I had class 2 & part PSV (up to 16 seat PSV) before taking my full stick PSV & Class 1, collected in the order I needed them in. & I got my PSV & trailer with my Class 1, I’ve only used the PSV & trailer bit once & that was on a little un (about 25 seats I seem to remember) as very few companies ever use a trailer & even fewer ever use a trailer over 750 kg.
The D + E bit looks good to those who don’t need it, but that includes those who have it, & it’s not something worth anything, especially as Coach driving is so badly paid, the main part of a coach drivers pay is tips, & these do not increase with the + E.
kitkat:
group A is for …idiots on two wheels
Steady on there, we’re not ALL idiots.
Hang on there, who am I kidding, of course we are!
Paul
repton:
kitkat:
group A is for …idiots on two wheelsSteady on there, we’re not ALL idiots.
Hang on there, who am I kidding, of course we are!
Paul
We had a good run out yesterday on the 2005 Brass Monkey run.
Derby, Burton, Bassets Pole and Leicester, through Charnwood forest and back to the pub for soup and Guiness 
We raised a few quid for riders for health, which sends money and motorcycles out to poverty struck areas of Africa for the health workers to get around on!
It was a good day out but I ended up with frozen ■■■■■■■ 
We are charitable idiots 
For anyone that’s bothered, I’ve just read:
dvla.gov.uk/forms/pdf/INF30_020702.pdf
Which says, essentially, if you’ve got cat B, cat C and cat D and Do D+E, you get B+E, B1+E, D, D1+E, but not C+E (or C1+E).
However.
If you do C+E, you get B1+E, B+E, C1+E, C+E, D1+E, D+E.
So for anyone else doing what I’m doing, you’d be best to do C first, then D, then return to a lorry to do your trailers bit to get the whole lot, iyswim.
This has been a public swervice announcement.
Gary
Denis F:
MrFlibble:
Simon:
I checked on my licence and B E is dated when I took my car test. Granted that was over 20 years ago.The 20 years makes the difference. Car tests passed since 1st Jan 1997 no longer entitle you to B+E.
Simon just forgot how old he is
just checked my licence cat B added 11/12/79
just before my first birthday 
el gordo 78:
Denis F:
just checked my licence cat B added 11/12/79just before my first birthday
Hey, I wasn’t even born then In fact, three years before I was born.
Gary
The way I did it was cat C (incl C+E back then) in 1988, cat CE in 1990, cat D in 1995 (automatically got DE 'cos I had CE).
In Jan 97 things changed so that if you passed cat B you were restricted to 3.5t and no trailers over 750kg. A licence that doesn’t show BE can still pull a tlr of under 750kg.
The problem I have now is that most of the young people who work for us have cat B, yet most of the vehicles they are requited to drive are (twin wheel) Sprinters plated at 4.6t i.e. cat C1. The trailers we have are 450kgs gross so these same people can pull the trailers but can’t drive the vans! Try writing those details rota’s for the week!!
This is a classic example of budget people buying vehicles with no knowledge of transport. My predecessor ™ was obviously ‘weak’ and didn’t stop them buying these vans (which Merc were doing a special deal on, i.e. were stuck with!!).
The cheapest option now is to train everyone as CE so all of them can drive any of our fleet, which includes rigids with trailers (C+E). Now the ‘older’ drivers are moaning because they’re not going to get their ‘class one’ out if this - they can drive the C+E with their cat C from grandfather rights. The young drivers are all getting their ‘class one’ because the system has changed!!
marcustandy:
The way I did it was cat C (incl C+E back then) in 1988, cat CE in 1990, cat D in 1995 (automatically got DE 'cos I had CE).In Jan 97 things changed so that if you passed cat B you were restricted to 3.5t and no trailers over 750kg. A licence that doesn’t show BE can still pull a tlr of under 750kg.
The problem I have now is that most of the young people who work for us have cat B, yet most of the vehicles they are requited to drive are (twin wheel) Sprinters plated at 4.6t i.e. cat C1. The trailers we have are 450kgs gross so these same people can pull the trailers but can’t drive the vans! Try writing those details rota’s for the week!!
This is a classic example of budget people buying vehicles with no knowledge of transport. My predecessor ™ was obviously ‘weak’ and didn’t stop them buying these vans (which Merc were doing a special deal on, i.e. were stuck with!!).
The cheapest option now is to train everyone as CE so all of them can drive any of our fleet, which includes rigids with trailers (C+E). Now the ‘older’ drivers are moaning because they’re not going to get their ‘class one’ out if this - they can drive the C+E with their cat C from grandfather rights. The young drivers are all getting their ‘class one’ because the system has changed!!
are you sure about some of these?
I had to go into great depth with some of these after the dvla cocked my license up as it affected what I could drive until they corrected it.
B is car, BE as B plus trailer, B1 is light goods up to 5tn, C1 is inxs of 5tn but < 7.5tn, C1E as C1 plus trailer, C is inxs 7.5tn, CE as C + trailer. To draw a trailer, those whop passed after Jan 1st 1997 need BE as a seperate entitlement, and doesn’t come automatically, ergo B1 (trannies/sprinters) drivers can’t draw a trailer on these without the E on B. Likewise then if they do C1, and then C1E they get the lesser entitlements plus E. And then with C, they need to do the E as well once more to get the big uns.
So when mine came back with A, B, B1 - I was buggered for working as a trade plater on commercials as much of the work was inxs of 5tn, but under 7.5 yet as I had no C1 I couldn’t do it. Likewise if I’d been sent out for car and trailer I’d have been stuffed despite holding that entitlement for over 8 years, and likewise vans with trailer - the whole cause being the systems put me down for a B pass not a C pass.
The one thing that gets me though, is I’ve never had AE on mine, just A, yet I’m entitled to draw a trailer on a motorbike no matter what - and thats probably one of the trickiest set-ups going I’d imagine.
umm, so yeah - what was I saying.
ahh, yes. if they passed after jan1 97, and never took further tests, then iirc they’re able to drive up to 5tn but no trailer (but can only go from 3.5tn to 5tn if they’ve passed 21).
myself, when I turned 21 I got tractor, road roller, tracked vehicles and other bizarre crap
el gordo 78:
are you sure about some of these?
I’d be in trouble if I didn’t - I am a DSA Registered Driving Instructor for cat B through to CE/DE!! 
I admit that the licence cat’s can be quite confusing at times. The following text is the description for cat B and is taken from the DVLA website which is here; http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/vehicle_cat_desc.htm
Motor vehicles with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg having not more than 8 passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg. Combinations of towing vehicles in category B and a trailer, where the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3500kg and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle.
The key words here are ‘trailer up to 750 kg’ and ‘where the combination exceeds 3500kg’. I won’t cut & paste the whole of the website here but all the info is available by following the above link.
Something to think about; what is the weight of the top-of-the-range RangeRover?? I was hearing that there is/might be an issue with the licence required for one of these ‘cars’, especially towing a (less than 450kg) trailer!!
… and also taken from the same site;
Passing a test for category C+E upgrades category B entitlement to B+E and also confers entitlement to subcategory C1 and C1+E and, if category D or subcategory D1 is held, these are upgraded to category D+E or subcategory D1+E.
Just about clears it up now, eh?? 
but if b includes E automatically how come I have B and BE, and when they messed up my license I only had B and was advised no trailers?
that and a lift I had once, was telling me about his ice-cream “kids” who he has to put through a trailer test?
its this bit that I don’t get - mainly cos I never had to do em, hehe.
el gordo 78:
but if b includes E automatically …
It doesn’t automatically include E (all trailers), only trailers upto 750 kgs. Another way of looking at it is ‘a trailer is not a trailer (E) until it weighs 750kgs’!!
Some training places, will teach you to drive a car with a trailer upto 750kg, thus entitling you to B+E, however is you take you C and then your C+E you get the B+E entitlement, same as if you were to proceed through D and D+E.
As for calling DVLA, i’ve been given several variations on questions, no one seems to know what the rules are.
tiggz:
Some training places, will teach you to drive a car with a trailer upto 750kg, thus entitling you to B+E,
This could be possible provided that the combination, or more particulally the trailer, met the MTV regs.
- MTV = Minimum Test Vehicle, i.e. a certain size & weight. I can dig out the exact spec if you require it, just let me know.
B+E … C+E … D+E…
eep! After going through all those tests, I’d NEED A+E!
Dapper Scavenger:
B+E … C+E … D+E…eep! After going through all those tests, I’d NEED A+E!
There are ways that take away the requirement to ‘do all those tests’. For example when you do a vocational test that includes an ‘E’ (i.e. HGV 1) you then inherit the trailer class for the other cats you hold.
So, do your C+E and automatically your cat D & cat B become D+E and B+E.
Simple, innit??
marcustandy:
So, do your C+E and automatically your cat D & cat B become D+E and B+E.
Yep, that’s exactly how I currently understand it.
Incidentally, looks like I’m going for my Category H shortly
Gary