Big driving rule change UK motorists still may not | Tech News
Fresh driving licence guidelines have been in impact since June, and so they might have an effect on hundreds of thousands of motorists throughout the UK. Although it has been the law since early summer time, not everyone seems to be conscious of these new updates or what they imply for them.
From June 10, anybody holding a Category B driving licence – probably the most common sort of licence – has been allowed to operate an electric or hydrogen-fuelled vehicle with a most authorised mass (MAM) of up to 4,250kg. Government necessities specify that the vehicle “must be a zero-emission vehicle”.
This further weight allowance applies to vehicle classes that may usually be operated utilizing a class B licence and covers automobiles transporting up to eight passengers.
The normal MAM threshold for petrol and diesel automobiles with a class B licence stands at 3,500kg, the Liverpool Echo reported on the time.
If you handed your driving check earlier than 1997 and possess a Category B licence, you are “usually permitted to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass (MAM)”. You’re additionally entitled to operate a minibus with a trailer exceeding 750kg MAM.
On the recent guidelines, steerage out there on GOV.UK stated: “If the vehicle has additional specialist equipment to support disabled passengers, it can have a MAM of up to 5,000kg. The extra 750kg must be attributable to the specialist equipment. You can also drive an electric or hydrogen powered minibus up to 4,250kg MAM (5,000kg if fitted with additional specialist equipment for disabled passengers).
“You will be capable to tow a trailer as long because the MAM of the vehicle and trailer mixture does not exceed 7,000kg. For instance, in case your vehicle has a MAM of 4,250kg, then the MAM of your trailer can be restricted to 2,750kg.”
It added: “The MAM of the trailer mustn’t ever exceed 3,500kg. If you handed your class B driving check earlier than 1 January 1997, you may drive vehicle and trailer mixtures up to eight,250kg.”
The government also confirmed that photocard driving licences will not be changed to reflect this additional entitlement. This means that anyone who isn’t explicitly aware of the rule change could completely miss this update to the law.
This new rule means motorists can now legally drive larger electric vans, minibuses, and SUVs without needing a specialist licence, making it easier to switch to zero-emission vehicles. Drivers won’t have to pay for and complete the extra training previously required to operate these larger vehicles.
In other driving news, people who are due an MOT soon may not know about one major change to tests introduced by officials earlier in 2025. Earlier this year, the DVSA began asking MOT check garages to take a photograph of automobiles within the testing bay earlier than endeavor an examination to cut down on fraud and stop a spate of so-called ‘ghost MOTs’.
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