Posted By Alan Murphy I was recently at a seminar when the question of workplace forklifts and workplace trucks travelling on public roads came up. For instance what if a truck has to cross a public road to get to another site of yours. Or travels down the road to another site. 1. What distance does it have to travel to require insurance etc 2. Are they exempt altogether 3. Does crossing the road automatically put it as a road user 4. What happens regarding claims etc should there be an accident. I mean there must be some sort of guidance or legislation on this, but the police were not sure and neither were the department of transport when i rung them. So is there anyone of you clever chaps know the answer to this please. Thanks Alan

Posted By Neil Koskie See There is some good info at this website: http://aes-training.com/2k5/fltroaduse.php Hope this helps Neil

Posted By Robert K Lewis I will dib into some of these. 1) All users of the public highway must be insured 2) Exempt from what? The Vehicle excise licence ? 3)If it is on the highway it is a road user 4) It will come to the employer under the appropriate insurance certificate of cover from the claimants solicitors or insurers. Check following - valid insurance is one that a) fulfils the requirements of section 145 of the Road Traffic Act 1988[8], or article 92 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981[9], and (b) in the case of a policy of insurance complying with article 92 of the 1981 Order, is issued by an insurer within the meaning of article 12 of that Order; Bob

Posted By John C "....there must be some sort of guidance or legislation on this, but the police were not sure and neither were the department of transport when i rung them". Matter of interest, which 'bit' of the Dept for Transport did you ring? John

Posted By John Webster Under The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act an FLT, which is a type of "works truck", would be a "special machine", subject to a reduced rate "tax disc". Schedule 2 states: In sub-paragraph (2)(e)"works truck" means a goods vehicle which is— (a) designed for use in private premises, and (b) used on public roads only— (i) for carrying goods between private premises and a vehicle on a road in the immediate vicinity, (ii) in passing from one part of private premises to another or between private premises and other private premises in the immediate vicinity, or (iii) in connection with road works at or in the immediate vicinity of the site of the works. Unfortunately there is no definition of "immediate vicinity" However, the main advantage of having a non or limited road-use vehicle is that it can be run on reduced duty fuel, such as "red" diesel or kerosene. The savings probably far outweigh those to be had drom the "tax disc". In order to qualify for running on reduced duty fuel, the HM Customs & Excise has this to say with regard to works trucks (1) A works truck is an excepted vehicle. (2) In sub-paragraph (1) above "works truck" means a goods vehicle which is designed for use in private premises and is used on public road only: (a) for carrying goods between private premises and a vehicle on a road within one kilometre of those premises, (b) in passing from one part of private premises to another, (c) in passing between private premises and other private premises in a case where the premises are within one kilometre of each other, or (d) in connection with road works at the site of the works or within one kilometre of the site of the works. (3) In sub-paragraph (2) above "goods vehicle" means a vehicle constructed or adapted for use and used for the conveyance of goods or burden of any description, whether in the course of trade or not. So, in effect, HM Customs and Excise has defined the immediate vicinity as being 1km, and therefore in the absence of any other applicable definition of immediate vicinity it could be legitimately argued that the reduced rate of vehicle excise duty would apply for the same limited road use. However, where an applicant for a vehicle licence for a vehicle satisfies the Secretary of State that the vehicle is intended to be used on public roads— (a) only in passing from land in his occupation to other land in his occupation, and (b) for distances not exceeding an aggregate of six miles in any calendar week, the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, declare that the vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used on public roads as mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b). Of course, you still need insurance.

Posted By Andrew Brown With regards to 4 Following a judicial review after a fatal road traffic accident which was linked to work premises HSE is more likely to investigate accidents in the situations you describe. See this previous topic: http://www.iosh.co.uk/in...iew&forum=1&thread=16086

Posted By Salus I remember something on farm vehicles about this. They use various types of vehicles for short distances on public roads. It might be worthwhile contacting a local farmer or DEFRA

Posted By Edward H This site seems to set it all out fairly clearly... http://aes-training.com/2k5/fltroaduse.php

Posted By IT Wow that killed this post , should I add a FORMER Inspector ,to encourage further postings