Q Is there any law forbidding the carriage of passengers by
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commercial vehicles? Especially during school holidays I see children in the driving cabs of heavy goods vehicles and they seem to be at risk should an accident occur.
As I travel each day along the A5I17 I see children standing in cabs and leaning against the windscreens—a highly dangerous practice which could result in serious injury. If the law forbids passengers being carried, why is it not more strictly enforced? A There is no law against passengers being carried in commercial vehicles and the installation of a passenger seat in the cab confirms this. However, Regulation 90 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1973 stipulates that the number of passengers carried and the manner in which they are carried must be such that no danger is likely to be caused to any person in the vehicle or on the road.
It is also an offence under these Regulations to use a vehicle for any purpose for which it is so unsuitable as to cause danger to any person in the vehicle or on the road. Some road haulage employers make it a condition of employment that passengers must not be carried without permission.
On reflection you might consider that children leaning against the windscreen are less at risk than those positioned some distance from it. A sudden brake application would not throw a child so violently forward with the consequent risk of injury if it was already leaning against the facia.