Legal & MOT's
Driving Licence
What is the law relating to three wheel
vehicles?
Driving licence requirements
The driving licence legislation for three-wheelers (tricycles), irrespective of
whether they are car or motorcycle based, changed considerably on 19.01.13. The
two most important changes were that from 19.01.13, new rider/drivers:
| 1. |
must be a minimum of 21 years of age (for tricycles
over 15 kW), and |
| 2. |
require a motorcycle licence (category A or A1) to be
able to drive them because they no longer fall within category B1. This
only applies if you don't already have a full car licence - see below. |
The changes only affect those taking their test after
19.01.13. Those riders/drivers with existing full entitlement to ride/drive
category B1 vehicles gained before 19.01.13 will retain that entitlement.
However, when the holders of such licences exchange them, DVLA will add a new
entitlement 'category A (limited to tricycles - restriction code 79)', to their
licence.
Riding a tricycle with a car licence
You can drive/ride a motor tricycle of any power rating if you're over 21 and
you have a full car driving licence. If this is not the case you'll need a full
category A1 motorbike licence to ride motor tricycles up to a power output of 15
Kilowatts (kW), and a full category A motorbike licence to ride trikes with a
power output more than 15 kW.
AM tricycles
At age 16 or over, you must pass your CBT, theory
test and then a practical test on a motorcycle without a sidecar with an engine
capacity up to 50cc. You may then ride two or three wheeled vehicles no more
than 50cc and below 4 kW, with a design speed not exceeding 28mph.
A1 motorcycle licence – three-wheelers not exceeding
15 kW
At age 17 or over, you must pass your CBT, theory test and then a practical test
on a motorcycle without a sidecar of between 120 and 125cc. You may then ride a
motorcycle up to 125cc with a power output up to 11 kW, or a motor tricycle with
a power not exceeding 15 kW.
A motorcycle licence – three-wheelers above 15 kW
Test taken on a motorcycle without a sidecar of at least 595cc and an engine
power of at least 40 kW; this gives full access to all motorcycles and motor
tricycles. There are two routes to acquire category A:
| 1. |
Progressive access – riders can get this category
from age 21 years, provided they have a minimum of two years' experience
on a category A2 motorcycle with a full licence and pass the category A
practical motorcycle tests |
| 2. |
Direct access – riders must be at least 24 years old,
have a valid CBT certificate (only if they don't have full entitlement
to A1 or A2 because then they will have already completed their CBT to
get their A1 or A2 entitlement) and pass the theory and category A
practical motorcycle tests |
Points to note:
| 1. |
The rules apply to all three-wheelers regardless of
wheel configuration i.e. two wheels at the front and one at the back or
visa versa. |
| 2. |
Driving tests for three-wheeled vehicles will only be
available for physically disabled drivers. Able-bodied provisional
licence holders who wish to ride motor tricycles will have to pass CBT
and practical tests on a two wheeled motorcycle AM, A1 or A without a
sidecar. |
| 3. |
Provisional B1 entitlement to ride/drive a three-wheeler
has been withdrawn for new licence holders, however riders who have this
entitlement on their licences prior to 19.01.13 retain this. After
19.01.13, a provisional licence will only cover riders to ride motor
tricycles if they have a physical disability. |
The above information is taken from and
amended where appropriate with help from Adam Turpin of the Reliant Owners Club
Further information on riding a motor
tricycle can be found here
MOT
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) of which the Micro
Maniacs Club is a full member has produced a detailed document in their magazine
2018 Issue 1 (Addendum) outlining the forthcoming changes to the following:
Roadworthiness Testing
VHI Substantial Change Guidance
Clean air legislation
DVLA Update
To view this information on line follow this
link or to
download click here
(
Word document).
One of the difficulties microcar enthusiasts face is finding a
suitable MOT testing station that is both capable and understanding of the needs
of a microcar.
We are compiling a list of sympathetic testing stations
that are local to our members.
Please can Club members email details of their local testing station of which
they have personal experience to
Webmaster
these will then be included in the Club Recommended list below.
Please include the following information if available:
Testing Station name, address, telephone number, contact name.
|
Ayrshire |
|
|
Howies Garage |
4 Stevenston Road, Kilwinning KA13 6NJ
Tel: 01294 552687 |
|
Cleveland |
|
|
Bank Top Garage |
South View, Billingham, Cleveland TS23 1BS
Tel: 01642 552497 - ask for Colin Sanderson |
|
Greater Manchester |
|
|
Hi Way Motors |
Taylor Street, Bury BL9 6DT
Tel: 0161 764 0481 |
|
Middlesex |
|
|
Woodlawn Garage |
644 Hanworth Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW4
5NP
Tel: 020 8894 1951 |
|
Yorkshire - West |
|
|
Hall Street Motors |
Hall Street, Cross Hills, Keighley BD20 7LF
Tel: 01535 636338 |
Premier Autos
Independent MOT's |
Hill Top Garage, Thornhill, Dewsbury WF12 0RE
Tel: 07955 798034 - ask for Don Wood |
|
Lessian Motors |
1 Little Lane, Ilkley LS29 8EA
Tel: 01943 608355 |
For members that live away from the above areas, the following
spreadsheet lists MOT stations that currently (December 2017) perform Class III MOT tests.
Click on
MOT Stations
(
Excel spreadsheet) to download.
This listing has been downloaded
from the UK
MOT Active Vehicle Testing Stations site and has been reformatted to
show Class III testing stations in Post Code order.
If you find a garage on this
listing that you can recommend, please email the
Webmaster
so that it can be included in the Club Recommended list.
| 
