pulled for towing!

[MSG]

We can blame a minority of drivers who drove without insurance persistently, they played odds against being pulled over and chellenged to produce insurance doccuments, failing which they would face a court and were willing topay the fines rather than extortionate rates of insuranc. This was years ago before this new scheme came along about the Police being able to check any car's insurance automatically using computersied insurance data base on MID. Now they don't need to pull people randomly to question drivers if they hold a current driving license and or whether it is their own car, and if insured and generally check the vehicle safety like tyres etc, and even check what is being carried in the boot, thats the bad side of things now, so many would be going on with possibly drugs, weapons and what not being carried in the boot of theiur cars knowing that if they are insured and taxed then they are less likely tobe stopped randomly! there you go the police solved one problem of unissured drivers and now you hardly see them around patrolling the roads and rely largly on automatic number plate recognition systems to arrest or stop cars that otherwise may indicate as not having been insured or taxed, the rest of them they ignore unless someone was driving like a pratt, or unless they had a tip and or watching a criminal activity.

Before the police would stop cars randomly, breathalyse drivers, and check vehicles and often stumbled across illegal things carried in the boot including knives etc. and nearly always found a few things wrong with the car, but now there isnot a care as long as the car appears insured and taxed, no one would stop it unless specificially targeted due to the age of the driver, or type of car he is driving, or weather he looks like a terrorist!!


I also know for sure that many EU residents now living in UK knows how to get around getting a cheaper insurance, they do what is known as the fronting, put someoneels's name who has a EU license, register the car in that person's name, and add a named driver who is may not even hold any driving qualifications, let alone he would be isnurable, I know of a guy whose driver's details were wrongly used by someone else to get a cheap insurance based on his NCB, while all along he himself knew how to drive but does not hold a license.
How do you tackle that situation!

[Nemesis]

My view is this: I know dozens of people who've towed for years on a-frames without an issue. IMO if you drive sensibly and the car is properly secured you would be very unlucky to be challenged by a copper about it.

It's a small risk I'm willing to take. IMO being "safe and considerate" and being "legal" are two different things, I'm not too fussed about the latter when it comes to towing or dating young girls.

[LEE69]

I'm not too fussed about the latter when it comes to towing or dating young girls.

lmao

[Trevor]

But a licence is not required to be the driver of a towed vehicle! So why does it need to be insured and taxed, All money grabing arse raping bollox, sorry if that offends any one

Your quite simply wrong there, the towed car and steersman must be fully legal, and that includes a driving licence.

[Trevor]

My view is this: I know dozens of people who've towed for years on a-frames without an issue. IMO if you drive sensibly and the car is properly secured you would be very unlucky to be challenged by a copper about it.

Whilst I would agree that your not likely to get caught you should still bear in mind that reduced speed limits apply and you can not use the outside lane on a motorway that has 3 or more lanes. But at the reduced speed limits your not going anywhere fast.

The legislation that covers towing with recovery devices has recently been highlighted to officers for the upcoming motor-home season, so you takes your own chances. And don't forget that VOSA can also stop you and prosecute you for this type of offence (as it is a C&RU offence) and they are far less likely to cut you any slack than a police officer.

[MSG]

On my recent visit to Devon, I saw along the M5 large Motor homes (like caravans with their own engine and driver's arrangement.) towing behind a small family car ( the car I saw was a Smart Car) using the A Frame dolly. So, surely the idea is to park that motor Home or the large caravan in a caravan park and go out into the town using the smaller car that was being towed using the A frame, and I came across several more situations like that with different cars in tow behind the motor home, that was being driven in many other areas of UK. Mostly holiday resort areas like Scottish Highlands etc.
Surely the argument about driving such vehicles on Motorways i.e. towing on motorways other cars, and be only allowed to be towed to the nearest bay or services can't seem to apply to these then. So in other words you could tow a car for the whole length of the motorway as long as it is coupled to a driven vehicle witha proper towing bar and possibly braking linkage and electrics, and that provided it is also insured and declared as such as being towed behind the motor home.

[Trevor]

On my recent visit to Devon, I saw along the M5 large Motor homes (like caravans with their own engine and driver's arrangement.) towing behind a small family car ( the car I saw was a Smart Car) using the A Frame dolly. So, surely the idea is to park that motor Home or the large caravan in a caravan park and go out into the town using the smaller car that was being towed using the A frame, and I came across several more situations like that with different cars in tow behind the motor home, that was being driven in many other areas of UK. Mostly holiday resort areas like Scottish Highlands etc.
Surely the argument about driving such vehicles on Motorways i.e. towing on motorways other cars, and be only allowed to be towed to the nearest bay or services can't seem to apply to these then. So in other words you could tow a car for the whole length of the motorway as long as it is coupled to a driven vehicle witha proper towing bar and possibly braking linkage and electrics, and that provided it is also insured and declared as such as being towed behind the motor home.

The law applies to everyone, motor home owners are not exempt. Which is why the police have been briefed on this recently.

[chip]

On my recent visit to Devon, I saw along the M5 large Motor homes (like caravans with their own engine and driver's arrangement.) towing behind a small family car ( the car I saw was a Smart Car) using the A Frame dolly. So, surely the idea is to park that motor Home or the large caravan in a caravan park and go out into the town using the smaller car that was being towed using the A frame, and I came across several more situations like that with different cars in tow behind the motor home, that was being driven in many other areas of UK. Mostly holiday resort areas like Scottish Highlands etc.
Surely the argument about driving such vehicles on Motorways i.e. towing on motorways other cars, and be only allowed to be towed to the nearest bay or services can't seem to apply to these then. So in other words you could tow a car for the whole length of the motorway as long as it is coupled to a driven vehicle witha proper towing bar and possibly braking linkage and electrics, and that provided it is also insured and declared as such as being towed behind the motor home.

Its illegal, its just that a lot of coppers dont know that.

[alistairolsen]

a lot of the proper motor home conversions tow them unmanned with the brakes connected to the tow vehicle properly and hnce become braked trailers. Its quite an expensive and vehicle specific conversion, not just a shonky old a frame.

[Trevor]

a lot of the proper motor home conversions tow them unmanned with the brakes connected to the tow vehicle properly and hnce become braked trailers. Its quite an expensive and vehicle specific conversion, not just a shonky old a frame.

Well a traffic copper I know has yet to see one that complies with EU laws regarding trailers and braking systems. There is a VERY expensive system you can get in the USA that involves a wireless decelerometer in the towing vehicle and a receiver unit in the towed vehicle that has a vacuum pump, it's own decelerometer and brake applicator. But it is NOT CE marked so not legal over here anyway.

Braking systems that use an over-run actuated hydraulic cylinder to activate the parking brakes are not legal as all wheels must be braked.

All trailers built since 1989 have to have auto-reverse brakes meeting the braking efficiencies laid down in EC directive 71/320. This is achieved in normal trailers and caravans by having special wheel hubs which disengage the brake when turning backwards. This is clearly impossible with a towed car and it is thus impossible for a towed car to meet directive 71/320 as incorporated into the UK Construction and Use Regulations. A-frame sellers rely on the fact that neither of the above points has yet been tested by a court case.

There must also be a 'break-away' system that applies the brakes if the trailer is lost from the towing vehicle.

[alistairolsen]

Tow Bars and Cars for Motorhomes

[MSG]

Tow Bars and Cars for Motorhomes

very informative link that one alistairolsen, i am sure if the set up is right and complies with certain UK towing requirements then it would be perfectly leagl and safe to tow a small vehicle behind the motor home, as I said I saw quite a few being towed towards and coming away from Devon and Cornwall which is mostly holiday areas and same as I saw a few along the Scottish region once .

Personally can't see any issues with it provided the car being towed brakes proportionally and allows for a reverse manouver, along with automatic break free braking and a general speed limit being adhered to all such caravans and motor homes.

When I saw these i thought what a clever idea that was, towing your family car behind the caravan motor home, its like my wife doesn't drive and so if I were to go on touring carava holiday this sort ofthing would be ideal for me!

[alistairolsen]

Automatic break free breaking is another bug bear of mine but thats for another day!

[Trevor]

Automatic break free breaking is another bug bear of mine but thats for another day!

I notice the site you linked to has some new kit that I was not aware of, but it says the breakaway actuates the handbrake. I think it needs to actuate the brakes on all wheels to be legal, but I could be wrong. Also in event of a breakaway the draw-bar (in this case the 'A' frame) must not come into contact with the ground and I can not see how they have achieved that either, it looks like the frame has no stops.