EC holds fire on HGV
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• The future of the proposed 3.5-tonne goods vehicle driving licence limit is now in jeopardy because of a new EC amendment.
The amendment, passed by the European Parliament on 14 June, was to the proposed EC licencing directive, which will stop holders of car licences (Class B) from driving vehicles of 3.5 tonnes and above. It says: "Individual member states, may after consultation with the EC, enable holders of Class B licences to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes."
This is the current limit operating in the UK.
The vehicle rental market has breathed a sigh of relief at the news. Sue Lovell, director of rental for Ryder Truck Rental, has spent the past two years lobbying Parliament to fight for changes to the EC licencing directive. She sees the passing of the amendment as an encouraging sign: "While our industry has been con
cerned for sometime that the European Parliament would eliminate the UK's ability to allow Class B licence holders to drive smaller trucks, we now see that possibility is by no means a fait accompli."
Lovell says the amendment