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THE LAW By a Legal Expert
Page 93
Page 94
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Relating to
PASSENGER VEHICLES
THE system under which passenger vehicles are licensed for use—as contrasted with taxation licences which have not been altered—has been entirely revised by the Road Traffic Act, 1930. Not only will the existing system by means of which vehicles are licensed by the local authorities be replaced by licensing by the Commissioners for the new Traffic Areas, but the need for licences will be extended to all vehicles which are used for carrying passengers for hire, other than those motors which do not carry more than seven passengers and in which passengers are not carried at separate fares. ,This means that many vehicles which at present are used for private hire will come within some of the licensing requirements.
The date when the new requirements as to licences will come into force has not yet been officially stated, although it is understood that it may be April 1st, 1931. There is, however, a considerable number of regulations which will have to be made before the new system can be introduced.
Subject to an exception in the case"of certain sevenseaters, which is dealt with below, all vehicles in which passengers are carried at separate fares will be stage carriages or express carriages, the former being those in which any fare is less than 1s. and which are used for picking up and setting down passengers along the route; the latter will be those in which no fare is less than is. and which are used for conveying passengers between definite points. The present buses will therefore become stage carriages, whilst motor coaches will become express carriages. The definition of a stage carriage is, however, so worded as to include every vehicle in which passengers are carried at separate fares and which does not come within the definition of an express carriage,
Carrying Passengers at Separate Fares.
The only ease in which a vehicle that is used for carrying passengers at separate Tares will not be a stage carriage or an express carriage is where a vehicle which is adapted for carrying not more than seven passengers is used for transporting passengers at separate fares "on occasions of race meetings, public gatherings and other like special occasions." In such a case the vehicle will remain outside the licensing provisions of the Act, but it will still require to be licensed to ply for hire.
A vehicle that is let as a whole, and is not adapted for carrying more than seven passengers, will be a contract carriage and will be subject to such of the provisions of the Act as apply to these vehicles. If a vehicle that is intended for carrying not more than
seven passengers be let as a whole it will not be subject to the provisions of the Act, but if it be used for plying for hire it will have to be licensed by the local authority.
All stage carriages, express carriages and contract carriages will require certificates of fitness and publicservice-vehicle licences, whilst stage carriages and express carriages will also require road-service licences. Although the Act does not definitely define the difference between a public-service-vehicle licence and a road-service licence it appears that the former relates to the construction of the vehicle, whilst the latter refers to the use of the vehicle on the road, and deals with questions such as routes, fares, etc.
It should be noted that the need for road-service licences is not confined to those vehicles that are F used upon regular services, but extends to all vehicles which, by reason of the fact that they are used for carrying passengers at separate fares, are classified as stage carriages or express carriages, even though they are used for only occasional or special trips. This is a point which should receive careful consideration from owners of such vehicles.
Where a Road-service Licence Differs.
All public-service-vehicle licences, certificates of fitness, drivers' licences and conductors' licences will be available in any part of the country, but a road-service licence will be available only within the area of the Commissioners by whom it was issued, unless it has been " backed " by the Commissioners of each other area within which it is to be used. The Traffic Areas will be large and consequently in Many cases where local services Are to be run there will be no need for having the licences backed, but backing will be needed where long-distance services are operated, or where services start near the border of a Traffic Area and it is necessary to run the service over the border.
In all cases of doubt coach or bus proprietors should make inquiry at the offices of the Traffic Commissioners for their Area, where, presumably, large-scale maps will be available showing the actual boundaries of the Area.
The provisions of the Act with regard to the granting of licences apply to the " backing " of licences, and new conditions may be attached to .a licence when it is "backed." Apparently an application for a licence to be " backed " will have to be made in the same way as if the application were for a completely new licence, and the same particulars will have to be furnished to the Commissioners for the Area within which the vehicle is to be used.
Defining the Heavy Motorcar.
Under the present. regulations .a motor vehicle is a heavy motorcar it the weight unladen exceeds two tons, but under the new Act a motor vehicle is not a heavy motorcar unless the weight unladen exceeds 24 tons. Moreover. ifa vehicle be constructed solely for the carriage of passengers and their effects and is adapted to carry not more than seven passengers, and is equipped with tyres of "the prescribed type" (which probably means pneumatic, although the regulations are not clear on this point), the vehicle is not a heavy motorcar unless the weight unladen exceeds three tons.
In the case of a seven-seater which complies with the above requirements there is no speed limit.whilst in the case of a vehicle that is adapted for carrying more than seven passengers, or that is a heavy motorcar, the maximum speed is 30 m.p.h.
It is important that these provisions as to speed should be borne in mind by all proprietors when preparing their time-tobles, because in the case of regular services they will, when applying for road service licences, have to submit their time-tables to the Commissioners, and the Commissioners are expressly directed not to grant a road-service licence in respect of any route if it appears from the particulars that are furnished that the maximum speed at which the vehicle is allowed to be driven is likely to be contravened.
The question of wages and conditions of employment is dealt with by Section 93 of the Road Traffic Act, which provides that the wages paid by the holder of any road-service licence to persons employed by him in connection with the operation of. a public-service vehicle, and the conditions of their employment, shall not be less favourable to them than the wages that would be payable and the conditions that would have to be observed under a contract which complied with the requirement of any resolution of the House of Commons, for the time being in force applicable to contracts with Government Departments.
Wages and Conditions of Employment.
The section also provides that any organization representative of persons engaged in the road-transport industry may make representations to the Commissioners to the effect that the wages paid to, or the conditions of employment of, any person employed by the holder of any road-service licence are not in accordance with the above requirements, and that if the matter be not otherwise disposed of it shall be referred by the Minister of Labour to the Industrial Court for settlement.
If the Industrial Court decides that any person has been guilty of a breach of the provisions of the section he will be liable to be dealt with in all respects as if he had failed to comply with a .condition attached to his road-service licence.
The somewhat complicated and entirely novel requiremeots of the Act with regard to the limitation of time for which drivers of certain vehicles may remain continuously on duty apply to all public-service vehicles within the meaning of Part IV of the Act, and cease queutly all proprietors should make themselves fully acquainted with the provisions of Section. 19, in which these requirements are set out, and Which may be summarized as follow :—
(1) A driver may not drive for any continuous period of more than 51 hours. Periods separated by less than half-an-hour are treated as being continuous.
(2) A driver may not drive for continuous periods which total more than 11 hours in any period of 24 hours commencing at 2 aan.
(3) A driver must have at least 10 consecutive hours for rest in any period of 24 hours calculated from the commencement of any period of driving, but it is sufficient for him to have nine consecutive hours of rest during the 24 hours if during the following 24 hours he has at least 12 consecutive hours of rest.
(4) Any time spent by the driver on other work in connection with the vehicle, or its load, or, in the case of a public-service vehicle, any tithe spent on a vehicle while On a. journey in any capacity other than as a passenger, is to be reckoned as time spent in driving.
The Requirements of Section 19.
The above requirements have not yet come into force and it is possible that some modification may be made, but in the meantime the following comments are offered :— (i) With regard to the hours of rest, it appears that from the time when a driver first commences to drive he must have 10 consecutive hours of rest—or in the special circumstances mentioned nine hours--during the next 24 hours. For example, if a driver starts
to drive at 8 a.m. on a Monday he must have 10 con
secutive hours of rest before 8 a.m. on Tuesday. He may, for example, drive from 8 a.m. until 12 noon, rest until 2 p.m., drive until 6 p.m., rest until 7 p.m.
and drive until 10 p.m., but after that time he must not drive again until. 8 a.m. the following morning, as otherwise he will be exceeding his total of 11 hours driving as laid clown in condition 2, and he will not have his 10 consecutive hours of rest as laid down by condition 3.
(ii) It appears that the requirements of the section apply to owner-drivers as well as to paid drivers.
(iii) There does not appear to be any objection to the driver spending the whole or part of his hours of rest on the vehicle so long as he is not in any way on duty, but is merely a passenger.
It is important for proprietors of passenger vehicles to note that in order to comply with the requirements of the Act an insurance policy must be taken out which covers not only legal liability in respect of the death of or injury to any third party, but also legal liability to any person who is carried in the vehicle. This is a special requirement which applies to vehicles in which passengers are carried for hire.
All proprietors who operate those vehicles which are fitted with wash basins and provide other similar facilities should obtain copies of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, and study paragraphs 19 and 08, which deal with that subject.