Hi All,
I have an acquaintance who is restoring an old fariground ride, who has raised the question of transporting it. With his permission, I include his enquiry here ...
First of all I tried to hire a 7.5 ton lorry recently and drive it on a car licence which is something I have done many times before. I was told the rules had been changed and I was no longer allowed to do this unless I was moving house and could prove this by way of documentation. The hirer was very sure of his ground and complained they had lost thousands of pounds in business because of this rule change. In other words I could not drive a 7.5 ton lorry for general haulage any more.
On the subject of HGV in general I have made enquiries here and the summary seems to be that anything larger that 7.5 tonnes requires an HGV class 1 or 2 depending on its size. The showman’s special classification seems to have no bearing on this and Showman who are driving 8 wheelers and towing trailers behind artics are doing so illegally. Or so I am told.
It seems the exception to this are the people who register a tractor unit that has no fifth wheel and only carries generators i.e. not load carrying do not need anything other than a car licence and they are even allowed to tow a large drawbar trailer and centre truck behind (provided this is only for the purposes of carrying the ride). This has apparently been tested on numerous well documented occasions when these loads have been stopped by the police and despite lengthy enquiries no action was taken.
Unless anyone knows different?
So, if the above is correct the 8 wheeler box truck option towing the centre truck would require a HGV and would need to be packed tight to include a set on the same load. (This would probably need gates and trams etc to be loaded onto the centre to save space) The tractor unit option with sets only i.e. no load towing a large box drawbar trailer and the centre truck would appear to be capable of being driven on a car license.
Again unless anyone knows different?
Clearly this has a bearing on driver options although I for one wouldn’t want to drive either without some training never mind a licence.
Please make sure anyone planning to do any of this checks the legality themselves as the above comments are not fact just a summary of what I have been told.
In one of the responses, someone has quoted from http://www.direct.gov.uk/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/WhatCanYouDriveArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4022499&chk=EIOA0f (I have selectively quoted as this post is getting quite long) and suggested that a fairground ride counts as recreational.
Exempted large goods vehicles
Holders of a full category B (car) driving licence may drive any of the large vehicles listed below:
mobile project vehicles - having a maximum authorised mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes and constructed/adapted to carry not more than 8 persons in addition to the driver and carries principally goods or burden consisting of
ii. articles required for the purposes of display or of an exhibition, and the primary purpose of which is used as a recreational, educational or instructional facility when stationary
Drivers must be aged 21 and have held a category B licence for at least 2 years. A mobile project vehicle may only be driven on behalf of a non-commercial body. However, drivers who passed their car test before 1 January 1997 are not subject to these conditions.
Does anyone have any expertise in this area that I could pass on?
Thanks
Jim
