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No Extras Please - We are British!

About 5 years ago when there were only a limited number of stretched limousines in the U.K., the police and vehicle inspectorate were not really interested in limousines. They did not know what type of vehicle to class them or the laws relating to driving them. They were then somewhat pushed to the back of their priority list into the gray area of the law.

It’s 5 years later, and, oh, how different it is now as limousines are nearly outnumbering buses in every major town or city throughout the U.K. The police and vehicle inspectorate are now standing up and enforcing regulations as the number of these vehicles has grown exponentially.

The seating capacity of stretch limousines in the U.K. has been firmly restricted to only eight It doesn’t matter whether you have a 120inch stretched Town Car or even a 220inch H2, in the U.K. the maximum number of passengers you are allowed to carry is only eight.

Over the past 2 to 3 years, huge stretch limousines and stretched SUVs have been getting shipped from the U.S. to the U.K, and limo operators have been packing 16 passengers into them day in, day out. Stories are even being circulated of operators cramming 20 passengers into a 200inch SUV.

The law is clear over here: if a vehicle is required to carry more than eight passengers, it must be classified as a bus and be issued a Certificate of Initial Fitness . A limousine or SUV would have as much chance of passing this test as I could swim to America. There are many reasons why a stretch limousine or SUV would not pass this test, but here are just a few of the more specific restrictions that would fail a limo: You must be able to stand up in the vehicle. The driver must be able to get from the front to the rear unobstructed. Two passengers must be able to leave from the same exit at the same time. As you can see, there are a few problems actually making a limo fit the COIF requirements, and that was only a sample of the list. The list is exhaustive with items such as seat belts, side-facing seats, emergency exits, etc.

I won’t be surprised if there are a few court cases and legal proceedings raised in the near future for vehicles bought under the pretense that they can legally carry more than eight passengers. If I was told that a vehicle I purchased could carry 16 passengers, then the police pay me a visit to instruct me that I could only carry eight, I would have a few strong words to say to the dealer. This would not affect dealers in the U.S. as they have sold the vehicle as per its use in the U.S. and not as what it can be used for in the U.K. I would, however, worry about dealers in the U.K. as this could turn legally unpleasant. Their receipt would be for a 16-passenger limo, and this would obviously be incorrect.