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Licensing Problems Elucidated
Page 123
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WE print below a further selection of some of the most interesting inquiries regarding the Road and Rail Traffic Act which have been recently answered by the Editor.
Can an " A " Licence Be Sought Before the Vehicle is Obtained ?
(56) QUESTION : With regard to the new regulations, is it possible to apply for a Class A licence before the vehicle is actually in one's possession? We were running three vehicles during part of the basic year ; one has since been sold and not yet replaced, and another was hired when necessary. We should like to know whether we shall be able to apply for the whole of this " claimed" tonnage before we obtain possession of another vehicle. If we do not do this shall we lose our tight to this portion of the tonnage?
ANSWER: If at the time of making application the tonnage actually in your possession is less than the tonnage for which you can establish a claim (because you were operating it during the basic year I you may ask the licensing authority to grant a licence in which (a) the vehicles actually owned will be specified ; (b) the additional " claimed " . tonnage will be authorized as a "hiring allowance." If you subsequently wish to increase your fleet you may apply to the licensing authority for the licence to be varied by the substitution of specified vehicles for an equivalent part of the hiring allowance.
When an "A" Licence is Required.
(57) QuesnoN : We shall be glad to know whether an individual owning one lorry will be entitled to operate on all classes of haulage, contract, cattle, furniture, etc.
Where more than one vehicle is owned, can any 1..ehicle be exchanged from one class of work to another? What licences will be necessary in each of these cases?
Sometimes we have a 3-ton lorry used on a county council contract but convertible for cattle and furniture haulage. Shall we be free to use this for general work, or are separate licences required for the various classes of work?
ANSWER: An individual owning one motor vehicle, providing he had it in his possession during the basic year (April 1, 1932-March 31, 1933), will certainly be able to operate on all classes of haulage which come within the limits of a Class A licence. This licence covers the transport of goods for others for hire or reward, and there will be no limit to the class of goods carried or the areas covered. Under this licence the operator cannot convey his own goods in the course of trade.
Where more than one vehicle is owned any one may be interchanged from one class of work to another, but not if the work undertaken falls into a different licensing category. That is to say, if you had a ,Class B vehicle used for general haulage and the transport of your own goods in the course of trade it might not be allowed to operate under the same conditions as a Class A vehicle because the licensing authority is entitled to place certain restrictions as to loads and districts covered on a limited carrier's licence (Class B), and no vehicle may appear on two licences.
A vehicle used, say, for council work can also be converted for cattle or furniture haulage, and will not require different licences for various classes of work.
Must Demonstration Lorries be Licensed ?
(58) QUESTION: Please inform us whether we, as dealers in commercial vehicles, must comply with the provisions of the new Road and Rail Traffic Act,
Some of our demonstration vehicles may be in our possession for months, and we would like to • know whether such use can be regarded as temporary and if a demonstration involving the carrying of a load would bring us within the Act. Further, is the position affected if the vehicle be registered under our name and used under private numbers?
Can you give us any information with regard to threewheeled vehicles? In connection with the obtaining of a Road Fund licence it is necessary to give full details of all goods vehicles on Form RF4, but three-wheeled vehicles of under 8 cwt. are excluded, registration of these having to be made on usual motorcycle forms. If such three-wheelers come within the new Act do the provisions also apply to motorcycle commercial carriers?
ANSWER: A vehicle used in accordance with the regulations governing the use of trade plates will require a Class C licence if its use brings it within the scope of the new licensing system, that is to say, if goods be carried in it, but such work will not be deemed to constitute carrying goods for hire or reward and, therefore, a Class A or Class B licence is not required.
If the vehicle be lent to a prospective customer the Class C licence will cover its use provided it is not employed for the carriage of goods for hire or reward.
If a vehicle be registered under your own name, as distinct from the use of trade plates, it would appear that its position becomes exactly the same as that of any other vehicle owned by a user, and-the appropriate A, B or C licence would be required because its work would hardly then be considered as being purely for demonstration purposes.
We cannot see anything in the Act to exclude threewheeled vehicles weighing under 8 cwt. or motorcycle commercial carriers. Section 1 commences by saying that no person shall use a goods vehicle on a road for the carriage of goods, etc., etc. . . . except under a licence, and the expression "goods vehicle" is stated to mean a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of goods or a trailer so constructed or adapted. If goods were to be carried in an ordinary sidecar not so adapted then no carrier's licence would be required.