For all those who hire Limos or are thinking about hiring one.

18-07-2009, 04:18

Limousine Seized By Police At Prom
Glamorous pupils arrive at the prom where police found eight limousines committing offences.

16 July 2009

A stretch limousine was seized by police just minutes after it had transported Spalding students to their year 11 prom at Springfields.

Police and VOSA (Vehicle and Operators Services Agency) officers inspected 12 limos that carried pupils of Spalding’s Grammar and High Schools to their joint prom on July 3, eight of which were found to be committing offences.

One of them, a stretch Land Rover, was seized by officers for not having the correct licence and being overweight – which posed a safety risk to the students on board.

Others received fines for various reasons, including having no MoT certificates and excessive window tinting.

According to VOSA, the reason why its officers could not check the vehicles before they took the pupils to the prom was because of a complex law that says they have to see the vehicles as they are being used with passengers.

Bill Harrison, VOSA area manager for Lincolnshire, added: “The operation was a complete success helping to take un-roadworthy and illegally operated vehicles off the road, improving road safety and protecting the public.

“The check was planned meticulously so that we did not spoil the evening for the young people.

“I can confirm that VOSA and police officers found a significant amount of offences and serious defects to justify any time spent.”

The news will come as a shock to parents who shell out for the vehicles each year so that their children can make a grand entrance to their prom.

In recent years there has been ever-increasing contest among South Holland students to out-do each other by arriving at their proms in the most unusual vehicles – and limousines are often a popular choice.

Pc Rob Hook, of the Lincolnshire Police road policing unit, said: “We are concerned that such a high percentage of the vehicles we checked did not meet safety requirements or licensing regulations.

“We would like to warn limousine operators that they must ensure their vehicles are safe and adhere to legislation.

“Many people see travelling in a stretch limo as part of a really special occasion, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure that they are transported safely and within the law.”

Source; SpaldingToday - brought to you by The Lincolnshire Free Press & Spalding Guardian.

I have seen these vehicles increase 100% over the last few years, they are not made for our roads, they are made for the American roads which are straight and have no road humps. It's about time they were banned, many operators are breaking the law when carrying passengers, some limos are carrying anything up to 12-14 people, these vehicles aren't buses they aren't strong enough to carry 12-14 people.

Some a driven by drivers who haven't undergone a CRB check, some have major convictions assault and other serious crimes.

BenMcr · 18-07-2009, 09:02

I have always wondered what exactly is difference between stretching a car that was never designed to be stretched - Range Rover, Hummer etc and a cut and shut?

Osem · 18-07-2009, 10:09

Quote:

According to VOSA, the reason why its officers could not check the vehicles before they took the pupils to the prom was because of a complex law that says they have to see the vehicles as they are being used with passengers.

How utterly ridiculous. It's a good job the police don't have to wait to see a gun/knife being used before acting.....

18-07-2009, 10:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenMcr

I have always wondered what exactly is difference between stretching a car that was never designed to be stretched - Range Rover, Hummer etc and a cut and shut?

You would imagine a whole new sub frame would be built rather than just welding together the 2 ends and a bit in the middle although I have no idea.

All in all I see this as a nice way of deliberately spoiling the kids night out. Yes the vehicles should be safe but targetting them in this was is a shame for the kids

Quote:

According to VOSA, the reason why its officers could not check the vehicles before they took the pupils to the prom was because of a complex law that says they have to see the vehicles as they are being used with passengers.

IMO they could have easily photographed the vehicles with passengers and stung them later . This way they would not have ruined an important night for the kids

BenMcr · 18-07-2009, 10:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by zing

All in all I see this as a nice way of deliberately spoiling the kids night out. Yes the vehicles should be safe but targetting them in this was is a shame for the kids

Remember though we know live in a society where kids basically don't have fun.

It seems to be the default view of the police and government (and quite a lot of adults) then if more than two young people get together for whatever reason (unless it is school/something boring) then something bad is going to happen AND IT MUST BE STOPPED!

The Hitman · 18-07-2009, 11:51

Thats all the lincolnshire police are good for is motorists.

Derek · 18-07-2009, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hitman

Thats all the lincolnshire police are good for is motorists.

Aye. Bunch of facists hiding behind bushes with speed guns when they could be out catching thieves, murderers and rapists.

Oh...

https://lincs.police.uk/index.asp?locID=44&docID=2076
https://lincs.police.uk/index.asp?locID=44&docID=1912
https://lincs.police.uk/index.asp?locID=44&docID=2078

etc. etc.

rogerdraig · 18-07-2009, 13:11

the only thing about this one is that its the inability of the law to change to accommodate and provide proper licensing and construction use rules for these vehicles which leads to this

some are still classed as cars some as mini buses and some can fall under the coach rules

and as you get lots of people with no experiance setting up by just bying second hand or imported ones its hardly surprising that this happens

i do think its daft if there were suspected serious and i emphasise serious problems and just not technical breaches of rules then they should have acted before they were used !

however i expect that its mostly just going to be technical breaches in the main that the lawyers will have fun with trying to prove and disprove what ones apply to what

see some of these

http://www.bigandlong.co.uk/NLAUK.html

this one most probably is illegal

http://www.hirelimolondon.co.uk/

this one should be ok

http://www.dv8limousines.co.uk/limo-liner-hire.html

simple you would think

so going on above the middle one could just betaken out of buisness by a visit from VOSA and the plod

but !

i and most of you can legaly drive all of those middle links vehicles and put up to 45 yes i said 45 people in them and drive around all day and there is not one law to stop you or me AS long as none of them are paying for the journey

but all of them could have paid to hire the vehicle

confused ?

so is the law lol

what is needed is for the legislation to issue certificates to limos so they can be properly licensed checked and made safe rather than occasional headline grabbing stuff like this

19-07-2009, 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by zing

You would imagine a whole new sub frame would be built rather than just welding together the 2 ends and a bit in the middle although I have no idea.

All in all I see this as a nice way of deliberately spoiling the kids night out. Yes the vehicles should be safe but targetting them in this was is a shame for the kids

IMO they could have easily photographed the vehicles with passengers and stung them later . This way they would not have ruined an important night for the kids

They havent been given a new sub frame Zing, I watched a programme the other week on SKY about vehicles being bought in from America, some of these Limos were death traps even the new ones. They went undercover and booked a Limo for 12 people, the stress the limo was under due to the weight was unreal, one engineer said, "it's a wonder it didn't snap in two". They were also concerned that the driver wasn't carrying a PSV licence.

roadwolf · 20-07-2009, 13:41

Prom? have I moved to the US of A without noticing?. Not all vehicles have sub frames and lengthening if done properly is quite safe. But the brakes and the suspension are not always uprated to cope with the extra weight.I believe that the vehicle has to have 14 or more seats to need a PSV licence.

rogerdraig · 20-07-2009, 15:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadwolf

Prom? have I moved to the US of A without noticing?. Not all vehicles have sub frames and lengthening if done properly is quite safe. But the brakes and the suspension are not always uprated to cope with the extra weight.I believe that the vehicle has to have 14 or more seats to need a PSV licence.

only if you are using it as a mini bus which is where the problem is here

they wont classify these as buses in this country at the moment leavng a gaping hole in the protection of the public

all these companies do is hire out the vehical they dont charge for the trip so no psv is needed and the limo doesnt need to be tested like a mini bus

Graham M · 20-07-2009, 15:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadwolf

Prom? have I moved to the US of A without noticing?.

Off-topic but we were doing proms when I was at school nearly 10 years ago so it's not a new thing by any means.

roadwolf · 21-07-2009, 09:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham M

Off-topic but we were doing proms when I was at school nearly 10 years ago so it's not a new thing by any means.

I don't get out a lot,

It's still a stupid Americanism that we could have managed without, much like limo's.

22-07-2009, 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogermevans

only if you are using it as a mini bus which is where the problem is here

they wont classify these as buses in this country at the moment leavng a gaping hole in the protection of the public

all these companies do is hire out the vehical they dont charge for the trip so no psv is needed and the limo doesnt need to be tested like a mini bus

If you are carrying anything over 8 fare paying passengers you need a PSV licence, if you are carrying them free of charge you can drive the vehicle on a normal car licence.

DocDutch · 22-07-2009, 05:18

dont know why people would go for a limo, if I was young again I would go for say this: http://www.johndagostinokustomkars.c...0Cool%2057.jpg