License Category B1

littlejukka

I have been considering recently the possibility of introducing a new category of license which i have dubbed "B1", in the context of the existing category "B" which allows up to 8 passengers in a vehicle up to 3,500kg.

My experience of driving and use of Ireland's road network has suggested to me that the B category includes vehicles which go well beyond the remit of the test and license issued based on a practical exam (typically) taken in a 1000cc small car in urban conditions.

My proposal is to revise the "B" category to include vehicles up to 1800kg in weight with a maximum capacity of 7 people (driver plus 6 passengers). This would allow for every current licensed driver to drive any car, most MPVs, seven-seater estates and other plus-sized vehicles of limited dimensions and weight.

The new "B1" category would require seperate advanced driver training, assesment and new requirements for a driving test to deal with driving vehicles over 1800kg curb weight over certain dimensions. The intention of introducing such a measure is to increase driver and passenger safety for users of vehicles in the B1 category, with an emphasis on educating drivers on the safe use of larger, more powerful and heavier vehicles on our roads.

Without being too prescriptive, i would propose that a vehicle such as the Nissan Qashqai would be close to a benchmark for the largest vehicle in the B category.

The B1 category would include larger vehicles such as the Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg, Volvo XC90, BMW X series and other vehicles above a benchmark weight/length/width threshold to be established (1800kg curb weight is merely a suggestion).

I would hate to think that a proposal such as this would be discounted as a hysterical, anti-progress, jealous effort to undermine driver's freedom of choice in what they drive. My suggestion is to legislate and control licensing to promote the safety of all road users by ensuring that vehicles around them are being handled by people who have been properly trained and tested in their use.

I welcome your comments on this proposal.

cast_iron

Seems like nothing but an anti-SUV rant to me. Most of those you mentioned are shorter than many a saloon car (S-Class, E Calss 7 series, 5 series, most large volvos, etc)

littlejukka

i've driven S-class and E-class mercs, 5 and 7 series BMWs and volvo estates. these are all extensions of a standard car with longer wheelbases and increased mass being the only seperating factors from the usual learner car. slightly more difficult to park but basically the same animal most people would have learned and been assesed in.

my argument is that the skill and awareness required to safely handle a taller, heavier vehicle is not even remotely covered in the standard test for the B category license.

cast_iron

Those SUVs drive like cars these days - no harder of more unsafe to drive than a large car. Height and weight make little difference to driving ability. (Yes, they are more dangerous in an impact, but no test will prepare anyone for that)

littlejukka

height and weight make all the difference. if you drive a van, truck, ambulance, forklift, any other uncarlike vehicle you are required to have seperate training and assesment. why should it be different for a vehicle which is larger (within reason) than a car?

this can hardly be seen as an anti-SUV rant or a vendetta against SUV drivers. i'm merely proposing that users of vehicles outside the reasonable bounds of what is covered by a test in a 1000cc car be assesed seperately with appropriate training and assessment requirements.

Wishbone Ash

littlejukka wrote:

I welcome your comments on this proposal

OK - here goes!

littlejukka wrote:

I have been considering recently the possibility of introducing a new category of license

Have you taken over at the Department of Transport?

littlejukka wrote:

which i have dubbed "B1"

1. B1 is already in use in some countries and is generally used to license the driving of invalid carriages.
2. The number 1 after a letter in licencing categories always signifies a smaller vehicle not a larger one.

e.g. D1 is a mini-bus, D is a large bus, C1/C, A1/A etc.

littlejukka wrote:

the B category includes vehicles which go well beyond the remit of the test and license issued based on a practical exam (typically) taken in a 1000cc small car in urban conditions

That is an issue in many categories. A bus test is done in an empty bus, but then a driver may have up to 80 passengers on board in real life. A rigid truck test is done on a empty truck but the driver will be licenced to 32 tonnes if successful. Same for an articulated truck up to 40 tonnes.

Also bear in mind that there was no test prior to 1964, an amnesty in October 1979, and, up to recent years, many other categories such as C1 and BE were granted with the B test.

littlejukka wrote:

My proposal is to revise the "B" category to include vehicles up to 1800kg in weight with a maximum capacity of 7 people (driver plus 6 passengers). This would allow for every current licensed driver to drive any car, most MPVs, seven-seater estates and other plus-sized vehicles of limited dimensions and weight.

No it wouldn't. Many ordinary saloon cars approach that weight empty never mind with 5 passengers or 7 for an MPV.

littlejukka wrote:

if you drive a van, truck, ambulance, forklift, any other uncarlike vehicle you are required to have seperate training and assesment

Not necessarily. The vast majority of vans on the road are being driven on B licences. The only ones which require a C1 should have red and orange reflective strips on the rear and yellow and green ones on the side.

I think you may be confusing licencing with training. A forklift weighing less that 3,500kgs that is registered, taxed and insured, can be legally driven on a public road using a B licence. (Most forklifts are under that weight). Many companies' insurers require forklift drivers to be trained but that is more concerned with the safe operation of the vehicle when working as opposed to the driver being licenced to drive it. For example, I am legally licenced to drive a JCB digger on a public road but my knowledge of its operation on site would be limited.

littlejukka

are you suggesting that it is acceptable to handle a 3.5 tonne van or forklift having undergone assesment in a 1000cc car? in terms of maneuverability, visibility, size, weight and height they are completely different to what is usually required for the B test. i'm simply suggesting seperate requirements for the handling of oversized vehicles.