Citroen Relay with trailers ready for towing

Confused by towing regulations? Don’t be – it’s simple not to get caught out with our towing advice

 

It’s quite simple really. You take the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle and the gross vehicle weight of the trailer and add the two together. If the combined weight is above 3.5 tonnes then you need a tacho.

If, for example, you have a 3.5-tonne van you’ll need one even if you attached the smallest appendage.

Top tips for towing

  • Watch the weight of the towed vehicle – this should not exceed 85 per cent of the car’s kerb weight. Excess weight will cause instability.
  • Check the unit you are towing is secure before pulling away, and check again after a short distance. Look for anything loose, disconnected, missing or broken.
  • Check that your extra rear lights are all connected and fully functional. Get somebody to help while you test the brakes and indicators. As well as additional lights, you will also need an illuminated number plate at the rear of the unit.
  • Check the pressure of all tyres before you set off, bearing in mind those of the towed unit as well as your own vehicle.
  • Stopping distances and the space between you and other vehicles should be increased appropriately, allowing for the extra weight you are carrying.
  • You should also allocate more time to overtaking, positioning yourself for turns, parking, pulling into traffic streams, changing lanes and joining and leaving motorways.
  • Be aware that reduced speed limits usually apply when towing vehicles, and remember to extend courtesy to vehicles following you by allowing them to pass.

Peter Rodger, advanced driver, IAM

O-licences are basically licences for truck operators and come in three different formats – a standard national licence for people who don’t go outside the UK, an international licence and a restricted licence, whereby you can carry your own goods but no-one else’s.

There are quite a number of restrictions you have to adhere to that van operators don’t need to bother about, such as how long drivers can sit behind the wheel, but it’s all done with safety in mind.

Log on to: www.gov.uk/being-a-goods-vehicle-operator for more details.

Strap it down!

And talking of safety, there are a few other points it might be worth bearing in mind if you tow a trailer.

Firstly – and it’s something we see abused every day – is the necessity to make sure your loads are strapped down properly.

Too often we see all sorts of detritus piled up unattached in trailers.

Just imagine what damage these items could do to a passer-by in the event of a crash.

If you hurt someone badly under these conditions, expect to have the legal book thrown at you – and boy is it a weighty one!

Choose a quality tow bar

The second safety point we’d flag up is to make sure you fit a good quality towbar in the first place.

Witter is one of the biggest names in the towbar industry and a spokesman told us:

“The towbar is now recognised as a safety-critical piece of equipment and its design and strength are now closely controlled by European legislation.

“Although towing capacities can vary between models, Witter always designs and tests towbars to worst case conditions.”

Witter towbars are subjected to a two million cycle fatigue test before sale. The test can take anything from two to five days, during which time the towbar is repeatedly loaded with the maximum it will endure.

Towing without a tacho

So can you tow a trailer and get away without all the hassle of a tacho and O-licence?

Possibly. There are two ways in which you can avoid the law, firstly if you carry goods which aren’t for hire or reward (unlikely) and second if you don’t travel more than 50 kilometres from base each day.

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