THE LIMOUSINE LAW

UPDATE:- 2006

The following are extracts from an article appearing in the November/December 2006 issue of Chauffeur Magazine written by Mr. Bill Bowling, Legislation Officer with the National Limousine Association explaining the current situation regarding recent changes to some American stretched limousines that are able to take more than 8 passengers.  The article is written as information to limousine operators, but does help to explain the situation as it currently stands.  We recommend that you read this information to be clear about what limousine operators can do legally in the UK according to current legislation:

"Starting with "What's happening at the NLCA"?  Possibly the greatest changes involve to encompass 16 passenger limousines, this has been made possible since solicitors confirmed that it is now legal to operate these vehicles PROVIDED that conditions are obeyed:

Without becoming embroiled in the requirements they can be summed up as follows:

1) The vehicles MUST be designed, constructed or adapted to comply with the domestic minibus requirements, AND registered as such.

2) The vehicles must be hired as self drive, and not under conventional hire and reward.

Now, here are the important bits.  A normal 4 x 4 SUV based limousine WILL NOT COMPLY with schedule six domestic minibus requirements in its unaltered form.  Changes range from easy and inexpensive to near impossible and horrendously expensive, depending on the first choice of base vehicle.  It is important the vehicle complied before you adopt this route.  VOSA ((Vehicle Operator Services Agency) know of the needs, and if you operate a vehicle that does not comply then you will get your collar felt, and rightly so.

On the terms of the hire you must hire the vehicle out as self-drive.  If you offer the services of a chauffeur either in the package, or separately then you will be guilty of providing a vehicle for hire and reward.  You will be prosecuted by VOSA for operating a public service vehicle (PSV) without a certificate of initial fitness (COIF).  This carries a schedule five penalty of up to £5000.00 and six points on both the drivers of the vehicles licence and the operator's driving licence.

Finally insurances: If you intend to hire your 9 to 16 passenger limousine as self-drive, then you need specific self-drive insurance.  Your normal hire & reward insurance policy will not do.  Again VOSA are hyperaware of the requirements and it is up to you, the operator to ensure that you remain legally covered.  "

IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT THE FIRST SELF-DRIVE INSURANCE POLICIES DO NOT COME INTO EFFECT UNTIL 1ST DECEMBER 2006, AND THAT CURRENTLY 99.9% OF THESE VEHICLES DO NOT COMPLY.

FORD EXCURSIONS WITH COIF'S

OTHER ARTICLES

Are we finally making a breakthrough

Article featured in The Times on Sunday 31/10/04

The party's over for stretch limos

Business is booming for ever-growing limos, but the long arm of the law is catching up with them, says Emma Smith of The Sunday Times.

Once the preserve of Hollywood starlets, stretch limousines now prowl the streets of even the most provincial of British cities at the weekend. These days, rather than carrying celebrities, the giant white cars usually contain a raucous hen night or office party.

However, the nights of back-seat revelry could soon be a thing of the past, for the excitable passengers probably don’t realise that their oversized party-mobile is almost certainly breaking the law.

Today the largest classic American stretch limos, usually based on a Lincoln or Cadillac, carry up to 16 people. The newer generation of stretched off-roaders such as Lincoln Navigators — and even Hummers — can take up to 30 passengers.
But under current licensing laws limousines are not permitted to carry any more than eight paying passengers. Vehicles that carry more are classified as passenger-carrying vehicles (PCVs), and like a bus require a PCV licence. However the government’s Vehicle Operator Services Agency (Vosa), which is in charge of issuing these licences, refuses to recognise stretch limos as PCVs, arguing they do not fulfil the stringent vehicle-safety standards required.

Rather than admit defeat, many limo companies are simply flouting a law of which passengers and policemen are mostly unaware.
“I think there are some firms out there who really do not care, and if they can put 10 or 12 in a vehicle and get away with it they’re going to do it,” admits Harvey Muxlow, chairman of the National Limousine Association which represents about 200 operators. “They make more money and that’s all they’re interested in.”

Vosa says the boom in popularity means there are around 6,000 stretch limos now operating in Britain, of which an estimated 50% are illegal either because they carry more than eight or do not have the correct licence.
“Under the current legislation, you cannot legally operate a limousine for more than eight passengers because it cannot meet the criteria for a PCV under the construction and use regulations,” says Juan Maddrell, the policy advisor at Vosa.
But things are about to change. The agency has already begun to crack down on unscrupulous operators in conjunction with the police and local authorities. Next month Vosa is holding a meeting with the police, department of transport officials and the DVLA to discuss ways in which to firm up the law.

During a recent spot check in the City of London, 12 stretch limos were stopped and half were found to be breaking the law. Vosa is currently prosecuting 12 companies, and has already brought three successful prosecutions.

Class Above Limousines of Newton Abbot, Devon, was fined £1,615 in April when one of its limos was stopped by Vosa inspectors carrying a dozen 10 and 11-year-olds only three of whom were wearing seatbelts. Another of its cars had a faulty handbrake and a third was found to have serious defects.

Earlier this year Thurrock borough council in London carried out spot checks on 30 limos and found 60% were in breach of the regulations. One of the firms caught — 1st Platinum — was carrying 17 young people to a school prom.

“A lot of these vehicles are brought into the country without undergoing safety tests,” says Barrie Davis, the licensing manager for Torbay council in Devon, who has carried out detailed research into limousine safety and is advising Vosa. “They could have been welded together in a garden shed in America without the proper heavy-duty parts or expertise. And these cars were not designed to have seatbelts because passengers sit in them sideways.

“Without local authority or Vosa checks, there is nobody testing the safety of these vehicles and nobody checking the credentials of the drivers. We need to stop accidents before they happen.”

Muxlow and the NLA are backing the clampdown, saying companies who obey the rules are losing out. An internet search reveals a host of firms in breach of the regulations, offering limos boasting 22ft-long mirrored bars, smoke machines, strobes and disco lights inside. Vosa cannot prosecute companies unless they are caught in the act, but inspectors are making it their business to do just that. “Unless the rules change it is hard to see how these cars can continue to operate,” says Maddrell.

So party revelers may soon have to revise their travel plans.

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