctor" mark is in this category and the driver fits it if he wishes.

The logic of this distinction is safety, not administration: a mandatory mark changes the behaviour of other drivers — you keep a greater distance behind a training vehicle and overtake it with care. But the "Doctor" mark has no such function within the traffic flow.

By contrast, the fuel tank cap belongs to the same category of closures that must work. A tank that will not close spills fuel over bumps and in turns; the result is both a fire risk and a slippery patch on the carriageway for those coming behind you. In a collision, that same cap makes the difference between a simple impact and a fire.

Worth memorising: wherever you see an option about a missing identification mark, first ask yourself whether that mark is mandatory or optional; the answer becomes clear right there.

• Fitting the "Doctor" mark is optional and its absence on a doctor's car does not count as an offence; this option trades on its superficial resemblance to mandatory marks. • Since the first item is not a defect at all, "in both cases" cannot be correct; only the fuel cap fault remains.

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