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UK driving licence caravan/trailer towing restrictions NOT being lifted on Nov. 15th

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UK driving licences issued from 1st January 1997 onwards have always had restrictions on what you could tow - you needed to take a separate towing test to get the "B+E" entitlement (if you passed your test before the end of 1996 you automatically had this). There was a lot of publicity about this requirement being dropped with effect from November 15th, but it was announced yesterday that this has been delayed:

The rules about what you can tow will not be changing on 15 November 2021. The change will be introduced at a later date, and as soon as possible. Sign up for email alerts to be told when the new date is confirmed. You must continue to follow the current rules until the law changes.

 
It should be dropped, you can legally tow a caravan behind a car if the maximum allowable mass is less than 3500kg. There are plenty of combination capable of this. You only need a B + E if your car, usually a 4x4 is too heavy to make the MAM of the combination over 3500kg.
 
you can legally tow a caravan behind a car if the maximum allowable mass is less than 3500kg. There are plenty of combination capable of this. You only need a B + E if your car, usually a 4x4 is too heavy to make the MAM of the combination over 3500kg.

It can be a problem if you have a trailer with a high MAM though (like say a car/plant trailer or horse trailer). With driving licences issued from 1 January 1997 to 18 January 2013 you also can't tow a trailer with a MAM greater than the car's unladen weight (even if the total MAM for both is under 3500 kg).
 
You only need a B + E if your car, usually a 4x4 is too heavy to make the MAM of the combination over 3500kg.

PS the MAM for current Mercedes C and E Class estates runs from 2400 to 2800 kg, so it's not just 4x4s that you have to be a bit careful with in terms of the 3500 kg combined MAM limit. The smallest horse trailers (for a single horse/pony) can have a MAM of around 1600 kg, so you'd be up to 4000 kg with even a C Class.
 
It can be a problem if you have a trailer with a high MAM though (like say a car/plant trailer or horse trailer). With driving licences issued from 1 January 1997 to 18 January 2013 you also can't tow a trailer with a MAM greater than the car's unladen weight (even if the total MAM for both is under 3500 kg).

PS the MAM for current Mercedes C and E Class estates runs from 2400 to 2800 kg, so it's not just 4x4s that you have to be a bit careful with in terms of the 3500 kg combined MAM limit. The smallest horse trailers (for a single horse/pony) can have a MAM of around 1600 kg, so you'd be up to 4000 kg with even a C Class.
I didn't want to write out the full legislation, not sure if the site has enough capacity :D Yes you are correct, I was just trying to generalise. I know about the horse boxes, my daughter has her own horse and found it a problem. She bought a transit van to start and now has her class C license(max 32 tonnes), but still can't tow a horse box.
 
UK driving licences issued from 1st January 1997 onwards have always had restrictions on what you could tow - you needed to take a separate towing test to get the "B+E" entitlement (if you passed your test before the end of 1996 you automatically had this). There was a lot of publicity about this requirement being dropped with effect from November 15th, but it was announced yesterday that this has been delayed:

I got my car licence late in life so despite being rather ancient and decrepit don't have the towing entitlement category.

TBH in my younger days having seen so many bits of ineptitude and had some scary moments with other road users who were towing - I'd not drop this. I think that towing a caravan or larger trailer should require a licence category that needs a test.
 
I know about the horse boxes, my daughter has her own horse and found it a problem. She bought a transit van to start and now has her class C license(max 32 tonnes), but still can't tow a horse box.

Virtually all our dog training friends also have vans - MAM for a standard panel van is typically around 2.8 tonnes, only leaving about 700 kg if you're restricted to 3500 kg in total.

As an aside my wife converted her German licence to a UK one in 2007 and automatically got the B+E entitlement. She had passed her (German) test in 1995 though ... maybe the conversion process was clever enough to take this into account?!
 
Virtually all our dog training friends also have vans - MAM for a standard panel van is typically around 2.8 tonnes, only leaving about 700 kg if you're restricted to 3500 kg in total.
The daft thing is though, you can have a car with MAM of 3500kg and still tow a trailer max 750kg making total 4250kg on a B license, but not 1450kg behind your panel van. The law is ridiculous IMO.
 
I think statistically the number of accidents involving trailers is tiny, and even the really spectacular motorway caravan rollovers etc. rarely result in any injuries. Over the years there have been various calls for periodic 'MOT' type tests for trailers, but this just can't be justified. Good to see some common sense in the planned dropping of the license restrictions, although I do feel a bit sorry for the small companies running training for the B+E test now.
 
Well if it was up to me I would still keep the test,but then I am also for older drivers taking a small awareness course in their own cars after 70 and say every three years after that with a medical.
When I was doing some serious mileage every year I have lost count of the number of vehicles towing a van driving around a services trying to find a drive straight in opening.
I am not sure how many people who reach retirement and decide to buy a van and go touring in it can actually reverse it,for many there would be no test because they took the driving test before 97,but most could do with it because the reversing part and the road test would to my mind make life so much easier for the driver,knowing that they could reverse the van on the mirrors,it cannot be much fun setting out on a tour knowing you need to keep going straight forward for hundreds of miles.
 
most could do with it because the reversing part and the road test would to my mind make life so much easier for the driver,knowing that they could reverse the van on the mirrors

Reversing while turning is OK but in a straight line you generally can't see what's behind the caravan. I've had people expect me to back up when meeting them on narrow roads but that's not possible unless someone walks back first to check there isn't a cyclist or whatever waiting behind!
 
Well reversing straight back with nobody to help you is not that hard in a truck you get the unit going left and then right but keep the trailer staright so that your mirrors show you a brief look at whats behind you,the same goes for a car,but hey I am sure we have members who have pulled a van for years without needing to reverse,my thought was it would be nice if they had that skill in the back pocket just in case.
 
Well if it was up to me I would still keep the test,but then I am also for older drivers taking a small awareness course in their own cars after 70 and say every three years after that with a medical.
When I was doing some serious mileage every year I have lost count of the number of vehicles towing a van driving around a services trying to find a drive straight in opening.
I am not sure how many people who reach retirement and decide to buy a van and go touring in it can actually reverse it,for many there would be no test because they took the driving test before 97,but most could do with it because the reversing part and the road test would to my mind make life so much easier for the driver,knowing that they could reverse the van on the mirrors,it cannot be much fun setting out on a tour knowing you need to keep going straight forward for hundreds of miles.
Given the choice, most people would prefer to drive forwards into a parking apcw even when they are NOT towing though. Add a caravan or large trailer to that and the preference is only stronger!
 
I think statistically the number of accidents involving trailers is tiny, and even the really spectacular motorway caravan rollovers etc. rarely result in any injuries. Over the years there have been various calls for periodic 'MOT' type tests for trailers, but this just can't be justified. Good to see some common sense in the planned dropping of the license restrictions, although I do feel a bit sorry for the small companies running training for the B+E test now.
Keeping the old thread revival going.....
Germany requires an annual TUV test and separate registration for all trailers.
Should have been implemented here a long time ago.

Stands back and waits for explosion.....☢️
 
Keeping the old thread revival going.....
Germany requires an annual TUV test and separate registration for all trailers.
Should have been implemented here a long time ago.

Stands back and waits for explosion.....☢️
IIRC military trailers (at least in my day) had separate registrations.
 
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Keeping the old thread revival going.....
Germany requires an annual TUV test and separate registration for all trailers.

Are you sure? Last I heard they had to be registered but were not subject to periodic inspections ... even cars only get a TUV test every 2 years. The cost of registering and testing all the trailers in the UK would be gigantic, with only a tiny potential payback in terms of reduced injuries through accidents. AFAIK this was last looked at formally in 2019:


Remember also that they only recently dropped the requirement for a separate towing test for car drivers in the UK ... can't imagine they'd have done that if there was evidence to suggest that towing was a significant issue from a road safety POV.
 
Pretty sure. Just checked on the MVG site. for some reason my laptop will not let me link to it.
 
Maybe there would be a case for testing braked trailers over a certain weight limit, but enforcing it for every little trailer from Halfords etc. would be totally crazy IMHO. Have you ever heard of anyone being killed on the UK roads as a direct result of a trailer fault?
 
Maybe there would be a case for testing braked trailers over a certain weight limit, but enforcing it for every little trailer from Halfords etc. would be totally crazy IMHO. Have you ever heard of anyone being killed on the UK roads as a direct result of a trailer fault?
BUT..... it would get rid of the dodgy homemade contraptions based on old Mini rear subframes and old caravan chassis.
edit to add. Maybe the Selby rail accident in 2001 ?
second edit. Trailer Safety Statutory Report 2019
 
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