Just to lob another stick of explosive into the pool of this thread........

 

There is a school of thought which says that in the UK it is almost always going to be illegal to tow another car because it is, effectively, an unbraked trailer.  Very few vehicles would be rated to tow an unbraked trailer the weight of a car.

 

You may or may not feel that it's logical or fair, and few police officers would pull you for it, but they could.

Look at your chassis plate there is 3 weights on it,

 

Front axle weight

Rear axle weight

Total gross weight

 

Add the top 2 together and subtract them from bottom and that will give you braked towing weight

Just to lob another stick of explosive into the pool of this thread........

There is a school of thought which says that in the UK it is almost always going to be illegal to tow another car because it is, effectively, an unbraked trailer. Very few vehicles would be rated to tow an unbraked trailer the weight of a car.

You may or may not feel that it's logical or fair, and few police officers would pull you for it, but they could.

Do you mean with a tow hitch ie behind a camper etc or on a trailer or with a rope and a driver sitting in it?

Towing a broken down vehicle to the nearest place of safety, with tow rope or bar is very unlikely to change in the UK,

it will always get left as a 'Grey area'.

 

Towing using a Dolly as a proper recovery vehicle will stay as it is.

Towing with an A Frame and weights is pretty well covered in Legislation & weights.

 

Towing an Unregistered, or none legal by no MOT, Insurance, Road tax and having the tyres, even if only 2,

or 1 with a Motorcycle is also pretty well covered as in the Illegality of it.

It might become a Unit & a Trailer for Brake & Lighting laws.

For the Law as in the Police, its an Unregistered Vehicle,  or on a SORN, or Untaxed, so libel to some type of action,

seizing both vehicle the towing and the towed being quite normal.

 

george

Van insurance isn't too bad through Gladiator.

That's who I'm with, I pay just over £200 a year and I'm

covered for business use. 2003 Kangoo.

Please dont be under the impression that if you passed after 97 you can only tow 750kg, that is incorrect. The MAM of the trailer/caravan cannot be more then the plated unladen weight of the towing vehicle and the MAM of trailer and towing vehicle cannot exceed 3500kg

Example

Cars unladen weight 1250kg MAM 1700kg

Caravan MAM 1200kg

Total MAM 2900kg

Safe to tow without B+E licence

If you have B+E your still limited to 3500kg you dont need to worry so much about the MAMs your trailer/caravan could weigh more then your car providing the car can hack it

Sent from my iPhone 4s

Do you mean with a tow hitch ie behind a camper etc or on a trailer or with a rope and a driver sitting in it?

If it is on the end of a rope the driver of the towing vehicle has no control over it and I suspect that means it is illegal (though to move a vehicle a short distance to a place of safety would probably be accepted, regardless of the legality).

 

If it is being towed by any other means (bar, dolly, etc.) the vehicle becomes an unbraked trailer (because the driver of the towing vehicle has no control over its brakes) and it therefore depends on whether it comes within the unbraked towing capacity of the towing vehicle.

 

If it is loaded onto a trailer then it is a question of whether the loaded trailer comes within the towing capacity, braked or unbraked as appropriate, of the towing vehicle.

 

It can all get very messy.

Its legal to tow another vehicle out of harms way if its broken down.

Towing a car on a bar usually the car been towed would have some braking ability

Sent from my iPhone 4s

If it is on the end of a rope the driver of the towing vehicle has no control over it and I suspect that means it is illegal (though to move a vehicle a short distance to a place of safety would probably be accepted, regardless of the legality).

If it is being towed by any other means (bar, dolly, etc.) the vehicle becomes an unbraked trailer (because the driver of the towing vehicle has no control over its brakes) and it therefore depends on whether it comes within the unbraked towing capacity of the towing vehicle.

If it is loaded onto a trailer then it is a question of whether the loaded trailer comes within the towing capacity, braked or unbraked as appropriate, of the towing vehicle.

It can all get very messy.

If its on a rope then the person sitting on the towed vehicle is technically driving it, so I don't think it has any legal issues and the dolly method if it doesn't activate the towed vehicle brakes (a lot of them do) then that's where you could have issues.

 the dolly method if it doesn't activate the towed vehicle brakes (a lot of them do) 

 

How does a dolly activate the brakes on the vehicle it is towing?  To do that it would have to be plumbed into the hydraulic system, surely.  I am not aware of any vehicle which has this facility as standard.  If the dolly itself is fitted with a brake that would meant that it became a braked trailer, but I'm not sure that two wheels of a dolly would provide a lot of brake force.

A nice hole through the bulkhead is required.

Then they mention the Rear numberplate but not that you would need a Trailer Board,

(or ignition left on, which would not give rear indicators.)

http://www.caratow.com/index.php

http://www.caratow.com/faq.php

 

Breakdown Recovery, & Recovery Vehicles and organisations are treated differently from Private Individuals,

as is Emergency Recovery compared to Transportation when done by members of the general public..

(Just another Grey Area in UK Motoring.)

 

http://www.towitall.co.uk/faq/4.aspx

(this is not up to date as things have changed again, but it gives the general idea on things.)

 

george