Questionmy wife is currently learning to drive,having been on the dvla web site,i assumed for most caravan towing etc that she would need another test, having talked to a senior northumbria police officer,i was told the police will not be counting the reduction in towing limits applicable to new licences.
a--which is actually correct ?
b--what would happen if an accident occured ?
mal, u.k.
AnswerHi Mal,
I have no idea what the Police Officer means by that statement, but this is the general situation with licences obtained from 1st January 1997.
A group B licence authorises the driving of a vehicle with a total unladen mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes, which may include a trailer (caravan).
If the weight of the car exceeds the weight of the caravan and the total unladen mass does not exceed 3.5 tonnes, then the combination is legal to a group B licence holder.
If however, the weight of the caravan exceeds the weight of the car, then it is not legal, even if the weight is less than 3.5 tonnes.
It has always been a recommendation that the weight of a trailer should not exceed 85% of the towing vehicle because of the inherent instability of “the tail wagging the dog” syndrome.
Also, in order to gain the CE certificate of conformity, all vehicle manufacturers are obliged to quote the maximum towing weight of all of their vehicles. So in addition to the driver licensing requirements one should also observe these individual vehicle limitations to avoid falling foul of the law.
The hypothetical accident consequences are irrelevant, providing that the above conditions are observed.
Regards,
Phil
