Towing in an emergency situation

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RichM

RichM

Well-Known Member
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Because I passed my test after 1/1/1997, I'm not allowed to tow anything that exceeds the weight of my car. + The total outfit (i.e. car + towed trailer/car) must not exceed 3500kg. I know it's more complicated that that (they really should simplify it a little!) but that's the gist of it.

However, if it was an emergency situation, would this still apply? I.e. car stuck in mud/snow on public highway?
 
Disco01 said:
You're desperate for a bit of snow so you get out and do some rescues aren't you? :p
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It would seem that way. Actually, I'm a little paranoid about getting in trouble with the plods and I don't want 6 points on my licence. I know that the law with regards to towing is very complicated and many people break it without even realising it. Those who do their homework are still likely to get confused.
 
thers a lot of laws on towing people flaunt every day reading an article in a caravan mag about camper vans towing cars wat a mind field.It was about use of a frames(emergancy use) and trailers taking gross weights up wish i had keep hold of it.It seems nowadays if enough people do it,it gets ignored.
 
I 'know someone' who works on the theory that its just as confusing for the cops as it is for you and there aren't that many weigh bridges. as long as everything looks about right it should be fine... for example a disco towing a little series would look fine... however, a focus towing a transit van - something obviously wrong. So just make it all look safe and you'll be fine.

I guess with a gaylander you may be able to tow a smart car???
 
RichM said:
Because I passed my test after 1/1/1997, I'm not allowed to tow anything that exceeds the weight of my car. + The total outfit (i.e. car + towed trailer/car) must not exceed 3500kg. I know it's more complicated that that (they really should simplify it a little!) but that's the gist of it.

However, if it was an emergency situation, would this still apply? I.e. car stuck in mud/snow on public highway?
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As long as yer only towing it to the nearest place of asfety then you'll be fine. If you know how to wrangle the law to your favour you could tow some overweight vehicles as far as you like.;)

As pikey has already said. A broken down vehicle is NOT a trailer. THis can be proven by using the road lighting regulation 1989, section 6, subsection 7.;)

When they tell you yer still overweight for what your licence entitles you to tow, ask em where the category for 'brokendown vehicle' is on yer licence. If there aint a category for it and as you have already proved, you aint towing a trailer, you can't be breaking the law.;)

Plod will look at his companion for support and then start with the yeah but....no but.. routine.:D:D:D
 
if youve had yer licence for ove r2 yrs or so you can take a towing test for heavier trailers such as car transporters i dunno how much it costs but once passed you have a certificate and endorsement on your license that the filth cant argue with wich is wot im gonna do since i got pulled and cautioned a couple of years back for towing a 20 ft caravan wich they couldnt weigh on the back of me orion
 
johnny curt 1 said:
if youve had yer licence for ove r2 yrs or so you can take a towing test for heavier trailers such as car transporters i dunno how much it costs but once passed you have a certificate and endorsement on your license that the filth cant argue with wich is wot im gonna do since i got pulled and cautioned a couple of years back for towing a 20 ft caravan wich they couldnt weigh on the back of me orion
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I get a funny feeling you may need more than a trailer test to drive an artic. You can still tow an artic with a landy though.
 
as said previously, this towing weight thing is a minefield, and although the local Bib won't know it chapter & verse, the VOSA guys certainly will.
There are now VOSA guys out & about 24hrs a day, mainly on the motorway, and they'll pull anyone that they feel could be breaking one of a number of laws in reference to this.

You've got the problem with those who passed their test after 1997.
Then there's the tow limit of the towing vehicle.
Then there's the maximum that you can tow without the trailer having to have working over-run brakes (750kg if my memory serves me correctly)
Then you got the maximum designed *Train weight* .....This is were people with small recovery vehicles are coming unstuck, they have 1 vehicle on the back of the truck, and are towing another vehicle on a trailer, or a caravan, then then fall outside the *train weight* = kerching!!

It's an absolute minefield! and it's all down to a knee-jerk reaction from when that guy landed his Landy plus Landy on a trailer on the railway line.
 
said trailer law is a minefield, i passed after 1/1/97 so took the test, i paid £145 to do it on a Saturday £90 through the week, it has to be taken at a certain testing station as it is based on the HGV test, Trailer needs to be wider and taller than the towing vehicle (cattle trailer used), you have a few show me tell me questions then a couple of manouvres before you go out on the open road, reverse into a box with the rear of the trailer over a 1 foot painted area, nearside reverse ( i had fun with this due to doing it in a Vito van) and emergency stop, then a instructed drive for about an hour with a few stop start manouvres in awkward situations, now i can tow the full capacity of my Td5 as i have a 3500kg trailer and no worries about being done for no licence etc if caught by VOSA oh and dont forget your L plates and extra mirrors for the instructor/examiner
 
RichM said:
Because I passed my test after 1/1/1997, I'm not allowed to tow anything that exceeds the weight of my car. + The total outfit (i.e. car + towed trailer/car) must not exceed 3500kg. I know it's more complicated that that (they really should simplify it a little!) but that's the gist of it.

However, if it was an emergency situation, would this still apply? I.e. car stuck in mud/snow on public highway?
Click to expand...

The law still applies for "emergencies" as defined by you above. If you're asking on a forum, then its not really an emergency, you're planning something....???


Towing another car gives you a bunch of exemptions on minor items like auto-reverse braking, requirement for triangular reflectors, etc but not on licencing ones. It is interpreted both as a car AND a trailer in the complex maze of road traffic law.
 
To really confuse the plod and vosa,forget towing the vehicle just ,push or shove it instead ,now that would be interesting up the motorway !
 
paul_c said:
If you're asking on a forum, then its not really an emergency, you're planning something....???
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No offence, but that is a pretty crap assumption to make.

I plan to join my regional 4x4 response group sometime next year, so it may help if I have a better understanding.

I guess you could call me a bit of a knowledge freak. I am eager to learn things which are of interest to me, and traffic regulations are one of those. Many don't give a damn even though traffic regulations apply to most people. I don't want to get caught out for being ignorant.

If you train to become a private pilot, you have to do an entire module on aviation law. I'm surprised motorists don't have to do a similar sort of thing because if they did, good natured people wouldn't be getting caught out all the time. Even though as some quite rightly pointed out, it can be a bit of a minefield.
 
RichM said:
No offence, but that is a pretty crap assumption to make.

I plan to join my regional 4x4 response group sometime next year, so it may help if I have a better understanding.

I guess you could call me a bit of a knowledge freak. I am eager to learn things which are of interest to me, and traffic regulations are one of those. Many don't give a damn even though traffic regulations apply to most people. I don't want to get caught out for being ignorant.

If you train to become a private pilot, you have to do an entire module on aviation law. I'm surprised motorists don't have to do a similar sort of thing because if they did, good natured people wouldn't be getting caught out all the time. Even though as some quite rightly pointed out, it can be a bit of a minefield.
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No worries.

I don't think 4x4 response groups normally cruise around pulling out helpless members of the public from ditches. Its more like a taxi service for when the roads are quite slippery.

If they (or anyone else) do recoveries, then if this involves towing then the laws on what you can tow according to your licence still apply. TBH I'm unsure at what point "recovery" becomes towing in the eyes of the law - for example using a winch to pull a car out - or using 2 vehicles to recover 1 car from a difficult position, etc?
 
Did a quick Google search - its an interesting situation (ok not that interesting). You can claim an exemption on requiring the "+E" category in the following situation:

............When a person is towing a broken down vehicle, for the exemption to apply they must be able to comply with:

The trailer consists of a vehicle which is damaged or defective and is likely to represent a road hazard or obstruction and the vehicle is only driven so far as reasonably to remove the hazard or obstruction and the driver does not receive any consideration for removing that vehicle.
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From laws

So it MIGHT apply in your planned activities in a response group.
 
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