Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
voiture sans permis
English translation:
unlicensed vehicle
French term
France
voiture sans permis
| c'est quoi donc? |
kashew
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| light quadricycles |
SJLD
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Dec 2, 2009 15:46: Rob Grayson changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Dec 15, 2009 12:17: Chris Hall Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (3): writeaway, SJLD, Rob Grayson
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Proposed translations
219 témoignages et ils ne cessent pas...
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK)
Works in: French to English, English
unlicensed vehicle (UK English)
Source: http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/onlineservices/report_unlicensed....
| agree |
gsloane
: If it's UK English...and thanks.
30 mins
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Many thanks gsloane. Again, thank you for providing your discussion entry. Kind regards, Chris.
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| neutral |
writeaway
: unlicensed in US too. that spelling is the same/I agree with Sandra Petch actually.
32 mins
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But my answer is still correct though. It might have been easier to have just agreed.
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| agree |
B D Finch
: The Asker does refer to England.
36 mins
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| neutral |
Sandra Petch
: This could imply the car isn't licensed (ie registered) when it's a question of not needing a driver's licence to drive one.
36 mins
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| neutral |
Vicky James
: agree with Sandra. The ref link is actually about reporting cars without a licence (as opposed to an actual type of vehicle)
20 hrs
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Timely translations
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
unregistered vehicle
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Note added at 39 mins (2009-12-01 16:12:06 GMT)
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FYI licence is NOT US EN spelling
| agree |
gsloane
: If it's US English.
34 mins
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Thanks, gsloane
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| neutral |
Sandra Petch
: Please see my remark to Chris Hall.
40 mins
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No-permit vehicle
| agree |
Ben Lenthall
: I think this or aceavila's resposne gives the sense of a special category of (low-powered) vehicle best. IMHO unregistered or unlicensed vehicle without further explanation gives the impression of something illegal whereas such vehicles existin France.
52 mins
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Spain
The translator people turn to
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to Spanish, English, and 1 more.
car not requiring a driving licence
Depending on how technical the doc is, you might want to use "passenger car" for voiture, rather than simply car.
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Note added at 52 mins (2009-12-01 16:25:09 GMT)
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The French is elliptical, but I can't see how to do that clearly in English.
| neutral |
gsloane
: You can't use "car", especially in a US context. All cars have to be registered/licensed to be on the road. See my comments above. Actually, I think "car" in the UK also means that it requires registration...or at least, it did when I lived there!
6 mins
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The meaning was that the driver doesn't need a full licence to drive the vehicle. I take it from the poster's comments that this is for UK.
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| disagree |
kashew
: I did some research!
1 hr
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very small car (originailly for use in the countryside, but no longer the case)
It's the same thing as a "voiturette". The "sans permis" seems to not really mean what it's literally saying (no driver's license needed). That was the good 'ole days, but the term has been retained in the modern language (still need a driver's license).
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-12-01 17:38:20 GMT)
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http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiture_sans_permis (Wikipedia is often a good source for getting the gist of something, despite what others often say)
| in France, this category of car requires no driving licence |
"no-licence" cars
| agree |
Noni Gilbert Riley
: Would be nice to see the reference, but it seems a viable translation. Wd this be yr ref: http://www.mega-vehicles.com/en-company-history.html?
39 mins
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Vehicle where a driving licence is not required
They have to be registered but top speed is 50KMPH, they are not allowed on many dual carriageways and above.
vehicle without the necessity to have a driving licence or even the medical acceptance to drive at all
Reference comments
c'est quoi donc?
C'est une voiture qui pèse 350kg, deux places, et qui roule à 45 km/h.
light quadricycles
1. Light quadricycles (L6e)
Light quadricycles (L6e) are defined by Framework Directive 2002/24/EC as: "motor vehicles with four wheels (...) whose unladen mass is not more than 350 kg, not including the mass of the batteries in case of electric vehicles, whose maximum design speed is not more than 45 km/h, and:
(i) whose engine cylinder capacity does not exceed 50 cm3 for spark (positive) ignition engines, or
(ii) whose maximum net power output does not exceed 4 kW in the case of other internal combustion engines, or
(iii) whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 4 kW in the case of an electric motor.
These vehicles shall fulfil the technical requirements applicable to three-wheel mopeds of category L2e unless specified differently in any of the separate directives". [1]
Therefore, in many European countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, light quadricycles can be driven without an automobile driver’s licence (category B).
| agree |
writeaway
: yes, without driver's license but in some countries they do have license plates, althought not car plates. France has one of the main manufacturers: http://www.aixam.com/?lang=fr /robot picked misleading answer!! pity
51 mins
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indeed - it has nothing to do with whether the vehicle is registered or not/and we hastened to make a misleading glossary entry didn't we?
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| agree |
Vicky James
: Absolutely. Or just "quadricycle" would do.// Yes, you're right; to drive a "light quadricycle" you only need a motorbike licence...
15 hrs
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thanks - except it's only the "light" version that is permit-free in France/motorbike licence in the UK - which is weird - getting my bike licence was much more difficult than car licence!
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Discussion
Yet another ref with this image to the fact that the prototypes of these vehicles appeared first in France, and that they have a vehicle category there ("France's no-license-required quadracycle vehicle class of small CC engine vehicles for use in urban settings"). But I'm not finding any image hits connected to the UK. In contrast the vehicles are common in Spain.
"More recently, a new category of vehicle, for which no driving licence, but only a traffic theory certificate, is needed, has been introduced. This type of vehicle, a tiny car, originates in France.
People without a driving licence are allowed to drive these vehicles as, for the law, it is a moped. It is getting more popular by the day. On the other hand, these vehicles (in essence a substandard mini car) proved to be very risky. The accident risk levels per km driven are as high, or higher, than a moped (which is 40 times as risky as a normal car!). From a safety point of view it would be best to ban these vehicles, and certainly not make it easy to buy or use one. Currently there are 'only' 15 000 of them. If the licence and health requirements stay moped-related, a fast increase in the numbers of these dangerous and risky vehicles can be expected. Second-hand ones, especially, can be easily bought by youngsters, who will tune them to be able to ride much faster than the legal 45 km/h max speed." But obviously I am not recommending that you translate this as moped!
"The economy of operating such a small car (mostly in fuel and tires) has also often been helped by three-wheeled microcars or cars with very small engines being treated as motorcycles for tax and insurance purposes (quadricycle).
In some countries, microcars with a certain maximum weight are considered motorcycles and therefore no car driving licence is needed (Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy). This assures a certain market for eldery people who do not want to pass a car driving licence. More negatively, at least in Austria and France, such cars are sometimes derided as a solution for people who had their licence revoked because of drunk driving."