We had a couple of drivers in our yard last Friday, they had come to pick up 2 tractor units to take them back to Ilkeston from Rochdale. They only had class 2 licences.
Our gaffer , at first refused to give them the keys, saying that it was illegal for them to drive the units on a public road because the 5th wheel was still attached. He even threatened to call the law if they took them onto the road
Only after these drivers had got there boss on the phone to dish it to my gaffer did he reluctantly give them the keys.
Now I do know that it was quite legal to do this , but have the rules changed in the last few years, or is my gaffer talking ■■■■■■■■ as usual.
I always thought that you only had to take the 5th wheel off to drive as a private vehicle on an ordinary driving licence, and so long as the unit total weight didnt exceed 7.5 tonnes
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It is legal to drive a solo tractor unit on a C licence, with or without a 5th wheel.
If you think about it, it’s only the same as a person who acquired a B licence after 1997, driving a car fitted with a towbar.
Yes - both are cabable of towing a trailer over 750KG, but the driver isn’t qualified to.
A B licence allows you to drive a vehicle up to 3500KG, so I would think that rules out most tractor units - regardless of whether a 5th wheel is fitted.
The rules changed a while ago. It used to be the case that to drive a solo unit, it had to have the 5th wheel removed to make it an “Incomplete vehicle”, but that has now changed.
It is perfectly legal, although many people are still stuck in the past with the old Class1/2 licence system.
To be perfectly acurate neither of the drivers had Class 2 licences, they Had Catergory C entitlement, technically Class 2 no longer exists.
