In 2018 a small and quiet change occurred to UK legislation around driving licences. The amendment to the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 2018 allowed for those who drive on a category B driving licence, currently up to 3.5 tonnes, to increase this to 4.25 tonnes provided it is in an alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) and only applies to vans. This includes those powered by electricity, natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen. It is however only more recently that companies have been seen to be aware of these changes with training providers offering their services to clients. The 2018 regulations were under a temporary EU derogation issued for 5 years with the government having no plans to remove this from May 2023.
Currently a driver who wishes to drive a vehicle with a weight over 3.5 tonnes would normally require a C1 category on their licence. The ‘C1’ provision was previously given automatically to those who passed their test prior to the 1st January 1997 and was known as ‘grandfather rights’ or ‘acquired rights’. Since that date if you want to drive a heavier vehicle, you are required to go through the process of licence acquisition and pass a driving test in the relevant size vehicle. This is currently under government consultation as they are considering removing this restriction and giving Category ‘B’ or car licence holders the automatic entitlement once again without the need for testing.
The changes to the current system have been introduced by the UK Government to help tackle the emissions problem. Vans are a significant contributor to climate change and form a large proportion of the vehicles on the UK roads, so the government are keen to provide alternatives that still keep the sector moving.
Businesses who want to adopt AFV’s have to, in many cases, compromise on payload due to the heavier weight of these vehicles or employ drivers with the relevant licence leading to higher staffing costs.
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