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I am currently working on a comparative law report on the B1 driving license (quadricycles). I am aware the UK contemplates the B1 permit in its legislation. However, I would like to know how long has the permit been contemplated in the English regulations. Does anyone know for how long 16 year olds are allowed to drive quadricycles with the B1 driving license? Thank you in advance!
You have misunderstood the licence categories – B1 was set up to cover 3 wheeled invalid carriages (those evil blue things that cost more than a properly converted car) and is now redundant and is not included on driving licences for new drivers.
The category covering quadricycles is category AM, a strange category as it covers mopeds and 4 wheeled vehicles under 350 kg unladen weight excluding the weight of batteries if electrically propelled (which includes the Citroen Ami).
The category was introduced by the 3rd Directive and came into force on 13/01/1997. The minimum age is 16. To ride a moped you have to have passed the compulsory training in the last 2 years but I am not certain whether this applies to quadricycles as well – I assume it does but it is not something I have researched yet.
A good category table is included in the notes to the DVLA D9 form which can easily be downloaded, just google D9 Form. The table includes notes and minimum ages.
When the consultation on the 3rd Directive was being done there was a discussion at a road safety group meeting about category AM. The consensus was that putting 16 year olds in quadricycles without having to pass a practical driving test on one was not ideal, but probably safer than having 16 year olds ride mopeds where they had much less protection.
Despite the category being in place for 24 years you very seldom see quadricycles in the UK, apart from the occasional quad. In France they are quite common. I suspect the Citroen Ami May change that – the new Ami Cargo is coming to the UK in 2022 and I expect it to be quite popular with the light delivery industry – pizzas, eats, etc as it would be able to carry more and will probably prove safer. I often question the legality of sending kids out on mopeds doing deliveries on provisional licences – under H&S law it looks very suspect to me!
Thats interesting – does that mean technically those driving motorised disability vehicles (four wheel battery operated) should actually have a licence for them? Many of those in use are by those who have had vehicle licenses surrendered due to lack of ability through age. I would be very interested to know whether they do require a licence.
Thanks in advance
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