Trailer test update.

[aspenarb]

Sorry to pish on the parade but I hope it comes in.

 

You only have to buy a plant trailer off ebay to find out what shite there is being towed around britains roads. If people took more responsibility about there equipment there wouldn't be any need to force them to

 

And me although I'd be cursing it, doesn't sound unreasonable how many trailers have defective lights, brakes, bits missing. I'm no saint when it comes to towing but it might make me more saintly like!

 

Anything towed on the road already has to conform to construction and uses. It is plods job to find enforce, fine and impound dodgy trailers. I know what you are saying about some of the crud out there but we keep our trailers up together and if you count every thing towed as a trailer we will be having to MOT another 8 units per annum , sorry make that 10 if you include the lighting tower and traffic lights. Its just another tier of B/S we dont need, the stats in the report prove that the trailer test has made virtually no difference to accident rates in Germany.

 

Bob

[treequip]

Anything towed on the road already has to conform to construction and uses. It is plods job to find enforce, fine and impound dodgy trailers. I know what you are saying about some of the crud out there but we keep our trailers up together and if you count every thing towed as a trailer we will be having to MOT another 8 units per annum , sorry make that 10 if you include the lighting tower and traffic lights. Its just another tier of B/S we dont need, the stats in the report prove that the trailer test has made virtually no difference to accident rates in Germany.

 

Bob

 

But the Germans are a different people with an entirely different mentality.

 

They have had registration for trailers since Adam was a lad, and as a people they don't have the "sod it, that will do" attitude that sometimes prevails elsewhere.

 

Making a comparison between the 2 peoples is absolute folley and I say this with some confidence having lived there for a few years.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I also think that besides a breakaway cable, trailers should also have a chain link attachment to chassis same as in the US

[aspenarb]

I think that most accidents are probably of trailers that are badly loaded or overloaded and not badly maintained.You see tank slappers involving trailers all the time and I have seen loads of caravans on their side over the years.

 

Bob

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Anything towed on the road already has to conform to construction and uses. It is plods job to find enforce, fine and impound dodgy trailers. I know what you are saying about some of the crud out there but we keep our trailers up together and if you count every thing towed as a trailer we will be having to MOT another 8 units per annum , sorry make that 10 if you include the lighting tower and traffic lights. Its just another tier of B/S we dont need, the stats in the report prove that the trailer test has made virtually no difference to accident rates in Germany.

 

Bob

 

I wouldn't argue against improving safety in any format, but I would ask - would a trailer MoT achieve it? What are the stats to SUPPORT the change?

 

Would they stack-up sufficiently to warrant the additional admin, infrastructure and mechanisms for delivering it? (Considerable if the detail in the caravan club bulletin is accurate and believable?)

 

Would they stack-up sufficiently to warrant the additional red tape, time and financial burden on the operator? Or would it just be another stealth tax applied to the decent, conscientious operator and ignored by the less diligent?

 

If nothing else, it's another agenda item for the Eurocrats to debate (at great public expense), then for national parliaments and civil servants to prevaricate over, then for some european member states to apply and enforce and for others to blatantly ignore.

 

Improve safety - yes of course, who wouldn't support that?

 

Pointlessly increase bureaucracy, red tape, financial burden, logistical arrangements and down time for small business - well, no thanks but at least it keeps the fat cats bashing their gums and claiming their expenses.

[gensetsteve]

I think we are a good middle of the road nation. Somewhere between the germans with their perfectionist attitude and the rest of europe throwing up buildings in their flip flops and using twigs instead of scaffold poles.

[treequip]

I wouldn't argue against improving safety in any format, but I would ask - would a trailer MoT achieve it? What are the stats to SUPPORT the change?

 

Would they stack-up sufficiently to warrant the additional admin, infrastructure and mechanisms for delivering it? (Considerable if the detail in the caravan club bulletin is accurate and believable?)

 

Would they stack-up sufficiently to warrant the additional red tape, time and financial burden on the operator? Or would it just be another stealth tax applied to the decent, conscientious operator and ignored by the less diligent?

 

If nothing else, it's another agenda item for the Eurocrats to debate (at great public expense), then for national parliaments and civil servants to prevaricate over, then for some european member states to apply and enforce and for others to blatantly ignore.

 

Improve safety - yes of course, who wouldn't support that?

 

Pointlessly increase bureaucracy, red tape, financial burden, logistical arrangements and down time for small business - well, no thanks but at least it keeps the fat cats bashing their gums and claiming their expenses.

 

I think the CC are gilding the lily, if my trailer needed an MOT I would book it in when I took my vehicle, no drama.

 

Anyone keeping the trailer in good order has nothing to fear, those with a shonky or nicked one might have a problem though.

 

If all it did was stop the herberts scratching their heads, standing at the side of a caravan with a flat tyre clogging the roads up every Easter, it would be a good thing.

[Matthew Storrs]

I assume the same rules would apply- if its under 3 years old then no MOT required? With ifors etc holding their values so well it would probably work out cost effective to just replace your trailer every 3 years...

[Goaty]

Good read, I had an accident in 2002 with "a poorly matched combination" A land rover 90 and a 16ft ifor ifor williams. The trailer had a few broken leaf springs in a set. I was only doing 40mph. Whilst every test would of picked up this problem how long would the danger of been there?

 

The company went to court and got fined because it had no maintainance plan in place with appropriate records to verify. I got away with it as I was not the regular driver and was only driving it home that night.

 

Even with that experience, I don't think testing will make much difference, I reckon the problem is we used to have the plod dealing with all traffic situations, now we have the self funding vosa, police hang back and are no longer competent at being confident in handling agricultural vehicles flaunting basic regulations and the complexity on a par with quantum mathematics required with dealing with their interpretation of heavier vehicles and trailer combinations.

 

This time Im with the caravan club, lets face it, they drive to camp site and drive back now and then. How many miles do caravans actually do. They probably keep there tyres until they perish or get scrapped! They probably deserve an exemption anyway as they wrap them up and treat them like a family member!

[gensetsteve]

If they bring it in top of the list should be caravans. Left to rot and seize for 11 months of the year then dragged 400 miles down a motorway overloaded in a heat wave. Plant trailer used once a week by people in tune with their kit and over made when new. Both would benefit from a simple test nightmare for me as at times we have up to 16 trailers.