minibus seats

[jonnyshag]

ive just got a transit minibus LWB and some of the seats have been taken out and im left with 8 passenger seats + 1 driver , I passed my test after 1997 and the law says i can have 8 seats , Does anyone know if its 8 seats +1 driver or 8 all together?

[MrMPuk]

It's eight in total. Basically meaning people carrier rather than mini bus.

[jonnyshag]

thanks i better take one out before the old bill have a whin at me

[MrMPuk]

Not sure it's how many seats it has in it either, think it might be how many it states on the documents!

[stevew]

I'm pretty sure it's nine in total. I.e. the driver plus eight passengers.
At least when I had to re-class my police bus I told them at the dvla office it had nine seats in total and they said that was fine and gave it PLG class.

Check it out:
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/taxation.htm#Buses

Steve

[MrMPuk]

Looking at that it kinda confirms what I was saying then! 9 seats including the driver means it's a bus so it is 8 including the driver classing it as an MPV for licence law rather than taxation class!

[stevew]

Eh?
Look again mate

Seating Capacity V5 (excluding driver) 9-16

So anything less than 9, excluding the driver, isn't a bus.

Steve

[MrMPuk]

Even so that is still for taxation class!

[stevew]

Hmm, you're right there!
OK, how about this then:
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/vehicle_cat_desc.htm#Cars

Cars

Description:

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.

Category: B

and

Minibuses

Description:
Vehicles with between 9 and 16 passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg.

Category: D1

Still not completely certain
Steve

[MrMPuk]

Fook knows, they don't like making things clear do they!

[stevew]

OK Vannut has nailed this one (see his post in 'transit talk' regarding tarilers) with this government site:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19962824_en_10.htm#nsch2ubcategorievehiclelicensingpurpose

Here's the definition of vehicles in catergory B which includes cars and vans and which anyone with a normal liscence is entitled to drive whether it is pre '97 or not.

Any motor vehicle, other than a vehicle included in category A, F or P, having a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes and not more than 8 seats in addition to the driver's seat, including-

(i) a combination of such a vehicle and a trailer where the trailer has a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 750 kg, and


(ii) a combination of such a vehicle and a trailer where the maximum authorised mass of the combination does not exceed 3.5 tonnes and the maximum authorised mass of the trailer does not exceed the unladen weight of the tractor vehicle.

So there you have it, 9 seats in total is definately OK
Phew!

Steve

[jonnyshag]

Cheers steve DVLA dont know how to put things simple , you should get a job with them

[vannut]

Glad I wuz of some help! DVLA aren't always the best people to consult, as they get confused too, and their leaflets can sometimes be wrong! The best reference is the actual regs, which will have the words "Statutory Instrument" at the top, and a number.

If you go into Google and type "Driving licence regulations" or "Road Vehicles lighting regulations" or "Vehicles excise act" (depending on which regs you want to look at) then click on the result which has the words "www.opsi.gov.uk/si" at the beginning of the web address then you will get the document you want.

They aren't always reader friendly but they do state the letter of the law.

[vannut]

p.s.

don't forget that if you have no more than 9 seats, and you have the relevant windows in the sides and the rear, not only does it fall into category B for driving licence purposes, it also falls into the car category for speed limit purposes, so you can go faster than a van or a minibus! Ha!

(see this post) http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0

[FredTransit]

p.s.

don't forget that if you have no more than 9 seats, and you have the relevant windows in the sides and the rear, not only does it fall into category B for driving licence purposes, it also falls into the car category for speed limit purposes, so you can go faster than a van or a minibus! Ha!

(see this post) http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0

Huh? I know the speed limit thing has been mentioned before, but I can't see how windows v number of seats would make a difference. Somebody explain it to me!