Towbars will now become a testable item in the test for classes 3,4,5, & 7.
it will come into force as soon as we are sent the special notice with the commencment date. we had the new test criteria pages to be inserted into the manual this morning.
it should be listed here at some point.
"reg" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Presumably, just a check on compliance with the post-98 EU regs?
Thank god. Does this mean an end to the barely connected to the vehicle examples with non functioning electrical sockets?
We got the letter yesterday , I reckon it will go the way the number plate change went.
Agreed, that has to be a good thing.
Hope not, since I've never got around to fitting trailer electrics to my Rover and only fitted the towbar to pull the wheelie bin down the drive.
A local caravanning family I knew of had difficulty getting their 'van parked using the tow-car. It was too tight for space.
They had an elderly Fiesta as an emergency runabout; they fitted a towbar to the front of it as that was the best option to get the caravan in place.
I wonder how that car would fare if MOTed now :-)
Chris
I have an old SWB Land Rover for similar purposes. It was supposed to be a scrapper onto which I bolted a front towbar to make a temporary shunter, but has proved so useful I'm keeping it and have added a crane to the back for lifting engines and things.
Luckily not an issue for this one.
What counts as a towbar? If the hitch is removed, is it still testable?
the test is only going to be for safety of attachment to the vehicle IIUC
Which is a shame, because it will leave us with the "car indicating right, trailer indicating left" dipsticks, not to mention the trailers which are little more than an orange box on wheels, the boat trailers dipped in salt water several times a year and about to shed their wheels on the motorway, and all the other delights they'll be showing us any time now. Roll on when trailers also have to be registered and tested as in some other countries.
Steve
Isn't that already illegal? If laws aren't enforced, there's not a lot of point making new ones to try to correct the situation.
Besides, "car indicating right, brakelights flashing right" is far more common.
I guess you've completely missed the point of the MOT. Bald tyres are illegal. Are you now suggesting they shouldn't be tested?
If you're equating dodgy trailer electrics with bald tyres, then you're the one who's missing the point.
And if you think an annual test will ensure that trailer lights will work correctly for a year, you've clearly never owned a trailer.
"Fred"
A test for trailers would only be workable if they also had a registration scheme. Which is the case in France...
Tell that to the people who end up running into the rear of trailers because of faulty lights.
And if you think an MOT guarantees a car is safe for a year, you've obviously not got a clue.
Yet strangely there's an MOT test for HGV trailers......I wonder what they use. Oh yeah, chassis numbers recorded on a database.
"Conor" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Odd. I thought people ran into the rear of trailers because of faulty eyes and brains.
Around here, tractors have been known to stop suddenly for no apparent reason. I was heartened one day when a trafpol was parked up behind one fine example of agricultural roadworthiness and was still there an hour later with a VOSA van.
Only Conor could compare a 250Kg car trailer to the 40 ton, 60ft lump that hangs behind the cab of an HGV.
Mark
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