VOSA WARNS LIMO SECTOR TO COMPLY OR FACE SANCTIONS
VOSA WARNS LIMO SECTOR TO COMPLY OR FACE SANCTIONS
Stretch limousine operators are still in turmoil over tighter VOSA regulations, which came into force on October 1. VOSA executive Neil Barlow spelled out the situation to a hostile crowd of operators at special Drive 09 seminar, if you or your vehicles don’t comply with the law, the vehicle could be impounded, but only as the absolute last resort.
‘We’re not going to impound every limousine on October 1, we haven’t the capacity to do that’ he said. And he told operators, many of whom clearly were operating vehicles with more than eight seats that don’t meet the COIF certificate regulations, that they had been warned about situation well over a year ago. ‘There is no change to the licensing regulations, we just have a new sanction, impounding’ Barlow said. ‘The limousine industry doesn’t help itself’ he continued. ‘An awful lot of limo operators operate unlawfully. If more found legality, it would be less of an issue’. He urged limousine operators to at least start the process of making their vehicles legal. ‘If you’re not there yet with legality, tell us what you’re doing working on vehicles, removing seats and so on. This will help us to target the people who are making an effort’.
For limousine with more than eight seats to be operated legally private hire vehicles with driver, they have to meet the COIF regulations, effectively the same rules that buses and coaches have to comply with. One delegate called for a separate set of standards for limousines, he pointed out that the limousine sector was only 12 years old, yet vehicles had to meet the rules drafted 40 years ago. But Barlow said the government had rejected calls for separate limousines category in 2008. In order to keep operating non-COIF compliant limousines, operators have several options. The most expensive is to pay to have the vehicles converted. Its possible for some stretch limos to be modified, but at a cost of around £15,000-£18,000. For many operators, that’s more than the value of their cars.
Alternatively, operators could remove seats to bring the capacity to no more than eight passengers, in which case the car no longer requires a COIF. Or they could continue to operate on a ‘schedule 6’ dry rental basis, in which case the car cannot be hired with a driver, instead the hirer has to arrange a driver separately. This creates further confusion and ‘grey areas’ with the use of driver agencies that are linked to the vehicle firm.
CONVENIENT COIF CONVERSIONS FOR LONDON H2 OPERATORS
Strong demand for retro-fit COIF conversions on stretched hummer H2 limousines has prompted Cheshire-based Pinnacle Engineering to set up a second conversion facility.
Pinnacle has authorised A1 Stretch of Hemel Hempstead to carry out the popular and necessary COIF conversions. VOSA is planning to crack down on non-compliant stretch limousines, and has the power to impound illegal vehicles. Using A1 will make it easier for London-based Hummer Operators to make their vehicles comply with the law. The conversion costs £18,000 and the limos to pass the COIF turning circle test. The stretched H2 must be able to turn within area between two concentric circles of 5.3m and 12.5m diameters, with no part projecting outside that area. Vehicles stretched by up to 200in can be converted. The move makes it possible for the car to be hired with driver, and able to carry up to 16 passengers, rather than under the more complicated self-drive schedule 6 of the VOSA vehicle hire rules, which meant customers had to hire car and vehicle separately.
IVA APPROVAL FOR ICON DEMON STRETCH
FULL IVA type approval has been granted for the Icon Demon Stretch Limousine, distributed in the UK by 1st4limosales. The car made its UK debut at the Drive 09 shows last month. The eight seater 120in stretch limo is based on the Dodge charger body, and is mechanically the same as the Chrysler 200c based Icon Illusion, which is also IVA approved and sold by the same company.
Both vehicles have been designed with the UK market in mind, and is built by the worlds largest limousine builder Executive Coachbuilders of the US. The Icon Demon has a slightly higher specification, and a higher price of £59,950 plus VAT. The Icon Illusion costs £56,995.
1st4limosales says the Icon Demon is 25% more fuel-efficient than a Lincoln town car-based limo, and it has 4in more ground-to-chassis clearance. Features include client and driver master touch screen panel, a widescreen reversing camera and four sets of hidden opera lights.
TYRED OUT
The pressures of driving a private hire taxi or chauffeuring a limousine are not easy: long hours, a lot of miles, not much quality downtime. And then there’s the maintenance of your car to fit in as well. This, of course, is vital. But how often do you check your tyres to ensure that there are no bulges, the tread is still legal, the pressures ok? The sophisticated and complex mechanisms that make up a car today, anti-skid technology for example, or accident avoidance technology are reduced in contact with the road. With 2 tonnes of car suspended above. So ensuring tyres are safe and legal is paramount. But its surprising how many people take it all for granted. Take a recent survey of company car drivers, limo hire drivers, and taxi owners found that an alarming 25% had never checked the depth of their tyre tread and a further 41% had not checked them within the last six months.
In 2008, Kwik Fit Fleet carried out 200,000 car inspections, of these 20% required attention. Typical problems included under or over inflations; damage to the tyre wall; and tread below or close to the 1.6mm legal minimum. Now, professional drivers don’t take such a cavalier approach to their vehicles, but the point is this- tyres are easy to forget about, especially now that many have standard or optional tyre pressure monitors. TyreSafe has a ‘lifesaver in your pocket’ campaign to encourage drivers to insert 20p coin into the main grooves of the tyre o check the tread depth. If the outer band of the coin is visible when inserted, then the tyre may not have sufficient depth and should be checked by a qualified specialist.
The penalties for illegal tyres are if your car is found to have illegal tyres, then the fines are draconian. Drivers found breach of the tyre law face a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre. The effect on income and possible livelihood needs little rehearsing.
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