Using a trike as main transport

homingbird · 02-02-2019 5:34pm #1

Will classic car insurance company's except a trike as main car as you cant drive one on a bike licence in the hope of cheap insurance.

macplaxton · 02-02-2019 9:31pm

No (but you can ask them if you want to make sure).

In terms of tricycle as defined by vehicle class L5, the corresponding driving licence category is now Cat A. So you can drive one on a "bike licence"

homingbird · 03-02-2019 12:16am

Thanks for replying I always thought that 3 wheel vehicle where classed as cars & you needed a car license to drive rather than ride them like a bike.

macplaxton · 03-02-2019 2:14pm

Well type approval class L5 vehicles used to be in Cat B, but they got shifted over to A by the 3rd Driving Licence Directive.

I've no idea about what they do here, but on GB mainland, up until 2001 sometime, they always issued a B1 with cat A pass, so trikes (whether car-derived or bike-derived up to a certain weight) could be driven/ridden.

So A licence holders up until that point had grandfather rights for trikes. B licence holders were covered as B covered all sub-groups (B1).

The 3rd DLD (Jan 2013) moved L5 vehicles to A, which means new B licence holders now need an A. Old B licence holders should have grandfather rights and in the UK, a replacement licence would be marked A but with a 79 (3) restriction code, e.g. restricted to tricycles.

I'm not sure if the NDLS do that automatically, but if you are thinking of riding a trike or driving a Reliant 3 wheelers, I would make sure you have a full Cat A or have at least a Cat A with a code 79.03 in column 12 (tricycle restriction)

I really should ask the RSA about it sometime.

What I do know is the L5 tricycles are VRT'd the same as motorcycles, so if importing, they incur all of €0 VRT (IF OVER 30 YEARS OLD). The motor tax is also at motorcycle rate, so vintage motorcycle tax is €26.

It wouldn't surprise me if there Reliants out there incorrectly registered as cars and thus overpaying their tax.

macplaxton · 03-02-2019 2:39pm

Just a sidenote and why I used the terminology "L5", is that some scooters have a pair of wheels close together which technically counts as one wheel.

In other words, there a trikes and there are trikes.

One bonus would be a M50 / East link toll saving. Those tolls are free for vehicles with less than 4 wheels.

homingbird · 04-02-2019 8:47pm

The reason i asked this is i have a collection of classic cars & it would help if they allowed something like a trike or bike instead of a car as main vehicle as i try to keep them all on the road in use & give me more space. I saw this add on donedeal that got me thinking:https://www.donedeal.ie/scooters-for-sale/jinlun-xtc-200-car-licence-compliant/13566151

macplaxton · 05-02-2019 4:07pm

Something like you have linked to is for a motorcycle insurer to quote on, it being derived from a powered two-wheeler (by saying "powered two-wheeler", or PTW, it saves splitting hairs over what is a moped/scooter/motorcycle etc.)

I can't see any sort of car insurer quoting for that. How much a motorcycle insurer would quote is for you to find out depending on your circumstances.

Licence-wise, it's still category A and I think it's a bit misleading to advertise it as "car licence compliant" but I'll expand on that a bit.

If your full category B was granted prior to 19 January 2013 it is also regarded as a category A with the code 79.03 (restriction code 79.03 means restricted to tricycles) except if the category B had a code 73 restriction.

If your full category B was granted after 19 January 2013, then forget it. You'll need to pass a category A1 or A test depending on the power of the tricycle, age, etc. (above/below 15kW)

So to say it is "car licence compliant" is nonsense as it depends on when you passed your test.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2016/si/657/made/en/print

homingbird · 05-02-2019 6:26pm

I have a full bike licence which i got in 2004 but if you could insure it as a car it would mean cheap insurance & classed as a daily driver for classic cover

galwaytt · 06-02-2019 11:14pm

macplaxton wrote: »

Well type approval class L5 vehicles used to be in Cat B, but they got shifted over to A by the 3rd Driving Licence Directive.

I've no idea about what they do here, but on GB mainland, up until 2001 sometime, they always issued a B1 with cat A pass, so trikes (whether car-derived or bike-derived up to a certain weight) could be driven/ridden.

So A licence holders up until that point had grandfather rights for trikes. B licence holders were covered as B covered all sub-groups (B1).

The 3rd DLD (Jan 2013) moved L5 vehicles to A, which means new B licence holders now need an A. Old B licence holders should have grandfather rights and in the UK, a replacement licence would be marked A but with a 79 (3) restriction code, e.g. restricted to tricycles.

I'm not sure if the NDLS do that automatically, but if you are thinking of riding a trike or driving a Reliant 3 wheelers, I would make sure you have a full Cat A or have at least a Cat A with a code 79.03 in column 12 (tricycle restriction)

I really should ask the RSA about it sometime.

What I do know is the L5 tricycles are VRT'd the same as motorcycles, so if importing, they incur all of €0 VRT (IF OVER 30 YEARS OLD). The motor tax is also at motorcycle rate, so vintage motorcycle tax is €26.

It wouldn't surprise me if there Reliants out there incorrectly registered as cars and thus overpaying their tax.

what does a Grinnall qualify as, do you think ?? Reason I ask is that I met a guy who had one, and he got shafted by VRT and subsequently insurance company, as a "car". Huge problem getting any cover for it.

His friend in Wicklow though imported one from UK and the VRT office on that day put it down as a "Tricycle" Cat A.....and he had no problem getting a bike company to cover it.

And there's only supposed to be one set of rules. ....

macplaxton · 07-02-2019 5:31am

It isn't about what I think, it's about what it actually is! A Grinnall Scorpion (providing it isn't laden with loads of useless bling) should be less than 400kg and thus VRT'd as a motorcycle.

He got shafted because the initial registration was done incorrectly.

There is only one set of rules, but the person in the local office may incorrectly think something is a car (type M1) and proceed to register it as such. Just because they do, doesn't make it so.

Some years ago, someone who lived out in Mayo contacted me because they had bought a 1998 Reliant Robin from NI and had handed in the paperwork to the local Revenue office (this was before NCTS was doing it) and proceeded to be hit with a €720 VRT bill.

As the paperwork was already in, the only course of action really was to pay the monies and appeal the case. I told them to tell the Revenue that it's not a car. Long story short, the appeal was won and approx €600 refunded.

My desk/filing is an absolute joke the moment. When I put my hands on the copy of the Revenue letter, I'll post it up.

Isambard · 10-02-2019 5:10pm

homingbird wrote: »

Thanks for replying I always thought that 3 wheel vehicle where classed as cars & you needed a car license to drive rather than ride them like a bike.

as far as I recall, the three wheelers common in the fifties and sixties existed because you could drive them on a bike license.

Using a trike as main transport

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