Weighty problems
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'Co liming the publication r of CM's Cargo Facts on 0-licensing (CM 7-13 Jan), re the question: "Do vans with trailers need an 0-licence?", here is a precise answer, as answer B on the sheet is inaccurate and answer C is wrong.
This area is primarily governed by plating and testing regulations, which is why it can become confusing.
So to answer the above question, refer to Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing/Guide for Operators, manual GV 74 (available from your local Traffic Area Office). The rele
vant information is to be found in Appendix 3— Weight Thresholds. Section 3 covers this specific subject, as follows: for an articulated vehicle you need a licence if the unladen weight of the tractive unit plus the gross plated weight of the semi-trailer is more than 3,500kg or, where the semi-trailer is not plated, the combined unladen weight is more than 1,525kg. All goods semi-trailers have to be plated. That's the easy bit! For a motor vehicle with a drawbar trailer you need a licence if, where both the motor vehicle and trailer(s) are plated, the total of their gross plated weights is more than 3,500kg, or the total unladen weight is more than 1,525kg. However, a small trailer of not more than 1,020kg unladen weight can be ignored for the purposes of adding up total gross weights or unladen weights for drawbar outfits.
So it is perfectly legal for a van with a GVW of 3,500kg to tow a trailer with an unladen weight of 1,020kg without an 0-licence, regardless of the GTW You would need a tacho though.
I have included a copy of a letter confirming this from the Western Traffic Area; I hope this clears any misunderstanding.
David PM Smith, Salisbury, Wilts.
1. What is printed in Cargofacts is accurate but
the wrong question was asked! What was intended was: "Do vans with trailers need a tachograph—not "need an 0-licence"! (Worth putting in because people often get confused.) 2. The offending sentence needs to read "...no tachograph is necessary, provided either..."
3. David Smith's letter is accurate, as indeed is the FTA Yearbook on this subject. Don Armour, Freight Transport Association.