Shamelessly lifted from a thread on Pistonheads.

Does anyone know anything about this? The upshot seems to be that, as a result of legislative changes, it's now an offence for a club/organisation to have more than 12 cars in a convoy without having previously notified it (and presumably a route/approximate timings) and cleared it.

Have to say, it's news to me - but then I don't really keep abreast of road traffic law so that's perhaps no great surprise.

This obvious implications for anyone organising a driving meet via the board, potentially also for S2K UK, I suppose.

Enforcement is obviously a completely different kettle of fish.....

 

Uneforceable bollox. Dibbles wouldn't bat an eyelid at 12 sports cars in convoy. 12 travellers vans/coaches/rickshaws are another matter. Fair game too.

Ed

 

That's as may be, Ed - as I said, enforcement is another matter entirely. But I'm interested to see whether anyone knows whether this rumour has any substance and, if so, what the statutory basis is.

 

Back when I used to lurk around the Lotus forum, I remember them saying they had to have an MSA permit for any kind of convoy or rally that involved the public roads.

 

I have heard this too

 

I think you need an MSA permit if it's > a certain number of cars. Will see if I can dig out the info.

 

I think the MSA thing is just if you want to be covered under their insurance.

 

Surely the issue here is that they have to prove that you are all travelling together and not just coincidentally?

It's a stretch of the imagination but bear with me. Say you had 15 silver cars together in a line on the roads, not infeasible given the number of silver cars around these days, are these now a convoy?

What about a large number of people in non-specific makes / models and meeting up to go to the same location i.e. say a football supporters club meeting at their home ground's car park and then travelling to the away match. All identifiable by the flags / scarves draped over the interior / exterior of the car. Do these guys have to notify the police?

These are stretches but surely this is what Ed was talking about, a waste of time and effort for dibble?

 

Chris, I'd imagine it's going to be a question of fact for the magistrate/judge to consider. You can come up with all the specious arguments in the world but if there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the cars are present as part of a pre-arranged drive, a court can find that they were in a convoy.

It's probably more of an issue for clubs of a single marque or, even worse, a single particular type of car. But I can see the type of convoys organised through PH (multiple makes, but mostly sporty cars of one type or another) being targeted too - especially if Dibble follows and sees them all going the same way and then all pull up in the same carpark.

 

What about funeral processions? From the Church to the Crematorium for example - you could easily have more than 12 cars for that.

Clearly this is a little tongue in cheek, but in theory this is a pre-arranged drive