Q am interested in the regulations re
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garding the issue of hgv drivers' licences. With the recent introduction of the four-tier system of licences, the differentiation between Class 2 and 3 seems to be solely based on the number of wheels on a particular rigid vehicle.
With the current developments in commercial vehicles the situation now arises where some Class 3 trucks are considerably larger than Class 2 trucks, as in the case of the six-wheeled, low platform vehicles now popular with the soft drink and brewery firms. It would seem that the original concept of the system was to divide the classes of rigid vehicles into large (Class 2) and small (Class 3) but this method no longer applies.
Could you tell me if the DoE is aware of the situation caused by this ill thought-out legislation and the effect on drivers of large Class 3 vehicles who are not allowed to drive smaller, Class 2 vehicles? It would seem to me that a three-tier system would be more workable and fair towards the men who have to bear the consequences of the rules. Do you know if anything better is being done on these lines?
AWe are quite sure the DoE is aware of the
anomaly you have pointed out, but as the type of vehicle mentioned comprises only a very small proportion of the number of sixwheel vehicles on the road it would not have been a reasonable proposition to try to legislate for a differential of this inconsequential nature.