HGV Exemptions

The current exemption from annual Heavy Goods Vehicle road worthiness tests for mobile cranes and truck mounted aerial lifts in the UK looks set to end.

A government consultation document is currently being distributed that seeks comment from interested parties over the next three months.

The document proposes to withdraw the exemption from the almost 5,000 road going cranes and over 3,000 truck mounted lifts currently registered in the UK. Once the consultation process is closed in March there will be a delay of a further three months or so before the findings are published.

Assuming that the outcome is then a recommendation to go ahead with withdrawal – and it is hard to see any arguments that will prevent it – the changes to the current law are likely to come into force sometime in 2011.

The driving forces behind the proposal are the fact that the number of exempt vehicles that regularly use UK roads is now over 40,000 and growing. It is also clear that the exemption breaches EU directives for these vehicles that often travel great distances, some at relatively high speeds.

It will be hard to argue a rational case against the removal of the exemption and that both cranes and truck mounted lifts should not be subject to formal roadworthiness tests along the lines of other vehicles. Tests costs between £75 and £135.

Isis Insurance takes into account the exemptions and what this means to our HGV drivers and crane drivers.

With the added cost of time and test fees many companies could be left with less profit and this is where Isis Insurance can help you, we offer competitive HGV insurance prices, and all our staff have years of experience to make sure you get the best possible policy for your HGV vehicle.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm and is filed under HGV (Haulage/Truck). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.