Trailer towing:- B and B+E licence rules explained

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Adam205 said:

Any links to official documents stating what can be towed where with L-plates on?

I'm a little bit hesitant about driving on the motorway with L-plates on the trailer incase I come across an unaware trafpol.

NO there is not but there are rules written to say what you cannot do

Most laws are written to stop a driver doing something - think how many there would be if everything that was allowed was written!!

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300bhp/ton said:

WOW, simply great info thanks.

Ok I think I know the answer to this, but as you seem to know so much, then a little reassurance would be great.

I have a post 97 license so only have B on it.

If I used a Land Rover 90 with an Ifor Williams twin axle trailer loaded up with another Land Rover on it. Could I then tow it with L plates on if say my mother was sat in with me? She has B+E and had her license more than 3 years.

Thanks.

http://www.anchorvans.co.uk/landrover-specifications.php
Cannot see any issues with doing that at all providing the insurance is ok

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This is interesting – a B licence towing set up can be presented for the B+E test but L plates must be used for the test.

So you can train yourself, go to test by yourself, fit L plates, do the test, then, pass or fail, remove L plates and drive away by yourself.

DSA B+E TEST AND VEHICLE/TRAILER REQUIREMENTS

OK, this is probably not the best idea but it does give the B licence driver an extra option

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strath44 said:

Hello old thread but hoping for some help, I have been on the Gov website but its so difficult to figure out.

I am needing to collect a car but passed my test in 1999.

My father in law passed around 1975 he has driven large trailers before but I was hoping to split the driving as it is a long way.

The tow car is a 2011 Mitsubishi L200 double cab. The car to be picked up is 1330kg

Are there any car trailers I can hire where I can drive it on my licence empty down and my father in law drives it back?

A trailer rental company I spoke to mentioned that I cannot tow a braked trailer empty or otherwise on my licence.

The rental company is correct that you cannot tow what you intended on your B licence

For B licence towing
The GVW of the vehicle added to the plated MAM of the trailer cannot be more than 3500 kgs
The plated MAM of the trailer cannot be more then the kerbweight of the vehicle

The Govt site omitted the word MAM in error but that does not change the law

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Slow said:

Sorry to dig this up again.

Im 18, mum has had licence donkeys years as in long before 97.


If i buy a 300tdi disco insure it in my name, stick a double axle ifor williams trailer on.
Then just put L plates on and have my mum with me im fine to tow?

A normal comparison website insurance policy would cover towing right? Or do you need to ask for it?

MUM as supervising driver = OK

Inform insurer what you will be doing and see what they say because all insurers have different rules

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HustleRussell said:

My interpretation of the rules would be that this is not legal because the MAM of the tow vehicle plus that of the trailer is 3,705kg. It does appear that this is a grey area in terms of the direct gov website, but the response posted by 300BHP/Ton suggests that my interpretation may well be the right one!

You are correct in what you say

The max trailer plated MAM for a vehicle where the GVW is 2505 kgs would be 995 kgs

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framerateuk said:

The DVLA should really clear this up, it's not complicated to understand but their definition of the rules can be very misleading.

If they used plain English it would help !!

That is why I have done many posts like this across the internet - to simplify the rules without changing the legal definitions

If I can do it then why can't the DVLA ?

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caterham cars weigh under 600kgs from what I could find on internet

Car transporter trailer 1300 kgs MAM with 960 kgs payload

Typical car for towing might be a Ford Mondeo with a GVW of 2050, a kerb weight of about 1500 and a towing capacity of 1500 kgs

That set up would be legal for B licence towing

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BertBert said:

Thanks, looks like 8250 then.
BErt

That 8250 is the total of the combined MAMs/GVWs

If the towing vehicle is 5000 kgs GVW then the trailer can be a max of 3250 kgs MAM

For those with a full C1+E it is different as the max GTW (not total MAM) is 12000 kgs

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BertBert said:

Thanks R0G. I have the C1E modified with restriction 107. How does one get a full C1+E? If one drives a motorhome and trailer on a full C1E making use of the larger GTW, does it come with a load of other regs n stuff? Like tachos or sim?

ETA the motorhome I was mildly looking at has a GVWR of 6713kg and I think the MAM of my BJ clubman 1200 trailer is 1600kg. Is a little bit over 8250 only slightly illegal?

Bert

Get trailer down plated a little by contacting manufacturer to make licence and insurance legal

You have full C1 so you would need to pass the DSA C1+E test but that involves doing the LGV medical. theory tests as well as the practical test

If the vehicle is over 3500 kgs GVW and the total MAM of the combination is over 7500 kgs then it will be under EU driver regs because there is only a derogation for private set ups where the total MAM is not more than 7.5 tonnes

The EU regs specifically state that it covers vehicles over 3.5 tonnes which carry 'goods' so it could be argued that a motorhome does not carry goods but I would email VOSA with that question

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jagracer said:

The rules have changed again for people who pass their test now have a slight advantage over those that passed between 1997 and January this year.

How you figure that ?

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MR AMG said:

please can somone help me ? i was stopped for towing a jet ski in the off side lane of the motorway 'and still waiting to get my licence back but can't insure my car as i don't know the offence code ! help

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_driving_licence_endorsements
MS60 ?

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LEGAL UPDATE FOR THOSE TOWING ON A B ONLY LICENCE

From 19/01/2013 the kerb weight rule is revoked

That was the rule which stated that the trailer plated MAM could not exceed the kerb or unladen weight of the towing vehicle

This just leaves the 3500 kgs max MAM rule which is that the vehicle GVW added to the trailer MAM must not exceed 3500 kgs

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jagracer said:

Interesting, where does it say that unless you passed your test after this date?

I have a letter in my possession from one of the top bods of the DVLA who replied to my MP on this issue

When I get around to scanning it I will post the letter

The letter confirms that it is the same law for ALL B licence holders no matter when they passed the test which makes sense as giving new drivers greater legal flexibility than older drivers would be a big vote loser and not the way that the law usually works

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jagracer said:

You mean the DfT or whoever makes these laws up have had some joined up thinking, I don't believe it.

It was not them - it was the EU parliament - the same now applies across the EU

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109er said:

Re the above. I have a cat D1+E with the endorsement 119. This 119 endorsement throws a spanner in the
works as it state 'weight limit does not apply'

Weight limit does not apply means exactly that - there is no max weight limit for the licence but there will be for the vehicle

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Rosscow said:

This new law regarding GVW and MAM combined not weighing more than 3500kg sucks.

Here I was thinking my Audi A6 Avant, with a kerb weight of 1905kg (plus say 150kg of luggage) would happily be able to tow a caravan with a MTPLM weight of 1400kg, giving a total combined weight of 3455kg.

But now I have to add the GVW and the MAM together!?

The GVW of my car being some 2325kg, meaning I can now only tow a caravan with a MAM of 1175kg?

What a crock of sh*t!

B+E at circa £500 now required

It is not a new law because it has been there since 1997

1175 is correct

Edited by R0G on Thursday 12th September 11:22

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Rosscow said:

Sorry, I've just re-read your post above and they've just removed the kerb weight rule.

Still, their website is very unclear on this and I'm sure there must be a lot of people towing incorrectly.

Thanks for the heads-up!

IMO there is a much simpler way of putting this ....

The extra rule for B licence towing of a trailer over 750 kgs plated MAM is ...

The vehicle GVW added to the trailer plated MAM or MTPLM must not total more than 3500 kgs

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Rosscow said:

Indeed.

Why they can't just include that on this page is beyond me: https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driving-licence...

That is also out of date because this was revoked on 19/01/2013 ....
a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as it is no more than the unladen or ‘kerb’ weight of the towing vehicle

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R0G said:

IMO there is a much simpler way of putting this ....

The extra rule for B licence towing of a trailer over 750 kgs plated MAM is ...

The vehicle GVW added to the trailer plated MAM or MTPLM must not total more than 3500 kgs

To add to that and put simply ....

Those that passed BOTH B and B+E after 19/01/2013 are restricted to trailers with a max MAM of 3500 kgs

To tow a trailer larger than 3500 kgs MAM the driver will need a C1+E


NOTE:- As most trailers are max 3500 MAM then this new rule will hardly affect any driver who passed both B and B+E after 19/01/2013