When Did You Pass Your Driving Test?
The answer could be more important than you think! If you passed your test after January 1st 1997, it’s unlikely you’ll be legally able to tow a caravan; horse box; mini-digger; wood chipper / shredder…
Would you drive your car without a driving licence? Would you drive without insurance? Happily, most people will say “No!”. But if you tow without having the B+E entitlement on your driving licence, you are effectively doing just that!
Misconception: I’ve weighed my car & trailer and it’s less that 3.5 tonnes… So I’m ok.
The Facts: Despite what most people think, the law is seldom about what something actually weighs. Whether or not you can tow, will depend on the Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) of the combination. If the MAM of the car & trailer exceeds 3.5 tonnes, it’s very likely you’ll not have the licence to tow it, if you passed your test after January 1st 1997 – despite what it actually weighs.
Let’s illustrate: you know you don’t have a licence for a Category C1 vehicle, a 7.5 tonne lorry (old HGV Class 3). It’s a small lorry. It looks like a lorry, sounds like a lorry, drives like a lorry. Some of these, unladen, will weigh less than 3.5 tonnes. Would you drive one unladen? No! Why? Because it’s a lorry – Category C1. Same principle… A car is category B vehicle. A car and trailer is a Category B+E. There are very few trailers you can legally tow behind a car or van, without having to take a Category B+E driving test – just those small, unbraked ones that bounce about all over the place (max. 750kgs).
Now what we’ve stated here isn’t the letter of the law – it’s the essence of it. We’ll publish the letter of the law shortly. Alternatively, please feel free to call us!
Our Training
We do things differently to most schools. We don’t book you in for a few days course, and then take the test at the end of it. That’s not necessarily best for you.
We do tailor all our training to suit your needs, experience, and abilities. Please call us to discuss your previous experience and your needs, and we’ll arrange everything to suit you.
