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THE steady stream of requests to CM for guidance on
Page 79
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legal matters reflects a situation in which even the most conscientious transport executives can find themselves at a loss for details of the current situation on a particular point of legislation.
Some idea of the sheer volume of new legislation which road transport operators are having to absorb was provided at the beginning of the year when in our January 2
yissue we published a date-by-date guide to you tt the transporty e a r a g regulationsui d e w which too covered eimplemented d two p a gtes in fairly small type. At this mid-point in the year we feel it may be useful to provides
reminder of the Principal recent legislation with which goods vehicle operators should now be familiar.
The fact that such a reminder is needed (though perhaps not by most regular readers of the transport Press) is reinforced by the statistics concerning operators licensing. The first batch of C-licensee applications for 0 licences was due to have been lodged nine weeks before the operative date of June 1, but by then only 30 per cent had applied and we understand that by June 1 about a third of the expected applications were still outstanding. This suggests a lot of vehicles being operated illegally from that date, or alternatively being kept off the road because they have not got a valid 0 licence.
The first batch of C-licence holders to apply were those with licence serial numbers ending in 000 to 333, and already we have passed the date when the second batch (those with C licence serial numbers ending in 334 to 6661 were due to have lodged their applications for operators' licences, Monday June 29 was the official closing date for these applicants, who need to have 0 licences covering all their vehicles by September 1.
The third and final group, with C serials ending in 667 to 999, are due to have lodged their applications by September 28, for operators' licences becoming current on December 1.
One great drawback in not applying in time is, as we have said so many times before, that the Licensing Authority can treat the application as if it came from a newcomer; this means that it will be published in the Applications and Decisions compiled by the traffic area offices, could attract objections and may be subjected to close scrutiny on five major points. Existing operators need to satisfy the LA on only three principal points and do not have to give assurances as to their financial adequacy, and the satisfactory nature of the arrangements made to see that vehicles are not overloaded and drivers not allowed to work outside the legal hours.
The main relevant legislation is to be found in the .Transport Act 1968 (HMSO 25s.) and the Goods Vehicles (Operators' Licences) Regulations 1969 (HMSO 2s.). The MoT also issued a free Guide to Operators Licensing (GV74).
While operators' licensing has understandably loomed large on the transport legislation scene this year, it may be helpful to own-account transport men in particular if we run through and date the main legislation which has taken effect this year or is due to do so before the end of December.
Trade licences
On January 1 the law concerning trade licences was drastically altered by the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1969 (HMSO 1s. 3d.). A single trade licence replaced the previous "general" and "limited" licences, and closely resembles the latter. It may be granted only to a "motor trader' or -vehicle tester", though the definitions (and a subsequent opinion from the Ministry of Transport) suggest that fleet owners with their own workshops are not only entitled to a trade licence but may use such a licence to test their vehicles on the road after being overhauled. This last interpretation is, however, still open to confirmation or rejection by the courts.
The general effect of the new trade licence is to restrict its use to genuine recovery vehicles, vehicles passing through the hands of a "motor trader" (as defined in the legislation) or vehicles under test; with marginal exceptions, it may not be used on vehicles engaged in carrying goods. Records of journeys need not be kept for trade-plated vehicles. The original (and now amended) legislation, to which operators may wish to refer, is the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1964 (SI No. 1178) (HMSO 2s. 3d.).
Lighting changes
Also on January 1 some important changes in vehicle lighting law took place. The principal effect was to prohibit the use on unlit roads of single spot or fog lamps unless two headlamps were also in use. This was a second stage (the first took effect on January 1 1969) in the application of the Road Vehicles (Headlamps) Regulations 1968 (HMSO 6d.).
It is clear from experience on the roads this year that the new regulations are either not widely known or, being known, not widely applied. Some transport managers and engineers responsible for vehicles fitted with single fog lamps are perhaps balancing the cost of equipping the whole fleet with a matching fog or spot lamp against the cost of fines for the odd occasion when a driver is prosecuted. One affect of the legislation is that two auxiliary lamps (fog or spot) equi-distant from the centre line of the vehicle and at the same height from the ground may be used instead of two headlamps on roads not having illumination by street lamps 200yd. apart or closer; but use of single fog or spot lamps, except in addition to headlamps, is illegal. It is, incidentally, still not legal to use fog or spot lamps with centres less than 2ft. from the ground except in fog or falling snow.
Excise licences and trailer discs
Two small items which took effect early in the year and which may have been overlooked by some operators, are the Vehicle and Drivers' Licences Act 1969 (Commencement Order) (No 4) and the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 1969. The former made it necessary from February 1 for all vehicles on a public road to be covered by a valid excise licence, whether they are in use or not; it also applied new restrictions to the use of licensed vehicles for testing and altered the laws applying to drivers' licences and the identification of drivers. The second regulations referred to above made it necessary for plated semi-trailers to carry a current MoT test date disc in a conspicuous position.