Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 UK driving licence changes

OK, take this example. There are two cars followed by a bike. The second car is waiting to pass the first one. THe bike plans to pass them both.

The biker is sat on the second cars rear wing (before the blind spot, no biker would sit there!) waiting to pass.

The road clears, and the bike begins his move. The bike would who was 'blind' to the second driver already enters the blind spot.. the car is totally blind to the bike and pulls out then bang.....

This scenerio would NOT occur with a third car. As the car would have moved, and been seen.

I've done a lot of driving over the years, and have seen this almost happen a fair few times. I've also seen it happen a few times, twice with tragic results.

I always keep an eye out for whats behind me, and make a positive movement to the left to alert the biker that I know he is there. It helps to have done a small (I mean small) amount of biking myself.

This is my view anyway, other opinions from real bikers (and others) are welcome!

I have done a lot of biking:))

I passed my test when I was 16 - those were the days when the examiner walked round the course, and jumped out in front of u by way of creating an emergency stop!!This was 47 years ago!!

What have I learnt? Well I love bikes BUT they are fundamentally very dangerous (that sounds obvious - but to many it is not)
Constant endeavour to improve riding habits/techniques/safety is vital for survival.
Being a biker makes you a better car driver - you become much more aware of all sorts of driving/road conditions.
Car drivers often do not see bikes. Bikes can pop up in road positions where car drives do not expect them to be.
Bikes move fast into road positions - often way too fast- and IMHO this creates many accidents - the "sorry mate I did not see you" syndrome.

I could go on but u get the point.

M3boy
neil

I remember a Tomorrow's World article once about something similar. It looked at accidents outside schools. The stats showed more lorries collided with children the cars once the stats were normalised for frequency of lorries versus cars.

The conclusion was that lorry drivers with their high viewing angle and changed perspective saw the children as adults further away (and hence no danger) not a small person close up.

'Moped cars' for 16-year-olds are coming to the UK

A new category of moped licence is being introduced on 19 January 2013.

It will allow people aged 16 and over to drive so-called 'light quadricycles'.

These vehicles look and drive like a car, but are no more powerful than a moped and aren't allowed to go faster than 28mph (45km/h).

The Aixam Coupe S costs £9,999 new and the French firm hopes to sell 2,000 in the UK next year.

Yet more Sunday drivers to join the ranks, great.

p.s. I think they are made of plastic so could burn well.

We've had them in France for a long time now - called "Voitures sans permis" as you can drive one without a licence - so they are popular with drunkards who've had their licences taken away. IMHO they are an absolute menace as they cannot keep up with the normal flow of traffic (and should more correctly be called mobile chicanes) and as the person at the wheel is often a drunk, it's best to give them a very wide berth and to make no assumptions about the driver's intentions.

I can't see that it is safe or desirable to put inexperienced drivers in such cars - in particular because they don't have to meet the same standards of crash protection as real cars.

I didn't know about these cars being in France....l and how odd that you could drive them drunk! In the UK I'm pretty sure you can be charged for being drunk in charge of a boat, a bicycle and horse (none of which require a permit).

You make very good points.

Very interesting if not worrying comments Giles, the whole thing sounds ill thought out and open to abuse.

They will need insuring, and if they prove to be high risk, they will attract a premium to match.

About 2k for a 16yr old apparently and as the "cars" are about 10k these will be Silver Spoon chariots only I guess.

Seems a lot for a motorised Tupperware box really.

Has anyone read copy letter from DVLA on P7 of April 2013 M3W Club Bulletin? (This concerns the change to 3 wheeled vehicle licensing from January 2013.)

I think this is a serious issue for us all. It is quite clear, in DVLA's and EU Commission's view that "the handling characteristics of a 3 wheeled vehicle were more in line with those of a motorcycle, and its re-categorisation of 3 wheeled vehicles is on that basis." So in the future the only persons able to "drive " M3Ws will have to pass a bike test NOT a car test. How crazy is that and they go on to say that you will have to take a test on a bike as the M3W is not eligible to take a test in unless the candidate has a disability!

Why on a bike not in the M3W? Because you should prove your competence on the most difficult vehicle in the category!! Are they crazy; have they ever seen or heard of the new 5 speed M3W.

What it means for us all in the future is that there will clearly be a diminishing market for the 3 wheelers ... bikers only afraid, once us, who held valid licences in January 2013 (mostly car licences I guess) have passed on.

Does the Morgan Car Company and fellow M3W owners realise the implications of this in years to come? What is the general 'take' on these developments?

Another EU directive but it cannot be too late to get if changed so that passing a car test allows one to drive a 3 wheeled CAR.

The M3W Club are trying to un-ravel this but looks like the M3W is now a 3 wheeled bike with all the implications that brings.