Plating goes metric
Page 6
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THE Department of thp Environment has agreed with vehicle manufacturers that vehicles with a design gross weight of 3, 7-1 and 10 imperial tons can be downrated to 34, and 10 metric tons. The next occasion that they require an MoT test they can be replated to that standard.
New vehicles, of course, will bear the manufacturers' design gross weight till they are plated at the end of 12 months after first use.
The effect of this concession is that those vehicles at present bearing manufacturers' and DoE plates at 34, 74 and 10 imperial tons, which are 1221b, 2621b and 350ib over the laid down metric gross weights for the new EEC driving licence regulations, will become equal to those weights stipulated for the various categories of EEC driving licence regulations.
These are that drivers of vehicle over 34 metric tons gross must be 18 years of age, and over 75 metric tons gross must be over 21 years of age Moreover, drivers in the las category will be expected tt obtain hgv driving licences.
The EEC regulations wen originally expected to talc' effect in Britain on January but have been delayed becausi of the lack of Parliamentar: time.
The downplating of vehicle can be accomplished at an: time during 1976, but on!: when the vehicle becomes du for its next MoT test,