Please can you tell me what the insured status of a bus, taxi or other licensed vehicle is if it can be shown that said vehicle was travelling in excess of the speed limit at the time of a road traffic incident?

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TfL Ref: 0056-1819

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 1 April 2018 asking for information about vehicle insurance.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:

Please can you tell me what the insured status of a bus, taxi or other licensed vehicle is if it can be shown that said vehicle was travelling in excess of the speed limit at the time of a road traffic incident?

Taxi and private hire vehicles are licensed annually and are required to have ‘hire or reward’ insurance at the point of licensing and whenever they are used to carry passengers. Additionally our compliance officers have secure direct access to the Motor Insurance Bureau’s (MIB) database which allows them to determine whether valid insurance is in place as part of their on-street vehicle inspections.  However, liability under a contract for insurance is a matter for the contracting parties or ultimately a court to determine. Further details can be found by visiting our website www.tfl.gov.uk/tph.

With regards to buses we are unable to say as each bus company will have its own insurance arrangements and in some cases operators might choose to self-insure because of the size of fleets across their UK operations.

Whilst bus drivers are subject to the highways code in the same way as any other motorist in the UK they must also conduct themselves in line with the requirements of their employing companies, and are ultimately at risk of dismissal if prosecuted of serious highway offences. Some of the latest buses entering the fleet are being fitted with intelligent speed assistance and this will limit their speed to the highways limit and provide a technical solution. Over time, as older buses make way to new vehicles, this will become standard.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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