The more you modify your off-road vehicle, the more you push its limit, and more you risk the chance of breaking something. But also, the less is becomes driveable on the road and the less is becomes easy to pass the MOT or get an insurance for it. You see where I’m getting at…
One of the options is to take it on a trailer. But do you have the right driving licence for it?
In the same theme, SUVs (or other similar vehicles) are getting bigger and heavier, with more and more pulling power. It means you can tow a bigger and more comfortable caravan. But are you allowed to?
You have your horsebox trailer that you used to tow with your old (and fairly light) Land Rover Series, but now, you drive a Discovery 3. I hope your horse is very light, or you may not be able to take it anywhere if you do not have the right license.
The Rules (in the
UK):
I could write three pages about the rules and legislation, but everything is very well explained on the DVLA web page:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring
In a nutshell, if you passed your
UK driving license before 1997, you should be fine in most cases (I’m talking about driving a car, not a lorry), but DO check the official rules before quoting me !!!
But if you got it after 1997, the likelihood of you needing to pass a B+E driving test is quite high if you plan to tow your off-roader or a big caravan (If the total mass of the car + trailer is over 3.5t, that’s it…)
In all cases, I would argue that doing a trailer driving course is very advisable. Have you noticed the number of people towing brand new caravans in August. Based on their driving skills (or lack of it), you can obviously conclude that this is their first experience with something attached to the back of their car.
In my case, I exchanged my French driving license for a British one. I did not have the B+E on it before, so if I wanted to tow anything big I would have to pass the test. Also, my plan was to take my red Discovery off-roader to the Landmania Show in
France on a trailer.
Training
When searching for trailer training, you will notice that (a) there are not that many driving schools doing it, (b) it’s more expensive that normal car driving training (about twice as much in some places) and (c) a few places really take the potential customer for an idiot who will need over a week of full time training before getting some sort of decent driving (just with a 5min chat on the phone… and I don’t blame my accent for it)
At the end of the day I booked my training with Martin Lovell, (www.trailerinstructor.co.uk) because it was convenient for me in term of location in Surrey, but mostly because he would not force me into a standard and fixed course until I had an assessment.
Martin was extremely nice and straight to the point (maybe his ex-army background).
He asked me why I wanted to get the license, what I’m driving (Discovery), what I will be towing (car transporter), my experience (towing a light caravan many years ago) and he made me do a few manoeuvres.
He uses a standard hatchback car with a twin axle box trailer. This combination is right on the spot for the test requirement and can cater for most of his customer’s needs.
Based on the initial assessment, he decided that a long half day training would be sufficient.
The training provided was tailored to get me through the test; theory questions, specific reversing, manoeuvre, emergency stop, coupling/uncoupling and real life driving.
The theory questions and answers can be learned and revised at home. You can found the documents over here:
The ‘S’ shape reversing is hard hard to manage as long as you take it slowly. Martin gave me some tips on how much to turn the steering wheels in order to get the ideal angle at different point of the exercise.
The emergency stop is done by reaching the 20mph mark and stopping as quickly as possible without locking the car wheels (not hard with an ABS-fitted vehicle)
The coupling and uncoupling exercise is a matter of learning the right sequence of events, and make sure to show that everything you do is geared towards safety.
The real life driving was actually harder than expected, not because of the trailer, but because I passed my driving test about 18years ago. In that time, anyone can pick up some bad habits. That was maybe the most useful part of the whole training. It was the best reminder course on how to drive on the road, respect ALL regulations and do things the right way.
After a few hours training, Martin declared that I was ready to pass the exam.
The B+E Test
The test is booked online on the VOSA web site and costed me £115 (price may change in time) and was booked at the Reading centre.
I met Martin a couple of hours before the exam, and had a couple of practices before we drove off to the test centre. We used that time to have a look round the area of the test.
After filling up the paperwork the test started with the theory questions, including how to check the coolant level of the vehicle. We forgot to open the bonnet with Martin beforehand and it took me some embarrassing couple of minutes to locate the header tank that was hidden behind the front grill. (reminder: look at the engine bay before to go to the test)
Then it was time for the reversing exercise. You start from a box area, and have to do a ‘S’ line reverse into another box area just big enough for your car and trailer and you must stop within a couple of feet from the “end of the box” board. Touch the board and you can go home.
The emergency braking was a no brainer, and I thought I did it well.
Then we were off for the hour drive. In a nutshell, I spent my time turning my head to check the mirrors, using my indicators, checking my speed, etc….
During that time the examiner marks you against any mistakes.
We came back and did the uncoupling/coupling exercise which went well.
Finally I got 9 minor errors (apparently I drove twice at 33mph in town, once I did not look in the mirror when pulling out at a traffic light –there could have been a cyclist-, and once I was a bit too “aggressive” when pulling out of a parking space…. The rest I don’t know.).
Nine minor errors are not a failure (you need 18), so I passed my test and Martin was happy with the result.
Conclusion
If you need to tow a large trailer or caravan, make sure you are allowed to do so under your licence. With vehicle becoming bigger and bigger, the weight limit is quickly reached.
But, even if you do not need to pass a new license, do you believe you know enough how to drive with a trailer?
Even if it’s just for a couple hours refresher, a trailer driving course is highly recommended for your safety and the safety of the other road users.
Martin Lovell
