Chipper freedom day announced

[Justme]

2 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Kids dont tend to go on Caravan holidays though do they, if they do they tend to visit static caravans.  Its generally Coffin Dodgers and half of them should not have a license full stop. 

You should check out the campsites & caravan facebook groups.

 

Caravanning is no longer just the domain of the elderly.

[Richard 1234]

2 hours ago, Justme said:

20 years out of a driving life time of around 50 years is nothing.

The bulk of people towing (and driving) today are still pre 97 licence holders.

The youngest would be about 41 now. The oldest I guess 100+.

So 60+ years of drivers passing the test compared to the 24 years of post 97 test passes.

 

Whilst the law changed in 97 its only been in the last 5-8 years that enforcement has really happened & that people taking the test has increased dramatically.  The first big data gathering exercise re trailers was for the 2018 report. That showed without doubt that driver error & lack of training was the cause of most trailer accidents.

I’m sure driver error is without doubt the biggest cause of all accidents on the roads. Mechanical failures will be some of them but the rest is people not paying attention to what they are doing. What bugs me about the training is that around here at least the trailer they are towing is an 8x4 or a 10x 6 at most. After passing you can go get. A 16 foot trailer and do as you like with it. They all seem to have twin axles making reversing easier

[Justme]

3 minutes ago, Richard 1234 said:

I’m sure driver error is without doubt the biggest cause of all accidents on the roads. Mechanical failures will be some of them but the rest is people not paying attention to what they are doing. What bugs me about the training is that around here at least the trailer they are towing is an 8x4 or a 10x 6 at most. After passing you can go get. A 16 foot trailer and do as you like with it. They all seem to have twin axles making reversing easier

Whatever trailer you use people complain its not like the one they will use. Single axle trailers tend to be much smaller/ lighter. Caravans have more overhang, flatbeds the list goes on. However the skills taught should transfer to them all IF you choose the right course. The max size is 7m but you cant expect to be trained using one. If you have a special need find a trainer that will do it for you.

[woody paul]

44 minutes ago, Richard 1234 said:

What bugs me about the training is that around here at least the trailer they are towing is an 8x4 or a 10x 6 at most. After passing you can go get. A 16 foot trailer and do as you like with it. They all seem to have twin axles making reversing easier

Bit look passing driving test in mini and next day driving a range rover. 

[Richard 1234]

2 hours ago, woody paul said:

Bit look passing driving test in mini and next day driving a range rover. 

True but with that you have got ridiculous insurance premiums that would in most cases prevent it.

[Richard 1234]

2 hours ago, Justme said:

Whatever trailer you use people complain its not like the one they will use. Single axle trailers tend to be much smaller/ lighter. Caravans have more overhang, flatbeds the list goes on. However the skills taught should transfer to them all IF you choose the right course. The max size is 7m but you cant expect to be trained using one. If you have a special need find a trainer that will do it for you.

That completely ignores my first point about driver error being the cause of nearly all accidents. How many are caused by people who are actually paying attention? Can’t be many

[Justme]

1 minute ago, Richard 1234 said:

That completely ignores my first point about driver error being the cause of nearly all accidents. How many are caused by people who are actually paying attention? Can’t be many

I think the error they were talking about was things like not hitching correctly, hitting kerbs (nearside blow out are way higher than off side) bad loading, hard braking at the start of a snake ect rather than your typical shit driver errors.

[woody paul]

6 minutes ago, Richard 1234 said:

True but with that you have got ridiculous insurance premiums that would in most cases prevent it.

When have you seen a driving instructor using a big 4x4 as there learner car. All ways cheap to run car and basic, so if teaching someone to tow a trailer why have top of the range.

[Khriss]

This just reminded me of sisters other half. Who has quite new single axle caravan, who lent it to another of his realatives for a weekend... Who brought it back ( certainly not mentioning that he had driven it many miles behind his big 4x4 with trailer brake on..) that sister and other half took out the next weekend, to find no trailer brake, or brakeshoes left.. Said relative did get the 600 quid bill for new brakes, drums etc. Trailer training? Yup, could have been a lot worse too.  K

[Richard 1234]

12 minutes ago, woody paul said:

When have you seen a driving instructor using a big 4x4 as there learner car. All ways cheap to run car and basic, so if teaching someone to tow a trailer why have top of the range.

I’m talking about going from learning in a micra then buying a Range Rover as you suggested. Insurance would kill that idea for nearly everyone. I’m not saying learn in one