London Limousine

"The Law is an Ass" said Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist in Chapter 51, written by Charles Dickens (1812'70) first published serially in 1837'1839.

EXACT QUOTATION: "If the Law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, "the Law is an Ass  an Idiot. If that's the Eye of the Law, the Law is a Bachelor; and the worst I wish the Law is that his Eye may be opened by Experience"

"PROOF OF THE ABOVE"

QUESTION: Do you suppose this character's comment is still true today ?

Well my personal feeling is a resounding Yes !

MY OPINION: UK Minibus Legislation is more than 10 Years Out of Date, the EC is still trying to fit a Round Peg into a Square Hole.

The UK Government states that any vehicle with over 8 seats is a Minibus ! Thousands of Limousines have up to 16 seats, they are clearly not Minibuses.

A Minibus must acquire a COIF certificate to be allowed to transport paying passengers. The British Government will not issue a COIF certificate for Limousines in the UK.

All Minibuses in Great Britain must now have a Tacho fitted since 1st January 2008. The Limousine manufacturers however have advised us that they have not yet designed a Tachograph that will fit into all Limousines.

UK Legislation requires a maximum of 40 centimetres per Person for space to sit. So if you are a sardine then you will be fine. But do you want to pay hundreds of pounds for your Limo and then sit suffocating and sweating in a 40 centimetre space.

The majority of Local Councils in the British Isles have advised their local Limousine businesses that they are not allowed to collect paying passengers in adjacent areas, ie. in the next town, even if it is only minutes away from their office/location since it is classified as Cross Border Hiring which is of course illegal !

Furthermore other UK Local Government Councils have also told thousands of Limo Firms that they will not register them or allow them to exist regardless of their location (ie. in or out of their jurisdiction) and also told them that nor will they licence Left-Hand Drive Vehicles (ie. all American Limos/Cars) for Private Hire purposes full-stop. And as you Dear Reader are probably already aware all SuperStretch American Ford & Lincoln Limousines strictly only exist in Left Hand Drive.

After many decades the United Kingdom Government is still not considering the introduction of a Special Licence or Compliance Requirement for Limousines or Limo Companies in order that they may operate 100% legally.

Contract Hire has now been abolished since 28th January 2008 which was a 100 year old method for some Limousine Companies to attempt to function within a legal framework. No nationwide procedure is being set up to replace Contract Hire, so that Bona-Fide Limousine Companies can operate legally in the UK.

Thanks to the above the largest Insurance Company supplying cover for Private Hire for the big 16-Seater Limos has now withdrawn it's services from this sector of the insurance market.

So many Limousine Companies are now having to switch their insurance on to a new type of Hire Scheme so that they can stay in business and feed their families and not have to sponge off the state like parasites, and in order to try and operate legally of course.

The majority of Enforcement Officers, Local Council Staff, Limousine Passengers, Limousine Drivers, Limousine Hire Companies etc are not at all aware of the above Info in full. But you the Reader are now fully aware and as you know - Knowledge is Power.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO ?

If you still wish to book and travel completely legally in a Superlong Hummer Limo and take from 8 - 16 passengers on a Special Celebration anywhere in the UK, then you have two choices.

1. Reserve two 8-seater Limousines instead of one 16-seater and carry your Guests separately in two Limos. This will not be as much fun, since the Party will sadly be split into two groups that cannot talk to each other or travel together in a Fun Party Mood with their Friends/Relatives and unfortunately the cost will be higher than one Limo on it's own.

2. Or if you still wish to carry up to 16 people in one Limo only - then to do this legally you must book the Limousine itself from a Limo Hire Company and then you must separately locate an Experienced and Fully Qualified Professional Chauffeur to drive your Limo for you, from an independent source.

This article provides guidance for anyone wishing to book a Limousine in the UK and is based on informed opinion and should not be considered as an authoritative and exhaustive description of current UK & EC Laws.