Friend asked me for a favour: he wants to buy a lorry here from time to time to split it for spares in Poland or to swap the driving wheel or something (he got a big garage there).
He asked me to drive this lorries down to Poland. I won’t earn any money, I’ll just travel for free with my girl, and I will be allowed to stop and visit Amsterdam, Antwerp and other cities on my way there. I will consider that as a wee holidays two or free times a year.
Do I need operators licence for that? I am not moving nothing, I will be only driving a tractor unit or rigid lorry, empty. I have C license, in my insurance policy is written that I can drive other british registered vehicles for pleasure, commuting etc as long as I have valid license to drive this vehicle - which I obviously have. Lorry won’t be registered on my name. My friend is doing that with a cars when some of our friends are driving these cars down for him to travel for free, and now he got the same idea with a lorries.
So: is that possible or I need some kind of license to do that (like trade plates or whatever…)
you would not need an operators licence for that as it would not be your vehicle.
you would be OK to drive the rigids but i would personally check whether you can drive a tractor unit on a class C licence, i know that a tractor unit is technically a rigid, but it’s sole purpose is to pull a trailer, the way round it would be to have the fifth wheel removed before driving it.
I would THINK that this is not for hire or reward but for private use and providing that the tacho is used and it is insured then i GUESS it will be OK without anything else - BUT, I stand to be corrected…
shuttlespanker:
but i would personally check whether you can drive a tractor unit on a class C licence, i know that a tractor unit is technically a rigid, but it’s sole purpose is to pull a trailer, the way round it would be to have the fifth wheel removed before driving it.
Not this again
It is legal to drive a solo tractor unit on a cat. C licence.
ROG:
I would THINK that this is not for hire or reward but for private use and providing that the tacho is used and it is insured then i GUESS it will be OK without anything else - BUT, I stand to be corrected…
BUT you will know for sure: is that true with that tracor units? In Poland as long as you don’t tow a trailer you can drive it… Rigid is not defined by if that have a fifth wheel or not…
shuttlespanker:
you would not need an operators licence for that as it would not be your vehicle.
you would be OK to drive the rigids but i would personally check whether you can drive a tractor unit on a class C licence, i know that a tractor unit is technically a rigid, but it’s sole purpose is to pull a trailer, the way round it would be to have the fifth wheel removed before driving it.
MYTH ALERT - an artic unit is a C - forget the fifth wheel removal myth.
The only thing I would be concerned about is the insurance aspect, does the clause in your car insurance policy allowing you to drive other vehicles not owned by you include trucks and does that cover extend outside the UK. You don’t need an O Licenec and your licence will allow you to drive all rigids, including solo tractor units.
Coffeeholic:
The only thing I would be concerned about is the insurance aspect, does the clause in your car insurance policy allowing you to drive other vehicles not owned by you include trucks and does that cover extend outside the UK. You don’t need an O Licenec and your licence will allow you to drive all rigids, including solo tractor units.
It’s writen in my policy that I can drive other vehicles which not belongs to me as long as I have license valid to drive these.
It’s written nothing about if that’s still valid abroad, I have to check small print
Coffeeholic:
The only thing I would be concerned about is the insurance aspect, does the clause in your car insurance policy allowing you to drive other vehicles not owned by you include trucks and does that cover extend outside the UK. You don’t need an O Licenec and your licence will allow you to drive all rigids, including solo tractor units.
It’s writen in my policy that I can drive other vehicles which not belongs to me as long as I have license valid to drive these.
I would check that though, I have my doubts as to that including trucks on a car policy. Also that clause usually only means on a third party basis even if your policy is full comp.
orys:
It’s written nothing about if that’s still valid abroad, I have to check small print
OK, here goes…
Yes. You can drive an artic unit on a cat C licence, with the 5th wheel in place.
No. You will not need a O’ licence as it will be a private HGV
No. you do not need to use the Tachograph as it is a private HGV (Although I would strongly advise that you do)
No. I don’t think your car insurance will cover you for a private HGV, but for around £100.00 you can get a policy which will cover you from Barry Grainger insurance.
and…if you think Amsterdam is on the way from the UK to poland, I’m glad I’m not paying for the diesel.
Tramper:
No. you do not need to use the Tachograph as it is a private HGV
Private HGV is now limited to 7.5t and under though.
Where did you get that from?
I run a 6x2 registered as a Private HGV for pulling this around
This one’s Transported on an 18 ton rigid which is registered Private HGV
This one has a DAF 85 4x2 unit registered as Private HGV to pull it around
This is registered Private HGV
So is this
None of them that are ove 25 years old are required to use tachographs, although most do, just to cover their behinds should something go wrong
Many motorsport teams use artic units and trailers and most are Not for Hire or Reward.
The really funny thing is that I run a 3 litre diesel Toyota Hilux Surf as my main run around car and it costs me £185 VED per year
The 6x2 artic unit registered as Private HGV costs me £165 VED per year…You just couldn’t make it up!
Tramper:
and…if you think Amsterdam is on the way from the UK to poland, I’m glad I’m not paying for the diesel.
Off course it’s not, but it’s not far away from the best route. And Holland is not too big. So I could park somewhere on the motorway and then hitchhike for something to go there and back (I used to hitchhike a lot arround whole Europe).
I can’t enter Amsterdam with a lorry anyway for tourist pourposes, as I can’t park there
gnasty gnome:
Your insurance will only allow you cover to drive someone else’s vehicle if he’s insured it for himself to drive too.
I don’t believe there is a requirement for this.
Try telling that to the coppers. If the vehicle which you are driving is not registered on the MID (Motor Insurance Database) then you will have a very hard time persuading the police that you are legally covered to drive the vehicle.
I was watching telly earlier on this evening, one of those “Police Camera” jobbies, and this exact scenario happened; driver got pulled in a car which belonged to his girlfriend, but she had no cover for it. Despite the driver having his own insurance which said he was allowed to drive othger vehicles, the plod nicked him.
gnasty gnome:
Your insurance will only allow you cover to drive someone else’s vehicle if he’s insured it for himself to drive too.
I don’t believe there is a requirement for this.
Try telling that to the coppers. If the vehicle which you are driving is not registered on the MID (Motor Insurance Database) then you will have a very hard time persuading the police that you are legally covered to drive the vehicle.
I was watching telly earlier on this evening, one of those “Police Camera” jobbies, and this exact scenario happened; driver got pulled in a car which belonged to his girlfriend, but she had no cover for it. Despite the driver having his own insurance which said he was allowed to drive othger vehicles, the plod nicked him.
Not worth the risk IMO.
That’s a bit weird.
I can be asked by owner to drive his vehicle for example when he will lost his license. As he has no license he can’t be insured… So no one can drive this car, even to place of selling it?
Other thing: what if the owner of the car will tell me that he’s insured and he’s not? Why I will responsible for that he lied to me?
It’s not logical… And coppers - they always are looking for some problems, even in places where there aren’t any.
I had once an old polish car FSO 125p (the polish fiat). It looked ugly, as I didn’t cared about how it’s looks like, but how it’s drive. I had fresh MOT but when I was caught on speeding the coppers were checking three times, as they told me “this car looks that it can’t have an MOT and that is not able to drive so long distance (it was about 500 km from my home) so something have to be wrong here”. I persuated to them, that MOT aren’t given for nice painting job but to the cars which have reliable brakes, steering, lights, etc.
Finally they let me go, but I wasted ages on there…
- an artic unit is a C - forget the fifth wheel removal myth.
