SMMT will be holding a webinar on Tuesday 20 September to hear from the Department for Transport on consultations that could mean millions more licence holders driving more types of vehicles weighing up to 7.5 tonnes.
In the webinar, DfT will detail the two consultations which also cover minibus, towing, potential restrictions on tracked vehicles and tractors and more. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions as well as help us shape SMMT responses.
The first consultation runs until Friday 28 October and explores giving post-January 1997 Category B licence holders grandfather rights to drive 7.5-tonne trucks and minibuses with up to 16 seats.
This could be a real boon for logistics, reducing the burden on operators to find sufficiently-licensed drivers and potentially removing lighter 3.5-tonne vehicles from the road. As DfT says, though, it needs to be done at proportionate cost and bearing in mind road safety.
The second consultation was announced later but closes earlier, on Tuesday 4 October, and explores extending the 750kg uplift (to 4,250kg) for Cat B licence holders from LCVs to other vehicle categories.
Towing allowances, questions on whether drivers of tracked vehicles and tractors should have to take Category C licences and the revocation of rather anachronistic Category L licence provisions are also in the spotlight.
There’s a lot in scope here so book your place on the webinar by visiting: https://smmt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jP_FFui_SnyJvmxbbWp9Uw
