Holidaymakers heading toward Turkey for their vacation had best take heed of the latest changes to road rules, which will come into effect as of May 1st.

The main issue concerns the use of people carriers of the 9-seater variety. These minibuses have long been the preferred choice of larger families of sports teams for travel but new legislation in Turkey has declared that such vehicles be classified as a heavy vehicle rather than a car. This means that a specified heavy vehicle license will be required before you can get behind the wheel.

Those people who are contemplating hiring such a vehicle will in all likelihood find them still available from several rental companies but these are unlikely to run through the full range of restriction conditions for unaware tourists. Leading hire car specialist Economy Car Hire has warned British motorists that their standard license will no longer suffice, and that driving the nine seat minibus could result in invalidation of insurance policies and potentially massive fines.

Economy Car Hire has removed all of the minibuses from its rental fleets in Turkey as of the changeover date, but cautions that the laws may not be widely known or understood. Best to be on the safe side says the rental operator, who has also contacted customers who have reserved such models to offer alternate arrangements.

Turkey is looming as a boom destination this year, and Enterprise offers a range of fully-inclusive rental car services for which to best explore the country.