dont normally venture on this bit of the forum but as most of you lot run wagons figured here would be the best place to ask after ringing vosa for advice and being told by the bird,on the phone that it would be easier to ask one of the roadside inspection lads as she didnt know the answers
as you know as well as a driver I’m a qualified HIAB instructor, and have been offered a wagon with a rear mounted hiab on, for carrying out on site training at a decent price but heres where im stuck
as a not for carrying goods vehicle but purely for on site training would it be able to be taxed at private HGV rate?
would i need a restricted O licence even though it wouldnt be carrying goods
or would it be exempt as it could be i guess classed as a training vehicle if I had part of the load bed fitted with a shortened box body converted into a mobile classroom for the theory part of the course ?
GV74 mentions an operators licence because it is over 3.5t. A restricted licence would be fine because you are not carrying any goods fore hire or reward, and there is no exemption for a training vehicle or mobile classroom in Appendix 2.
I think there’s the opportunity to use the o-licence exemption for the only other goods carried are for use in connection with a fitted machine ie anything you are carrying is just to be used for training with the fitted hiab.
I think it’s always best to write to VOSA stating what you intend to do and clearly set out why you’ve come to the conclusion it’s ok to do so and leave them to tell why they think not as with any grey, legally untested, areas they will simply say ‘you need an o-licence’.
IMHO, you should tax it Private Goods and do not need any kind of operators licence as it is a training vehicle. Also as a training vehicle it would be tachograph exempt.
well heres the answer finally in from VOSA, just love the way they cover their rear end in the,last paragraph .
thank you for your email regarding operator licensing and firstly apologies for the delay in issuing a response.
As you are probably aware generally speaking you require a goods vehicle operator’s licence if you use a vehicle with a gross plated weight exceeding 3500 kgs for the carriage of goods for ‘hire or reward’ or for use in connection with a trade or business.
In line with previous enquiries relating to driver training, in short, driver training is viewed as being exempt from operator licensing, provided no load is carried. There are EU Regulations (2000/56 EC) that relate to driver training, which may necessitate some vehicles needing to carry a load to make their weight up to a minimum of 10,000kgs when presented for a driving test. However, such additional weight is likely to be a certified load, permanently fixed to the vehicle, and it is considered that compliance with these Regulations will not bring vehicles in to scope of goods vehicle operator licensing when they are solely used for driver training. The regulations do not define the form any load should take. The key is that the operator is able to demonstrate what the vehicle is being used for and the purpose of the ‘load’ being carried.
It is not considered that trainers require an operator licence as they are not hauliers and are not carrying goods, their profession is to train drivers.
I would emphasise that the requirement or not to hold an operator licence is the view of the Department and is not intended to be a strict interpretation of the law. Only a Court of Law is able to give a legally definitive interpretation. If there remains any doubt about your position I would advise seeking your own independent legal advice.
A driving test vehicle must have a box body which would rule out most HIAB vehicles. However a demountable box or container on twistlocks would fit the bill, like said above you could lift the box on and off as part of the training module. It would make your vehicle suitable for driving tests even if you didn’t use it for this purpose.
8wheels:
A driving test vehicle must have a box body which would rule out most HIAB vehicles. However a demountable box or container on twistlocks would fit the bill, like said above you could lift the box on and off as part of the training module. It would make your vehicle suitable for driving tests even if you didn’t use it for this purpose.
There’s nothing to stop you using a flatbed for training still just that you would have to swap to a boxvan for the test. It wouldn’t have to be DSA test compliant to qualify as a training vehicle it’s just that it obviously makes sense for most training companies to do that.
No that’s a fair point, but as the flat couldn’t be used for the test would they accept that it could be treated as a training vehicle for tax & o licence purposes or could you fall foul of some over zealous VOSA bod.
