Why why why D1 & C

RB84:

Compton1:

madmackem:

Compton1:
Opinions please can anyone tell me the answer?
I did my D1 PCV 2 years ago & more recently passed LGV cat C
I cannot for the life of me see why I have to do a test to upgrade to D to drive a bus
I rang DVSA to be told it’s because it’s for passangers
So I explained D1 test is same as D driving test
Having passed C LGV is for large vehicles
And I was probably the 1st person to enquire about a automatic upgrade
I actually can drive a empty Bus after 2 years on LGV for maintenance
Opinions welcome

What did you drive when you did your D1?

I took it in a 17 seater Merc Sprinter
However I appreciate its lengh is not 10 metres
The point I’m trying to make is the test is the same and passing C for LGV
Let’s me drive a empty one so clearly it’s not the size of the vehicle or weight so apart from the passenger side of things which I’ve covered in D1 test no one is answering why?

Sorry but its not the same. If you want your full size bus licence you have to do it in a vehicle that is big enough. If you had your D licence and then did your c1 7.5tonne test, would you expect to gain your full C licence from that? Unfortunately you need to do a D test to drive a bus legally and as others have said you can’t drive an empty bus on a C Licence anymore as far as I know.

Could be wrong, but I was once told you can’t drive an empty bus on a c or ce licence, but if you removed all the seats then you could. Reason being the c licence gives you the licence that covers the dimensions (weight) of the vehicle, but your passenger carrying entitlement is up to 7 seats on a cat B and up to 16 seats on a D1, if it’s got more seats then what your licence stipulates then you can’t drive it.

So if you had a 60 seater coach, a cat C licence, and previously a cat B and nothing else. Then you could remove 53 seats from the vehicle and your good to drive it. Your C licence means your legal for the weight, and your B means your legal for the 7 seats. If I’m talking crap then tell me, but that’s what I was told. Don’t shoot the messenger.

There must be something that is different between D1 and D testing otherwise why wouldn’t it just be one category? something more than just vehicle dimensions obviously. Or are the theory and practical tests literally exactly the same other than vehicle size?