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Changes in Cat U
Page 101
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Regulations, 1
The 1973 Construction and Use Regulations were amended seven times in 1977 and on 21 occasions since ihey came into operation in 1973. It is not surprising that there is now a completely new set of regulations, the Motor Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1978 (1978 No 1017) which came into operation on August 30, 1978. The new regulations consolidate the old ones and also introduce some new law.
These regulations are of particular importance to all fleet )perators, dealing as they do with the construction of all types of fehicles and how they may be used. Dimensions, weights, brakes, nirrors, tyres, horns, wings, speedometers and a host of othar natters relating to vehicle specifications are dealt with by the egulations. Incidentally, the regulations appear in the syllabus for he Certificate of Professional Competence examination for both )sv and goods vehicle candidates. In the next few articles in this ones I hope to look at the regulations in detail, discussing the small hanges in the law as well as dealing with the bulk of the legislation ihich remains unchanged.
The regulations are in five parts with 12 schedules; there are 142 ages and 144 regulations. The regulations may be obtained from IMSO price £2.50.
Part 1 deals, in the main, with definitions and with exemptions. he definitions are important, and rt is prudent when considering ny part of the regulations to consult Part 1 to make sure exactly ,hat is meant by any particular term. For example, Regulation 25 quires vehicles to be fitted with safety glass; what exactly is safety lass? Part 1 defines it as "glass so constructed or treated that, if actured, it does not fly into fragments likely to cause severe cuts".. rery item is defined in this way, and I shall refer to Part 1 to find the tact meaning of each word whenever necessary as each regulation dealt with.
Part II deals with the construction, weight and equipment of lotor vehicles and trailers and Regulation 8 starts off by stating that II motor cycles and invalid carriages must be wheeled vehicles and let all other vehicles must be either wheeled or track laying. On rst thought, one might ask what else they could be, but, of course, ailers could be sledges and as such their use on roads would be nlawful.
Regulation 9 deals with overall lengths and states that an artic ust not exceed 15 metres (49ft 2.5in.). This restriction on length )es not apply to an articulated vehicle constructed and normally ;ed for the conveyance of indivisible loads of exceptional length, is concession is only applicable if the vehicle is fitted with leumatic tyres or if not so fitted is not driven at a speed exceeding mph. (There are other restrictions concerning tyres and speed nits but these will be dealt with later).
It is now necessary to turn back to Part I of the regulations to find e definitions of articulated vehicle and indivisible load. Articulated hide is defined as ' 'a heavy motor car or motor car with a trailer so :ached to the drawing vehicle that part of the trailer is superimsed upon the drawing vehicle, and when the trailer is uniformly ided not less than 20 per cent of the weight of the load is borne by drawing vehicle."
In Hunter v Towers (1951) 1 All E. R. 349,it was held that a breakdown lorry hauling a broken down vehicle on a "suspended tow" was not an articulated vehicle because the towed vehicle was not "superimposed on the drawing vehicle". Indivisible load is defined as "a load which cannot, without undue expense or risk of damage, be divided into two or more loads for the purpose of conveyance on a road".
The overall length of a public service vehicle must not exceed 12 metres (39ft 4.44in.). The overall length of other motor vehicles, i.e. those which are neither artics nor psv must not exceed 11 metres (36ft lin.).
The way in which overall length isIo be calculated is set out in Part I of the regulations. It is said that -overall length means the length of the vehicle measured between vertical planes at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing through the extreme projecting points thereof-.
No account need be taken of any driving mirror (this seems strange as I cannot remember ever seeing a driving mirror sticking out at the front or rear of a vehicle); any starting handle; any hood when down (shades of the old char-a-banc); any expanding or extensible countrivance forming part of a turntable fire escape fixed to a vehicle; any telescopic fog lamp when extended; any snow plough; any post office letter box the length of which does not exceed 305 millimetres and any container specially designed to hold custom seals. Front corner and side 'market lamps may also be ignored in most cases.
In deciding the extreme projecting points of a vehicle, any device or receptacle which increases the carrying capacity of the vehicle must be included in the overall length unless (i) it is a tailboard which is let down when the vehicle is stationary to facilitate its loading or unloading,
(ii) it is a tailboard which is let down to facilitate the carriage of, but which is not essential for the support of, loads which extend at least as far as the tailboard when it is the upright position, or
(iii) it is a container constructed or adapted to be lifted on and off vehicles with goods contained therein and is actually used in this way from time to time in the ordinary course of business.
The overall length of a vehicle and its overhang are closely related. The law concerning overhang comes later in the regulations and is detailed for different types of vehicles. There is case law concerning whether or not a tailboard should be considered when measuring overhang and I will deal with this aspect of the law later in the series when dealing with the different types of vehicles. The overall length of trailers will be discussed at the same time.
Regulation 10 limits the height of public service vehicles to 4.57 metres (almost 15ft). This is the only law which limits the height' of vehicles or their loads although, of course, heights are limited by physical factors such as bridges and overhead cables. In British Road Services Ltd and Another v Owen (1971) 135 J. P. 399, the driver of a trailer loaded with two forklift trucks which reached a height of 17ft 3m, collided with a 16 ft high footbridge. He was successfully prosecuted for using a vehicle on a road for a purpose for which it was so unsuitable that it was likely to cause danger. He appealed but the appeal was dismissed, it being held that the vehicle became unsuitable within the meaning of the regulations at the time it approached the bridge. (This prosecution was taken under a regulation which I will discuss furtherin a future article).