I'm wrestling with tolls for 3500kg+ motorhome for a trip including Slovakia.

Slovakia have introduced a new scheme from 1st Jan this year which I am trying to understand. They classify - basically -

'cars & small vans buses up to 8 passengers' under 3500 by vignette.

Goods over 3500 (obviously not us) and buses over 3500 and 16 seats (ie coaches).

I have emailed for clarification and they sent an extract which says (essentially) buses (which we are not - but hey - no one thinks about motorhomes when they draft their rules do they!!) over 3500 AND less than 16 seats fall outside the scheme.

So we're free, while cars have to have a vignette?? I wish!! I'd prefer to know before we get there, as most of these countries take a dim view (and a verylarge fine) of people not complying with their rules on tolls!

Has anyone else looked at this, or even been there since Jan 1st to help throw any light on this please?

Take a look here, it mentions vehicles over 3500kg but does not specifically mention goods vehicles. It also mentions emission classes for vehicles over 3500kg

I suspect you may have to get one those electronic devices.

https://www.emyto.sk/web/guest/zmeny...legislativa_en

I was there last year - didn't plan ahead just turned up at the border and followed instructions. It was all very simple and relatively quick.

Thanks for bringing this up as I was not aware of any changes and it is important for us as we live 100kms from the Slowakian border and travel there frequently.

I have found this on their website

https://www.emyto.sk/web/guest/spoplatnene-vozidla

at the bottom of the page

"vehicles of the category M with the total maximum permissible weight over 3.5 t and the number of persons transported of less than 9 including a driver (i.e. 9 and less) are not liable to pay the toll due to the fact that they do not meet the legal definition from the point of the number of persons transported– i.e. they do not pay the toll,
the vehicles of the category M1 are not assigned among the vehicles with the toll payment liability – i.e. they do not pay the toll."

From this it would seem that they have considered minibuses and motorhomes and that they will not be liable for the tolls.

Unfortunately my V5C under para J. Vehicle category is blank so maybe there could be an argument about whether my MH is category M

In case I am wrong I have tried the download page for the map of the toll roads but cannot get the list of downloads in English so may have to wait for Basia to decipher it, as Slowak is close to Polish

Geoff

Geoff

Provided your V5 states your vehicle 'Body Type' (Item D.5) is "Motor Caravan", then the following attachment should be helpful 'Definition of vehicle categories'

It shows the motor caravan as a type M1 and explains what is required to make it so.

HTH

Keith (Sprokit)

Attached Files

File Type: doc

definition_of_vehicle_categories__mh_s__203.doc (44.5 KB, 22 views)

Keith

Thanks for your knowledgeable help as always.

I had re-read that document this morning.

Where my doubt remains is that document is a 2007 Directive about Certification, with various subsequent implementation dates, so what is the category of my MH registered in April 2003, with no category entered on the V5C - especially when challenged by a Slowakian policeman? I think pointing to a 2007 EU Directive may not be effective, unless it has some retrospective force for my MH, which I could not find, in the Directive.

I am sure if stopped by VOSA there would be no problem, but in other Jurisdictions ?

Geoff

Hi Geoff

As with all legislation (as I'm sure you are aware) the devil is in the reading and interpretation - however, without wishing to bore anyone reading this thread - if you want to take a look at - http://tinyurl.com/q6fjzk4 - (this is the whole of the Directive) the initial paragraphs re-produced below give the pre-amble which appears to cover your problem in that it points to previous legislation which has been combined, updated and replaced by this Directive.

(1) Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers [3], has been substantially amended several times. Since further amendments are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity.
(2) For the purposes of the establishment and operation of the internal market of the Community, it is appropriate to replace the Member States’ approval systems with a Community approval procedure based on the principle of total harmonisation.
(3) The technical requirements applicable to systems, components, separate technical units and vehicles should be harmonised and specified in regulatory acts. Those regulatory acts should primarily seek to ensure a high level of road safety, health protection, environmental protection, energy efficiency and protection against unauthorised use.
(4) Council Directive 92/53/EEC of 18 June 1992 amending Directive 70/156/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers [4] limited application of the Community whole vehicle type-approval procedure to the vehicle category M1. However, in order to complete the internal market and to ensure that it functions properly, the scope of the present Directive should cover all categories of vehicles, enabling manufacturers to benefit from the advantages of the internal market by means of the Community type-approval.


I have no intention of putting the whole thing on here - you can read it at the link I provided, but I think the main part concerning how current Type Approval legislation came into being is as above.

As always, as I used to put on my work in my past life ) 'it is only a court which can put an interpretation on a point of law' - again, as I'm sure you are aware.

You just have to make the attending officer unsure of his knowledge to win the battle

As an afterthought - here is the 1970 legislation to which the above referred....

Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers

( http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...70L0156:en:NOT )

Of which the following is of note.....

ANNEX I MODEL INFORMATION DOCUMENT (a)

1. GENERAL CONSTRUCTION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEHICLE

Scroll down to para. 12.8 and immediately below is the following:

(a)If a part has been type-approved that part need not be described if reference is made to such approval. Similarly, a part need not be described if its construction is clearly apparent from the attached diagrams or sketches. (b) Classified according to the following international categories: 1. Category M : Motor vehicles having at least four wheels, or having three wheels when the maximum weight exceeds 1 metric ton, and used for the carriage of passengers. - Category M1 : Vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat.

As always - HTH

Keith (Sprokit)

This is a bit pointless - Surely even the thickest slovakian policeman will be able to identify an arto as a motorhome.

Does this this mean that if you are under 3500kgs you have to buy a vignette but if your over 3500kgs you dont? that doesnt sound right. I always thought you needed a gobox to go to Slovakia

Told you it was boring - however, my reading of the Slovakian web page is as follows
vehicles of the M category with the total maximum permissible weight below 3.5 t and the number of persons transported of more than 9 including a driver (i.e. 10 and more) are not subject to the toll payment liability because for the relevant weight category there is no toll rate– i.e. they do not pay the toll (category M2 is subject to the payment according to the Road Ac by means of the so-called time-based charge = highways stickers),

vehicles of the category M with the total maximum permissible weight over 3.5 t and the number of persons transported of less than 9 including a driver (i.e. 9 and less) are not liable to pay the toll due to the fact that they do not meet the legal definition from the point of the number of persons transported– i.e. they do not pay the toll,

the vehicles of the category M1 are not assigned among the vehicles with the toll payment liability – i.e. they do not pay the toll.

The only important bit as far as motor caravans are concerned is the final paragraph - as motor caravans are categorised M1 (by EU Directive), they are exempt from tolls.

Keith (Sprokit)

Keith

I have just been reading 92/53/EEC, which the 2007 Directive replaced, and it seems that was the Directive in force when my MH was built and that the definitions were the same and that my MH is category MI, even though if built now it would be M1 (Special Purpose)

So it seems under Slowakian law it is exempt - Phew!

It seems as though the Slowaks have been more lenient than say the Austrians or Swiss.

We ripped up the military minefields in Europe to replace them with bureaucratic ones

Geoff