Car Hire

[rosie]

Daniel, if you use the links above and take the gold package you can have unlimited drivers on both cars [msnsmile2]

[djdigitald]

Cheers Caroline and Rosie, i have used the above links before, i just though that there might be some strange American law that meant you weren't able to drive more than one Hire Car at any one time.

[caroline]

No strange American law, but possibly physically impossible[msnwink]

[djdigitald]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by caroline
No strange American law, but possibly physically impossible[msnwink]
[/quote]

Not as impossible as you may think [msnwink]

[dolphinv]

The UK licence may differ from the Irish one but on my Irish/Euro licence I am only covered to drive a vechicle less than 3,500kg or driver + 8 persons Class B. If I want to drive the 15 seater I would need to do a test for a mini bus and get a class D or D1 licence.[msnscared]

[orlandodaze]

We normally get a 7 seater from this site , this year we needed an 8 seater because 2 extra came along rather late, my husband just upgraded at the Dollar desk no problem, we planned to return the 8 seater after 7 days when the extra 2 passengers returned home but my husband decided we would probably need the extra space for the final journey to the airport with all our Florida shopping. It gave us plenty of passenger room and masses of boot room , we would probably go for the 8 seater again but its lots cheaper to book directly from here rather than to upgrade at the airport. It took my husband a little time to adjust to driving an 8 seater, he is well used to the 7 seater but after a few drives it became very easy he says.

[blott]

Never upgrade at the airport as it costs more money. Better to contact www.floridahire.com and upgrade before you go which they can arrange this for you.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

As long as you have a valid licence they do not seem to bother about this. If you want a definitive answer and have booked with us, email in your question to info@uscarhire.co.uk and we'll get a formal answer off our suppliers.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by dolphinv
The UK licence may differ from the Irish one but on my Irish/Euro licence I am only covered to drive a vechicle less than 3,500kg or driver + 8 persons Class B. If I want to drive the 15 seater I would need to do a test for a mini bus and get a class D or D1 licence.[msnscared]
[/quote]

[blott]

Just wondering about the minibus issue and I found this http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/drvmbus.htm where Section 2 determines that you can drive one even though you're not currently licensed to do so. I don't know if this applies to Ireland though?

[tezz7628]

<span style="colorurple">Blott when driving minibus about 20 yrs ago for hospital residents im sure our limit was 12 seats which made me look out of interest at your posting</span id="purple">

1. Driving licences held before 1 January 1997
If you had entitlement to drive cars prior to 1 January 1997 - shown as group A (B for automatics) on an old style green or pink licence or as category B and D1 not for hire or reward on a pink and green or photocard licence - you can drive a minibus provided :
You are 21 or over, the minibus has a maximum of 17 seats including the driver's seat and is not being used for hire or reward


<span style="colorurple">You seem ok if licence held before 1/1/97 but then it goes on to say</span id="purple">

New rules from 1 January 1998
Your minibus entitlement will remain valid in the UK and on temporary visits abroad until your licence is <span style="color:red">next renewed</span id="red">. When your licence is renewed, your minibus entitlement (D1 and D1+E not for hire or reward) can only be issued if you make a special application which will involve meeting higher medical standards.
If your minibus entitlement is renewed you will normally be granted a D1 and D1+E licence for 3 years which will allow you to drive minibuses, not for hire or reward, in the UK and on temporary visits to other <span style="color:red">EC/EEA </span id="red"> countries. See below for more details about driving abroad.

2. Drivers who do not have minibus entitlement (Category D1)
If your driving licence does not allow you to drive minibuses, there are certain circumstances where you still may be able to do so.
You may drive a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats if:
i) you drive on behalf of a non commercial body for social purposes but not for hire or reward, unless operating under a permit;
ii) you are aged 21;
iii) you have held a car (category B) licence for at least 2 years;
iv) you are providing your service on a voluntary basis; and
v) the minibus maximum weight is not more than 3.5 tonnes excluding any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers. Minibuses up to 4.25 tonnes will be permitted in certain circumstances.
vi)if you are aged 70 and over, you are able to meet the health standards for driving a vehicle (i.e. minibus) which comes within the D1 class;
When driving a minibus under these conditions you may not receive any payment or consideration for doing so other than out of pocket expenses or tow any size trailer; you may only drive minibuses in <span style="color:red">this country.</span id="red">