The government has issued a consultation on 10 year old tyres. Responses are invited from interested parties using this on line form.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/older-tyres/

It would seem that lobbying from vintage vehicle clubs appears to have been heard. Buses which exempt from MOT and not in commercial use will be exempt from the requirements.

From a safety point of view I can see absolutely no difference whatsoever between a bus which is carrying 'fare paying passengers' and one which is carrying passengers who have not paid a fare.

I consider the argument that old vehicles cannot attain a speed which would be dangerous if a tyre should fail to be disingenuous considering the quite frequently heard discussions, within the preserved vehicle community, about modifying a vehicle to make it go faster.

I agree Roy as you see some atrocious tyres at rallies etc with visible cracking on the side walls - it would be better to have a voluntary code that tyres are removed from rims when they get to a minimum of ten years old to have the integrity of their construction checked if tubeless and also the tubes and flaps for rough surfaces etc if on split rims - but with no Mot required on many vehicles how could that be enforced ? Vehicles can often sit about for years on a set of tyres then change hands and suddenly start carrying full loads of passengers on running days.

My bus number (if any): RML 2747

"full loads of passengers on running days ...."

Careful, I think you may open a whole new can of worms .....


Andrew

My bus number (if any): RM1368

Especially on vehicles newly restored that have been off the road for a while .......

My bus number (if any): RML 2747

Quite true, No need for MOT, no need for PMIs, no need for recording working hours, no need to actually know the proposed route which quite often requires using width limited roads with no knowledge of whether permission has been granted. No need for any actual experience other than having the correct valid licence and medical.You even see vehicles carrying the spare wheel inside the bus. Plenty of obsolete tickets issued as souvenirs, but frequently poor observation of the platform and too much distraction by another old bus seen. Vehicle stops outside a pretty pub or the site of a demolished former bus garage and swarms of photographers decamp and stand in the middle of the road to get a 'piccy'.

Not just enthusiasts on board but joe public and his young family carried who are totally oblivious to all this.

The organisers are to be congratulated for their hard work because they try very hard indeed and the families love the idea, but the participants do need to be so much more professional about it.

Exactly Roy that’s the worry - one unfortunate incident somewhere in the country could cause a knee jerk reaction by the powers that be that could put an end to the enjoyment for hundreds of people as at best it's a very grey area legally ?

My bus number (if any): RML 2747

Which then leads us on to the whole question of why the UK appears to be the only country in Europe that lets people without a D qualification drive a bus around fully loaded providing it is not for money. In most other countries there's also no difference between a class 5 and class 6 bus But that is a separate discussion outside this heading. A bus is a bus. They can all carry a lot of people. They all have to meet the same standards. Some countries have the testing exemption we enjoy for all vehicles over a certain age. But drivers must have a class D entitlement and buses have to be up to standard.

My bus number (if any): RML2532