The 8t-Limited Licence and Three Candidate Vehicles
A distribution company in Saitama hires a 42-year-old driver who has held a car licence since 1998. When the 2007 licence system changed, her 普通免許 was converted to a 中型免許 bearing the 8t limitation (中型8t限定). She has never taken the 限定解除 examination and has driven only cars since.
The dispatcher offers her three vehicles for a regular public-road route:
- Vehicle A: 車両総重量 8,400 kg, 最大積載量 4,500 kg, 乗車定員 3.
- Vehicle B: 車両総重量 7,600 kg, 最大積載量 4,800 kg, 乗車定員 3.
- Vehicle C: a microbus, 車両総重量 4,900 kg, 乗車定員 12.
He also wants her to tow the depot's braked box trailer (車両総重量 1,200 kg) behind Vehicle B, starting next week. She says she is 'sure it is all fine, because a medium licence is a medium licence'.
1. Which of A, B and C may she legally drive on her current licence, and why are the other two excluded?
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Only Vehicle B.
The 中型8t限定 covers 中型自動車 with 車両総重量 under 8,000 kg, 最大積載量 under 5,000 kg and 乗車定員 10 or fewer. All three conditions must hold; failing any one takes the vehicle outside the licence.
Vehicle A fails on gross weight: 8,400 kg is past 8,000 kg. Note that the payload, 4,500 kg, is within the 5 t condition - one compliant figure does not rescue the vehicle. Nor does the truck's actual weight on the day matter: the licence is judged against the 車検証 車両総重量, so it is out of scope even running empty with the driver alone.
Vehicle C fails on capacity: 12 passengers exceeds the 10-person condition, and a vehicle with 11 or more seats is classified as 中型自動車 regardless of its 4,900 kg weight. She would need the unrestricted 中型免許.
Vehicle B satisfies all three: 7,600 kg, 4,800 kg, 3 seats. This is the only lawful assignment.
2. What is required before she can tow the 1,200 kg trailer with Vehicle B, and what else about the combination should be checked before the first run?
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She needs a けん引免許. A traction licence is required to tow anything with a 車両総重量 over 750 kg; at 1,200 kg this trailer is well past that threshold and no licence class she holds covers it. The 8t limitation is irrelevant to this question - towing is a separate category, not an extension of 中型.
Before the first run the operator should also check:
- the tow coupling, safety chain and trailer brake connection are rated for the load;
- the trailer has its own 車検, ナンバープレート and 自賠責保険;
- the combined weight and length stay inside the general limits, and the combination's braking performance on a descent;
- the 免許証の条件欄 is read at 点呼, not assumed.
Holding a 8t-limited licence plus a けん引免許 still would not let her drive Vehicle A, because the towing vehicle itself remains outside her class.
3. What route exists for her to drive Vehicle A legally, and what should the employer do in the meantime?
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She must lift the limitation: the 中型8t限定解除 is taken either as a skills examination at the 運転免許試験場 or as a 限定解除審査 at a designated driving school. On passing, the licence becomes an unrestricted 中型免許 covering vehicles up to 11 t gross, 8 t payload and 29 seats. It costs time and money and cannot be arranged between a Friday and a Monday, so it is a planning decision, not a fix for this week's roster.
The employer's obligations run in parallel and are not satisfied by her assurance. Licence conditions must be confirmed against the actual 免許証 at hiring and at 点呼, and the assignment recorded; putting a driver behind a vehicle outside her class exposes both to 無免許運転 and leaves the operator's insurance position in ruins after a crash. The practical answer is to assign Vehicle A to a driver holding an unrestricted 中型 or 大型 licence, put her on B, and schedule the 限定解除 if the route justifies it. Her 'a medium licence is a medium licence' remark is exactly the misconception that the 8t limitation exists to catch.