Trailer MOT's

[Justme]

We have all speculated on it over the past few years.

 

Well now its a stage closer & looks like it could be happening as soon as 2020.

 

 

[aspenarb]

Its a bit of a yawnathon but worth having a squint at the pdf  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/19/pdfs/ukpga_20180019_en.pdf.

 

It seems that sub 750kg unbraked trailers will be exempt which I assume will also eliminate the smaller chippers.( page 12 section 13). Haulage permits wtf? Most will be better off with a proper truck if this kicks in.

 

Bob

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

On the one hand I’m thinking, great {sarcasm} more admin & hassle..... 

 

But on the other, maybe on the plus side, it’ll get the poorly maintained/ unsafe rubbish off the roads.....

[Matthew Storrs]

1 hour ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

On the one hand I’m thinking, great {sarcasm} more admin & hassle..... 

 

But on the other, maybe on the plus side, it’ll get the poorly maintained/ unsafe rubbish off the roads.....

Maybe, but think how many people are towing trailers who don’t even have the right license. The same people will still tow the unsafe trailers around?

 

personally I’m not that keen on it- just more hoops to jump through and I’d reckon the dangerous trailers on the roads are the one driven by inexperienced towers with little regard with how to load them- or just simply overloaded- non of which the MOT will prevent.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

1 hour ago, Matthew Storrs said:

Maybe, but think how many people are towing trailers who don’t even have the right license. The same people will still tow the unsafe trailers around?

 

personally I’m not that keen on it- just more hoops to jump through and I’d reckon the dangerous trailers on the roads are the one driven by inexperienced towers with little regard with how to load them- or just simply overloaded- non of which the MOT will prevent.

and you can bet your bottom $ there'll be an Ag concession.....  

[Richard 1234]

2 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

and you can bet your bottom $ there'll be an Ag concession.....  

Probably! Though the ag rules are stupid and unfit for purpose and have been for a long time! It’s not like farmers are using fordson tractors anymore!

its frightening seeing these young lads driving huge tractors with huge trailers through small villages as fast as they can. Makes me wonder how many deaths  from it there has been?

[john p]

Probably! Though the ag rules are stupid and unfit for purpose and have been for a long time! It’s not like farmers are using fordson tractors anymore!
its frightening seeing these young lads driving huge tractors with huge trailers through small villages as fast as they can. Makes me wonder how many deaths  from it there has been?

Yeah, it’s my pet peeve, flat out in a 300hp fendt, fully loaded and looking at their f ing phones!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

5 minutes ago, john p said:

Yeah, it’s my pet peeve, flat out in a 300hp fendt, fully loaded and looking at their f ing phones!

There’s that, no denying there are issues there - although those that are contracting are (perhaps) more likely to have serviced / serviceable trailers so as to not suffer breakdown and loss of productivity, but seeing some of the trailers that have sat all year rotting in a field then hitched up and used on the road is also worrying. 

[woody paul]

Company that MOT me truck said it was going to happen soon but they were not going into trailer MOT's so how is. 

 

[Baldbloke]

The relevant section below. Much use of the word "may":

PART 2 TRAILERS

Trailer registration 13 Trailer registration (1) Regulations may provide for the compulsory or voluntary registration of trailers kept or used on roads in a register kept by the Secretary of State. (2) The regulations may— (a) require or permit the keeper of a trailer to apply to the Secretary of State for its registration; (b) make provision about the procedure for applications; (c) make provision for the purpose of ensuring that each registered trailer has a number which is recorded in the register; Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 9 (d) make provision about the form of the register and the information to be included in it; (e) provide for the giving of registration documents; (f) provide for the transfer, surrender or production of registration documents; (g) provide for the expiry of registration documents; (h) require the destruction of a registration document in specified circumstances; (i) make other provision in connection with— (i) the registration of a trailer, (ii) the transfer of a registered trailer to a new keeper, (iii) the accuracy of information included in the register, or (iv) the enforcement of provisions of the regulations. (3) In this Part— “motor vehicle” means a mechanically-propelled vehicle which is intended or adapted for use on roads; “trailer” means anything on wheels which is intended or adapted to be drawn by a motor vehicle; “regulations” means regulations made by the Secretary of State. 14 Inspections and information (1) Regulations may, in connection with any provision of regulations under section 13— (a) provide for the inspection of trailers or registration documents by examiners or stopping officers, or (b) require a person to provide information or things to the Secretary of State or another person, or to make declarations. (2) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) may, in particular, make provision about— (a) notification of inspections; (b) inspection of a trailer in the absence of its owner or keeper; (c) certificates as to the outcome of inspections; (d) record-keeping in relation to inspections; (e) the giving of duplicates or copies of certificates. (3) In this section— “examiner” means— (a) an examiner appointed under section 66A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, or (b) an examiner appointed under Article 74 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18)); “stopping officer” means an officer appointed under section 66B of the Road Traffic Act 1988. 15 Registration marks and registration plates (1) Regulations may require or authorise the Secretary of State, when registering a trailer, to assign a mark (a “registration mark”) to the trailer. Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 10 (2) Regulations under subsection (1) may make further provision about the assignment of registration marks, for example, provision authorising the Secretary of State to— (a) assign a registration mark to a trailer to which another registration mark has previously been assigned; (b) assign to a trailer (on its first registration or later) a registration mark previously assigned to another trailer; (c) withdraw a registration mark for the time being assigned to a trailer; (d) re-assign to a trailer a registration mark previously assigned to it but subsequently withdrawn. (3) Regulations may prohibit a person from keeping or using a registered trailer unless a plate displaying the registration mark assigned to the trailer (a “registration plate”) is fixed on it. (4) Regulations under subsection (3) may— (a) specify the size, shape, material of manufacture or other characteristics of a registration plate; (b) specify the size, shape and character of a registration mark; (c) make provision for the purpose of ensuring that registration marks are easily distinguishable (by day or by night); (d) make other provision about— (i) the display of registration marks, or (ii) the fixing of registration plates. (5) Regulations may prohibit a person from keeping or using a trailer on a road where a plate fixed on the trailer displays a mark which— (a) is not assigned to the trailer under regulations under subsection (1), and (b) is of a size, shape and character specified in regulations made by virtue of subsection (4)(b). (6) Regulations may permit or require registration plates to contain or display information other than registration marks. (7) In this section “plate” includes any other device. 16 Marking of trailers (1) Regulations may make provision for the marking of registered trailers (otherwise than under section 15) or of trailers in respect of which an application for registration has been made. (2) The regulations may include provision— (a) as to the persons by whom and the times at which trailers are to be marked; (b) as to the form of any mark and the manner and position in which it is to be made; (c) requiring information about marks made under the regulations to be provided to the Secretary of State. Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 11 17 Fees (1) Regulations may authorise the Secretary of State to charge a fee of a specified amount in respect of— (a) the registration of a trailer; (b) the giving of registration documents; (c) the inspection of a trailer; (d) the giving of a certificate as to the outcome of an inspection of a trailer; (e) the correction of an error in such a certificate; (f) the giving of a duplicate of such a certificate. (2) The regulations may— (a) provide that anything for which a fee is payable is conditional on payment of the fee; (b) make provision about repayment of fees charged under the regulations, including provision— (i) that repayment is to be made only if a specified person is satisfied that specified conditions are met or in other specified circumstances; (ii) that only partial repayment is to be made; (iii) specifying the amount of any partial repayment, or providing for the manner in which that amount is to be determined. 18 Offences (1) Regulations may create offences relating to— (a) keeping or using an unregistered or incorrectly registered trailer on a road; (b) the breach of a specified provision of regulations under any of sections 13 to 17; (c) obscuring a registration mark, or causing or allowing a registration mark to become not easily distinguishable; (d) the provision of false or misleading information, documents or declarations under regulations under any of sections 13 to 17; (e) the keeping or use of a trailer whose registration document has expired without being replaced; (f) obstructing a person carrying out an inspection of a trailer; (g) pretending to be entitled to carry out inspections of trailers. (2) If regulations under subsection (1)(a) create an offence of keeping or using an incorrectly registered trailer on a road, the regulations must provide for it to be a defence for a person charged with the offence to prove— (a) that there was no reasonable opportunity, before the material time, to provide information to the Secretary of State for the purpose of correcting the register, or (b) that the person had reasonable grounds for believing, or that it was reasonable for the person to expect, that the trailer was correctly registered. (3) Regulations may— (a) require a person to provide information to a specified person on request about the identity of someone who is alleged to have Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 12 committed an offence under regulations under subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c), and (b) provide for it to be an offence to fail to provide the information. (4) Regulations under subsection (3)(b) must provide for it to be a defence to prove that the person did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, the identity of the person concerned. (5) Regulations may— (a) authorise a court to accept as evidence (or, in Scotland, sufficient evidence) that a person is someone alleged to have committed an offence under regulations under subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c), any admission of that fact which is proved to have been made by the person in information provided under regulations under subsection (3)(a), and (b) make provision as to the manner in which it is to be proved that an admission was made in information provided under regulations under subsection (3)(a). (6) Regulations under this section which create an offence must provide for the offence to be triable only summarily. (7) Regulations under this section may not provide for an offence to be punishable with imprisonment or with a fine exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. (8) For the purposes of this section a trailer is “incorrectly registered” if— (a) the register kept under regulations under section 13 does not include all of the information relating to the trailer that is required by regulations under section 13(2)(d), or (b) the information relating to the trailer that is included in that register includes any incorrect information. 19 Records (1) Regulations may provide for records maintained by the Secretary of State in connection with the Secretary of State’s functions under regulations under any of sections 13 to 17 to be admissible in proceedings as evidence (or, in Scotland, sufficient evidence) of facts stated in them, subject to specified conditions as to authentication and any other specified conditions. (2) For the purposes of this section “records” includes— (a) a copy of any records, and (b) a note or other representation of any information contained in records. Trailer safety 20 Trailer safety: report (1) The Secretary of State must prepare a report on the number and causes of road traffic accidents occurring in England, Wales or Scotland during the reporting period which— (a) involved trailers, and (b) caused injury or death to any person. (2) The report must contain an assessment of whether— Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 13 (a) regulations under section 13 should provide for the compulsory registration of relevant trailers; (b) regulations under section 21 should be made. (3) The report must be laid before Parliament within the period of one year beginning with the day on which this section comes into force. (4) In this section— “relevant trailers” means trailers which are kept or used on roads and— (a) if constructed or adapted to carry a load, weigh more than 750 kilograms when laden with the heaviest such load; (b) otherwise, weigh more than 750 kilograms; “reporting period” means a period determined by the Secretary of State, which must be a continuous period of at least 12 months ending no earlier than 18 months before the day on which this section comes into force. 21 Trailer safety: testing regulations (1) Regulations may provide for periodic testing of the construction, condition or safety of relevant trailers. (2) The regulations may amend provision made by or under Part 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. (3) The regulations may, in making consequential or other provision as mentioned in section 25(1)(a), amend any Act (whenever passed or made). (4) No regulations under this section may be made before the report is laid before Parliament under section 20. (5) In this section, “relevant trailers” has the meaning given by section 20(4). Supplementary and interpretation 22 Supplementary and interpretation (1) The provision made by regulations under this Part may be limited in any way provided for by the regulations, for example— (a) to trailers of a specified description; (b) to trailers kept or used in specified circumstances; (c) to trailers kept or used by a person of a specified description. (2) In this Part— “inspection”, in relation to a trailer, means an inspection under regulations under section 14(1)(a); “registered trailer” means a trailer registered under regulations under section 13; “registration”, in relation to a trailer, means registration under regulations under section 13; “registration document” means a registration document given in accordance with regulations under section 13(2)(e); “registration mark” has the meaning given by section 15(1); “regulations” has the meaning given by section 13(3); Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) Part 2 — Trailers 14 “road”— (a) in relation to a trailer kept or used in England, Wales or Scotland, has the meaning given by section 192(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988; (b) in relation to a trailer kept or used in Northern Ireland, has the meaning given by Article 2(1) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/154 (N.I. 1)); “specified” means specified in regulations; “trailer” has the meaning given by section 13(3)