- Location
- South Molton
No need for a trailer test anymore?
- Thread starter michael N123
- Start date
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
For 3 months I did a lot of miles commuting Buckinghamshire to Norfolk, just about 100 milesin that time I distinctly remember seeing 5 cars and trailers in the ditch 2 on one day. I personally thought bringing in trailer testing a very good idea as it raised the whole issue.
Yes there were farmers children who hade been working all their lives towing trailers, but it did not stop my father getting in desperate trouble with a landrover and trailer. Thankfully no-one was injured but it could well have been the other way. I learnt a lot that day!
However this is an aside, it may be good to have a bonfire of regulations, but this can never excuse the abuse of the law, whether it is the caravan owner helping himself to your fuel, chainsaw, pet, or anything else they can get their mitts on or the idiot who thinks himself above the rules surrounding third party insurance.
I am sure no farmers child expecting to inherit 100, 1,000 acres £5, 10, 20 million who ends up in local authority accommodation, just because Dad was a good old boy who did did not believe in insurance and has lost a farm that had been in the family for generations, just because he did not want to waste a few quid on a driving test!
Yes there were farmers children who hade been working all their lives towing trailers, but it did not stop my father getting in desperate trouble with a landrover and trailer. Thankfully no-one was injured but it could well have been the other way. I learnt a lot that day!
However this is an aside, it may be good to have a bonfire of regulations, but this can never excuse the abuse of the law, whether it is the caravan owner helping himself to your fuel, chainsaw, pet, or anything else they can get their mitts on or the idiot who thinks himself above the rules surrounding third party insurance.
I am sure no farmers child expecting to inherit 100, 1,000 acres £5, 10, 20 million who ends up in local authority accommodation, just because Dad was a good old boy who did did not believe in insurance and has lost a farm that had been in the family for generations, just because he did not want to waste a few quid on a driving test!
- Location
- South Wales UK
Train lorry drivers instead apparently
- Location
- Yorkshire
What happened? Would it not have happened if he had taken a trailer test instead of just having the trailer entitlement given
e5c0rt.mk1
Member
People are forgetting that, yes passing a test makes you legal, but it doesnt mean you can drive better or are any safer than someone who hasnt done the test. All it means is you can pass a test. Just like i passed a science test at school, doesnt mean i'm any good at science.
You learn to properly drive when you are actually driving in the real world, not on some stupid test.
You learn to properly drive when you are actually driving in the real world, not on some stupid test.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Erm, no. Not many trailer trainers will be HGV qualified.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
They can learn, like everyone else has to.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
They might, or might go work as car instructors, but they won’t be straight to instructing on lorries. Still Farming is just getting confused - it’s the testers that they plan to repurpose quickly.
So as I see it from sept 20th no one who passed there test after whatever date it was 1997 can do a trailer test!
And so far no date has been set for the +E entitlement to be added to driving licences!
this has all the makings of a cock up me thinks!
so to summarise if your over 3500kg with car/pickup and trailer and don’t have the +E bit your in danger of getting done for not having the correct licence to drive.
Your also probably not covered by insurance (I do know of trailers been recovered by police for that reason)
So for now anyone without the +E bit and need to tow something heavy will have to wait or rely on those that did the tests or old gits like me who did the test before the rules were changed.
And so far no date has been set for the +E entitlement to be added to driving licences!
this has all the makings of a cock up me thinks!
so to summarise if your over 3500kg with car/pickup and trailer and don’t have the +E bit your in danger of getting done for not having the correct licence to drive.
Your also probably not covered by insurance (I do know of trailers been recovered by police for that reason)
So for now anyone without the +E bit and need to tow something heavy will have to wait or rely on those that did the tests or old gits like me who did the test before the rules were changed.
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
Thankfully nobody was injured as there was no other traffic about and the only damage was to a local bridge.
It occurred as my father had just taken his lorry off the road and purchased a large Ifor to cart cattle with behind our Landrover. He was unaware of the effect one large cow moving about in the back can throw the trailer all over the place creating the classic weave. Those of with training know the only way out is to accelerate his reaction was to brake.
He had never any training, as he had been one who had a licence before 1937 which covered everything motorised, which he purchased for 10/- from the local post office.
Thanks to this he was the only one on the farm who could take our old crawler across the road as nobody had ever done a tracklayer test.
My point though is this is all irrelevant, what is relevant is the importance of having insurance, to cover other road users, and yourself in the event of an accident.
No licence = no insurance.
The scally’s can get away with it as they are men of straw , ( the actual legal term ) so in their case in an accident, the uninsured drivers compensation scheme , which we all pay into , via our premiums kicks in.
However if you have property , that will be taken first and rightly so. With claims for permanent disability to a youngster often going well into 8 figures, you will need a very substantial farm to pay that off!
- Location
- Worcestershire
I took my test at the end of August, i did ask the instructor about the trailer test being abolished and he said they are ridiculous rhumours and not to take any notice......... no wonder i passed first time the examiner probably thought whats the point in failing him, he can just wait untill next month and not worry
I think it is more about the examiners rather than the trainers. I know i had to travel 60 miles to do my trailer test, it was held at the same place they did lorry tests.
I just came on here to start a thread to ask the question but will ask it here (haven't read all 11 pages so sorry if someone has already asked) does this apply in Scotland too? Or is it just England?
I was just thinking this last night....
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Driving licencing is not a devolved matter. It applies across all of the DVLA area. Not sure about NI though - iirc they have a separate system.
Courier
Member
- Location
- M62 - M1 - M18 triangle
I strongly believe that all rights should be brought back to how it was pre-1997 when you could drive upto and including 7500kgs on a normal car license. I didn't get my license until mid 2000 and had always towed more than the maximum permissable without the E part of the license and it would have been around 6 year's ago I went for my test and since then only ever towed a handful of times.
Nearly
Member
- Location
- North of York
New rules for towing a trailer with a car from 16 December 2021
The rules about towing a trailer or caravan with a car changed on 16 December 2021. Find out how the changes affect you.
15th Nov