Evening fellow ABNers.
As the title asks...Do you tow? Or do any of your team tow a trailer whether it be for catering, transporting of goods or a general use trailer.
As you may know, in November 2021 of the requirement for drivers who wish to tow a trailer using a car or light vehicle to sit a (DVSA) B+E test was removed. This has created a void in the level of skill drivers who are new to towing will have. The DVSA declare it is the driver's responsibility to ensure they have adequate skills and knowledge when driving any vehicle within the category B entitlement. the category B entitlement allows drivers to tow a combined weight of 7 tonnes with a trailer limit of 3,5 tonnes MAM. Below is the information on the DVSA website,
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What a driver can tow
You can tow trailers up to a certain weight with your car driving licence. The weight you’re allowed to tow depends on when you got your licence.
You’ll need to know the weight of both the vehicle and trailer - also known as the ‘maximum authorised mass’ (MAM).
If you got your licence before 1 January 1997
You can usually drive a vehicle and trailer with a combined weight of up to 8,250kg MAM.
You’re also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM.
If you got your licence from 1 January 1997
You can tow a trailer that weighs up to 3,500kg MAM.
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Like me, you may find this information quite vague as there is so much more to consider before towing a trailer. Such as the towing capacity of the towing vehicle, how to find this out. How to work out the combined weight of the trailer and the load that you are towing. There is no mention of how to tow safely or how to load a trailer, secure the load, couple or maneuver a trailer.
From a DVLA licensing point of view, drivers can tow without mandatory formal training, however this does not satisfy the Health & Safety Executive.
What the law says
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (HSWA) 1974 (Section 2) 3 requires every employer to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision is necessary to ensure, "so far as is reasonably practicable", the health and safety at work of their employees and others affected by their activities. This is amplified by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999 4, which also identifies situations where health and safety training is particularly important, e.g. when people start work, on exposure to new or increased risks and where existing skills may have become rusty or need updating.
Our DVSA accredited training courses helps to address this by enabling staff, who as part of their role are expected to work with and tow trailers to perform that role safely and efficiently allowing businesses to be compliant with rules such as the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Provision and use of work equipment Regulations 1998, and Road Traffic Acts.
The benefits to your business include Compliance of HSE regulations but also Improved driver satisfaction, Less downtime due to maintenance and repairs, Savings on fuel, tyres and spares, Enhanced company image.
If you think this is relevant to you or your employees, please feel free to get intouch, even just for a chat or to answer a query you may have.
Best regards
Paddy
iPass Car and Trailer Training
Replies
Good info, thank you
Thank you for sharing. I sat my B+E as I tow not only a caravan but also horses regularly.
I terrifies me the amount of equestrians who have had no training in towing and who cannot even reverse. So many stories of people losing control of their trailers.
I don't understand why they removed this test!
All we can do is, firstly provide a service then encourage drivers to attend the course.
The B+E was introduced to fall in line with Europe, once we left the EU the Dept of Transport and the DVSA saw this as an opportunity to free up examiner time to conduct other tests.
Unfortunately this was somewhat short sighted, resulting in an increased risk for all road users.
Thank you for sharing, I did not know this.
Hi Siobhan.
Your welcome, as a driver trainer its worrying to know new drivers and drivers new to towing seldom seek further training. I do hope to make more drivers and employers aware of the risks.
Hi Siobhan.
Your welcome, as a driver trainer its worrying to know new drivers and drivers new to towing seldom seek further training. I do hope to make more drivers and employers aware of the risks.
I don't tow now Paddy, but wish I had known about something like this when we had our caravan! To have someone show me how to do it properly and safely would have made all the difference.
Hi Jeanette, Its never too late get another caravan?