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[Smokey 11a]

New Towing Regs

[agg221]

Ah, so the decision has been made then.

It will be interesting to see what consequences (if any) this has - other than for driving instructors who specialised in trailer training and are now out of a job on 10 days notice of course.

Alec

[Wittsend]

Which is scary as I have "grandfather" rights and old codgers are just/more likely to have a trailer crash, probably using their 50/60 year old home-made lash-ups 

I think our forum demographic covers most with grandfather rights.

I understand you can now get an HGV license after a couple of days - always fancied driving a big lorry 

What with "Smart Motorways" (an oxymoron if ever there was) life is going to be fun in the fast lane.


Mind how you go ....


 

[GAHC]

Pretty sure it will have little to no effect...

I attended a drivers awareness course about 10 yrs ago where I discovered that I may have been infrequently the wrong side of the law - until that point, and having towed all my life I didn't even realise there was a specific test. Anyways, I brought the average age of the course down by about 30 yrs - many of the 'grandfathers rights' approved people (a few who towed caravans regularly) got very poor scores on the towing questions.   

[Matt Reeves]

Spare a thought for those who spent £500+ on a trailer test in recent years. I don't have "grandfather rights" on my license and just before the pandemic had decided to book a course of lessons with a local instructor who specialises in trailer training. Needless to say I'm rather glad I didn't!.

[Clifford Pope]

I've been to the govt website and confirmed I am down as having a full licence, covering tracked vehicles, rollers, the lot.
But what I can't see is anything that says when I actually passed the test. How do I find out, or am I missing the obvious somewhere?

[autorover1]

According to the Gov web site  the date the change comes in hasn't been confirmed yet .  I don't think the web site states when one passed a test, neither does it say on a driving licence , only when its valid.

[Rog-from-Bix]

According to the Gov web site  the date the change comes in hasn't been confirmed yet .  I don't think the web site states when one passed a test, neither does it say on a driving licence , only when its valid.

If you look at the back of the photo licence the valid from date is date you passed your test ** may 87 in my case

[autorover1]

My licence was  valid from Mar.  2020 as that was when it was issued , test taken Jan 1965.  Now over 70 so have to renew every 3 yrs.

[Bradfordseries2]

As someone who just missed out of being able to pass before 1997 I’m pleased that I will now be able to tow. Doing the B+E test was something I was always going to do at some point, now I’m glad I am bad for putting things off! 

As from a safety point of view, older drivers are able to tow (and drive minibuses and LGV up to 7.5 tons) with ‘grandfather rights’. As I was almost run off the road twice on the way home from work today by oldies barely able to see over the steering wheel, I can’t see it being any worse than a 17 year old towing a trailer.

[Alan Drover]

If over 70, C1 and D1: class vehicles can only be driven subject to s medical. I didn't bother as I can still drive B+E up to a maximum train weight of 8.25 ton.
I still have my full motorcycle license too.

[Tom]

I passed my test after 1997, so never got the grandfather rights, although I do tow large trailers for work (on private land I may add…) on an almost daily basis. I’ve never ended up doing the B+E test, although it was always on the cards and I was planning to do it this coming year. A colleague did his test about 6 weeks ago and although these changes were rumoured, nothing was confirmed.

Regardless, in the industry I work in, this has the potential of being a good thing. We have a touring park, and have noticed the number of caravans dwindling over the years as those with grandfather rights become too old to drive, or tow, and the younger generations being largely unable to tow touring caravans without additional testing. There seem to be far more motorhomes, converted vans and teardrop trailers about at the moment.

We also work closely with some of the larger manufacturers of touring caravans, and the younger generation being unable to tow has been a rising concern for them for a long while now.

I can’t say that I think annual or biannual testing of trailers and caravans (like a very basic roadworthiness test) would be a bad thing though. Some of the death traps we have arrive are very concerning. Also the lack of understanding of some people on towing weights etc. Just today we had a large twin axle caravan arrive, being towed by a convertible beetle, with the tow ball scraping the ground as it came in. You honestly couldn’t write it!!

That being said, I really do feel for those who have built businesses around trailer training and preparation for the tests, as much of their business will be decimated with very little warning.

[Clifford Pope]

If you look at the back of the photo licence the valid from date is date you passed your test ** may 87 in my case

That can't be correct. I can't make anything of the information there. The earliest date that makes sense is against the picture of a car, 10 Feb 1976. But I passed my test in 1966, when I was 17. Where is that information stated?


The date next to the thing that looks like a bicycle with an engine on the back wheel is 27/8/15. Is that 2015 or 1915?  The thing that looks like a vintage motorbike says 19 January 2013, or perhaps 1913 would be more appropriate.

I am often asked on insurance forms etc to state the date when I passed the test. I know the year, but not the month. How can I find that out - or have the DVLA lost all the pre-computerisation information?

[Old Hywel]

……….. and old codgers are just/more likely to have a trailer crash,

Don’t know about that. Worst local case was a young, tested lad who tipped a tri-axle Ifor Williams on the M4.

[diffwhine]

Personally, I don’t think age comes into it that much. Old, young, male, female plenty in all groups who aren’t capable of reversing or parking a standard car let alone handling a coupled trailer.
I challenge even the most experienced trailer user to say that they have never come unstuck or almost unstuck with a trailer. We’ve all experienced it I’m sure.
In my view, removing the need for basic training on how to operate any form of trailer is sheer stupidity. How is somebody with little or no experience supposed to be able to understand, nose weights, wag, tyre pressures, balance, loading etc.? Seems like a recipe for disaster in my book.
Seems like our great and glorious leaders have come up with another ludicrous ruse to go with smart motorways and dropping testing of older vehicles… What happens when somebody inexperienced, loses control of a 3500kg trailer behind an untested old Land Rover on a smart motorway? That will get the legal eagles thinking!