Trivia; the rules of the road r/e trams and (some) trains?

[Howardh]

Trams often use ordinary roads shared with traffic, as trains did in places like Trafford park, Weymouth Quay etc.

Made me wonder, if vehicles on the roads have to be MOT'd, have drivers wearing seat belts, drivers can't use mobile phones etc; what's the situation r/e trams? Do the drivers have to wear seat belts, and if not, why not as they are as likely as anything to hit the vehicle in front or have a car hit then head-on? And also they indicate - (trains would find that hard!!) but the basic Q is; what rules of the road apply to trams/trains??

EDIT have they paid their road fund licence

 

[507 001]

Trams often use ordinary roads shared with traffic, as trains did in places like Trafford park, Weymouth Quay etc.

Made me wonder, if vehicles on the roads have to be MOT'd, have drivers wearing seat belts, drivers can't use mobile phones etc; what's the situation r/e trams? Do the drivers have to wear seat belts, and if not, why not as they are as likely as anything to hit the vehicle in front or have a car hit then head-on? And also they indicate - (trains would find that hard!!) but the basic Q is; what rules of the road apply to trams/trains??

EDIT have they paid their road fund licence

It’s a difficult question to answer.

We don’t have to wear seatbelts. Believe me, it’s gonna hurt you more than it hurts me if I hit your car.
We do follow the Highway Code, and therefore all speed limits apply (although in some cases the tramway speed limit is necessarily lower for infrastructure reasons).
We have a more strict alcohol limit than a car driver. Although that I believe is company specific, to the point where you’ll be breathalysed twice if involved in an accident. Once by police, then again by a company supervisor.

I am allowed to drive a tram because of the specific training the operating company has given me, but I am only allowed to take it near a road due to holding a valid driving license.

 

[Howardh]

It’s a difficult question to answer.

We don’t have to wear seatbelts. Believe me, it’s gonna hurt you more than it hurts me if I hit your car.
We do follow the Highway Code, and therefore all speed limits apply (although in some cases the tramway speed limit is necessarily lower for infrastructure reasons).
We have a more strict alcohol limit than a car driver. Although that I believe is company specific, to the point where you’ll be breathalysed twice if involved in an accident. Once by police, then again by a company supervisor.

I am allowed to drive a tram because of the specific training the operating company has given me, but I am only allowed to take it near a road due to holding a valid driving license.

Thanks, probably not as stupid a question as I thought! That last point, wonder how many train drivers don't hold a driver's licence; and if they did what would happen r/e trains if they got suspended (other than drink driving) for reaching 12 points??

 

[transmanche]

EDIT have they paid their road fund licence

Well, no-one pays 'road fund licence' as there's no such thing. However (with a few exceptions) electric vehicles don't have to pay VED.

 

[etr221]

My understanding has always been that - even on the highway - tramways and railways have always operated under their own enabling legislation, and rules and standards laid down by the various operators and regulators; and that normal road traffic legislation and regulations normally do not (directly) apply (though they may well be taken into account in the railway/tramway rules). So e.g. a standard (motor vehicle) driving license is not required to drive a tram (it's not a motor vehicle) - but the tramway operator may require one before issuing a tram driving license.

And as an aside, I found this a while back on an Argentine web site, which seems apposite - hopefully the gist of the Spanish is understandable...

 

[Giugiaro]

I'm led to believe that Trams are considered buses in most EU countries and, before training for Trams, a license for Buses is required to have acquired first and foremost.
In Portugal the same highway code applies to Trams, including the aspects that are specific of public transport vehicles and yielding to pedestrians. The only main difference between Trams and other road vehicles is that Trams have priority over all other vehicles on a simple intersection with no STOP nor Yield signs, the rails can be installed outside of the road, and don't require seatbelts since they fall into the Metropolitan Bus category.

The same can't be said of Light Rail. These have specific codes of their own and are considered trains on the highway code, having priority over all modes of transport (yes, including airplanes) and pedestrians. Both traditional Rail and Light Rail are managed with a block system, and hardly ever share lanes with other traffic, having traffic segregated from other modes of transport. In an event of a railway line sharing a road lane with road traffic, that lane functions as a level crossing!

Finally, Trams accidents and incidents are considered road accidents and are dealt as such, with collisions being resolved with your usual accident report, and fatal accidents requiring the driver to be tested for alcohol and drugs at hospital. Light Rail and traditional Rail accidents are investigated in Portugal by the same state agency responsible for investigating Aviation accidents and incidents, including the cases of collisions in and outside of level crossings, and testing for alcohol and drugs, unlike what these chaps from the national guard believed, can't be done immediately because, BY LAW, a train driver cannot leave the train unless he/she's replaced by another one.

 

[507 001]

I'm led to believe that Trams are considered buses in most EU countries and, before training for Trams, a license for Buses is required to have acquired first and foremost.
In Portugal the same highway code applies to Trams, including the aspects that are specific of public transport vehicles and yielding to pedestrians. The only main difference between Trams and other road vehicles is that Trams have priority over all other vehicles on a simple intersection with no STOP nor Yield signs, the rails can be installed outside of the road, and don't require seatbelts since they fall into the Metropolitan Bus category.

The same can't be said of Light Rail. These have specific codes of their own and are considered trains on the highway code, having priority over all modes of transport (yes, including airplanes) and pedestrians. Both traditional Rail and Light Rail are managed with a block system, and hardly ever share lanes with other traffic, having traffic segregated from other modes of transport. In an event of a railway line sharing a road lane with road traffic, that lane functions as a level crossing!

Finally, Trams accidents and incidents are considered road accidents and are dealt as such, with collisions being resolved with your usual accident report, and fatal accidents requiring the driver to be tested for alcohol and drugs at hospital. Light Rail and traditional Rail accidents are investigated in Portugal by the same state agency responsible for investigating Aviation accidents and incidents, including the cases of collisions in and outside of level crossings, and testing for alcohol and drugs, unlike what these chaps from the national guard believed, can't be done immediately because, BY LAW, a train driver cannot leave the train unless he/she's replaced by another one.

Not so in the UK.

I Don’t have (not do I want!) a bus driving license.

Any accidents in street running areas would generally be investigated by police, unless they are deemed severe enough or involve a derailment. At that point the RAIB would get involved.