§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Transport how the European tachograph regulations relate to private horseboxes and trailers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeOnly the courts can give an authoritative ruling on the exact application and scope of the regulations. There is as yet no case law to guide us on the scope of the exemptions. It is strongly arguable that the regulations do not apply to any privately owned and driven vehicles. There is a specific exemption in the regulations for specialised vehicles used for cultural events which I expect the courts to accept as an exemption covering all purpose built or adapted horse-boxes for gymkhanas, fox-hunting and other equestrian leisure pursuits. I expect the courts to regard the exemption for small passenger vehicles as applying to cars, most Land Rovers and dual-purpose vehicles when towing horse-box trailers even if the maximum permissible weight of the combination exceeded 3.5 tonnes.
A Minister cannot speak on behalf of the enforcement authorities or the courts; but it seems to me highly unlikely that the enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom would bring a prosecution for not having a tachograph in a privately owned and driven horse-box, or that any attempted prosecution would be successful.
The Government would like to see the position on this and other matters clarified by amendment to the regulation. This would require agreement by all 10 member States and we are pressing for this.