Licence groups have loopholes
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• Loopholes in .the new driver licensing laws enable car drivers to drive large goods vehicles and drivers of rigids to drive heavy artics.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is now pondering these anomalies, which have arisen due to the 1 April licensing law changes.
A goods vehicle up to 7.5 tonnes permissible maximum weight and drawing a trailer of any weight — whether drawbar or semi-trailer — can now be driven by the holder of an ordinary car licence. Before 1 April the driver had to hold a separate HGV licence.
The situation arises because a goods vehicle between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes is a category Cl vehicle. When it draws a trailer — of any weight more than 750kg — it becomes category Cl+E and that is covered by any category B car-driver's licence. (An existing group A licence corresponds to category B.) Such a vehicle and trailer does not come within category C because its definition excludes category Cl vehicles.
Because the vehicle combination exceeds 7.5 tonnes permissible maximum weight it is a large goods vehicle. But the law does not say an LGV is a vehicle of a specific licence category, although the DVLA has led people to believe that an LGV is only category C or C+E.
An LGV licence is no longer a separate licence but is defined as a driving licence issued under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988 which authorises a person to drive an LGV of any class. A category B licence is issued under Part III so at the time it is used for driving a category Cl+E outfit of more than 7.5 tonnes it is also an LGV licence and correct for the class of vehicle.
The other quirk in the new rules enables a class 2 or 3 HGV licence holder to drive an artic with a single-axled trailer and a category C licence holder to drive both an artic and a drawbar including such a trailer. (HGV 2 and 3 now authorise any drawbar outfit.) It arises because category C not only includes goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes but also such vehicles drawing a single-axled trailer. There is no maximum weight limit to the trailer or combination so the outfit could be used up to C and U maximum weights. Such an outfit does not come within category C+E because that is defined as a category C vehicle and trailer with more than one axle.
DVLA's booklet on LGV licensing contains no reference to category Cl+E and it gives the impression that all artics are category C+E.
DVLA said it would need time to comment on these anomalies. D No steps have been taken by DVLA to deal with the lack of a licence category for the driving of chassis-cabs (CM28, March).