Highways Agency

Opening scene Carol Smile walking towards the camera talking whilst walking past a car with a small trailer attached then a 4x4 with a caravan attached and then coming to a standing position next to a large 4x4 connected to a horse trailer. 

Carol Smilie: Most of us drive a car these days and it is possible you may want to use your car to tow something even if it’s only attaching a small trailer to take some rubbish to the dump. Or perhaps you're into caravan touring holidays as a family? Or you may even set your sights a little bit higher and want to tow something as big as a boat or a horse box. If you do there are one or two things you’ll have to take into consideration. Do you have the right vehicle to tow? Is your driving licence valid? Will your car insurance cover you? Are you legal? Are you fit to tow?

An animated car towing a trailer drives across the screen revealing the words “FIT TO TOW”

Next scene Highways Agency Traffic Officer Colin Lowther sat in his vehicle talking out of the driver’s window.

Colin Lowther: The majority of problems we encounter involving caravans and trailers are to do with incorrectly distributed weight. Recently we came across a young family in a pick-up truck towing a caravan the weight wasn’t distributed correctly at all, it caused snaking and unfortunately caravan ended up on its side. This blocked two lanes of the M6 in August and the resulting congestion was horrendous and of course for a young family it ruined their holiday. You must prepare, make sure your load is distributed correctly make sure you're using roads that are adequate; have you got enough fuel for the journey? Towing a caravan or trailer, you’re going to use a lot more fuel than normal. Make sure you’ve got plenty of rest stops planned. If you’re towing livestock have you got enough feed and water in case you’re caught in congestion or indeed breakdown? Planning and preparation is the key.

Paul Atkin (Association of Chief Police Officers) and Carol stand opposite each other in front of the line of vehicles that Carol walked past in the opening scene.

Carol: Can anybody tow something like this on the roads today?

Paul Atkins (Association of Chief Police Officers): Up to 1997 yes you could virtually tow anything with any type of car, but since the driving licence regulations changed in 1997 and certainly something like this

Indicating a large 4x4 with horse trailer attached now if you passed your test after 1997 you wouldn’t be able to drive that.

The following passage is shown on screen

“Driving licence law changed
on the 1st January 1997.
Do you hold the right
licence to legally tow?

Better check!”

Carol: And in the event of an emergency and you have to call out breakdown services, what happens?

Paul: When you breakdown or when you travel with a trailer it’s always best to ensure that your recovery company know that you have got a trailer with you because they have to send out specialist recovery trucks to tow both and if they're not aware that you’ve got a trailer then they might come and take your car but they’ll leave your caravan on the side of the road.

Carol turns and talks directly to the camera.

Carol: Of course there are rules about what you can and cannot do and there are risks too. Last year alone accidents involving towing vehicles caused nearly fourteen hundred injuries and forty-three fatalities. So, how do we make sure when we’re towing we do it right?

The words “Towing a small trailer” are brought up on screen.

There is a short comedy scene where a man loads a trailer with garden and household waste intending to take it to the tip. He inappropriately loads his trailer and has trouble reversing out of his drive and then items start to fall off the trailer.

The next scene shows Carol and Nigel Lea (National Trailer & Towing Association) standing either side of a small trailer.

Carol: Now this has got to be one of the most commonly used trailers that people would tow on the road today?

Nigel (NTTA): It is yes.

Carol: And the fact that it’s commonly used I’m assuming makes it simple to use?

Nigel: Yes it’s a trailer that has no brakes, it has no complications to do with running gear and things like that, but it has road lights and everything else.

Carol: Can any car tow it?

Nigel: Yes this trailer is light enough to be towed by 99 percent of cars and with un-brakes or no brake trailers you can go up to a maximum of 750 kilos, or three quarters of a ton.

Carol: How simple is it? Give us a quick demo.

Nigel: OK, we have a chain here and this chain has got to go onto the tow bar with the coupling.

Nigel bends down and places the chain over the coupling. And then lifts the trailer and places the coupling on the tow ball.

Carol: You just lift it by hand?

Nigel: You lift it by hand because it’s just a light trailer and you’ll know when it’s on because it clicks closed. And the chain then drops over the tow ball and then we would plug the electrics into the socket underneath.

Nigel then pushes the handle down until it clicks closed, puts the chain over the tow bar and then plugs the trailer electronics to the socket next to the tow bar on the car.

Nigel then returns to his starting position.

Carol: Is it best to load it after you’ve coupled it to the car then?

Nigel: Yes because you don’t know what the weight will do when you’ve loaded the trailer.

Carol: And it would tip if it wasn’t?

Nigel: Depending on where the load is you want to make sure the load is over the axles and doesn’t move.

Carol: Now a little birdie told me, although it’s very simple to use it’s quite difficult to reverse or manoeuvre. Is that true?

Nigel smiles

Nigel: I’m afraid it is, it’s impossible and cannot be done. And it’s better to uncouple and wheel it to where you want it to be and then re-couple up after you’ve done that.

Carol: Really?

Nigel: Absolutely, because the trailer will turn before you see it in your mirrors.

Carol: I never thought I’d see the day that a bloke would admit defeat, to something quite as small as that.

Carol pats the small trailer and smiles.

The next scene shows Nigel on his own stood next to an older trailer.

Nigel: This is a typical trailer that you would find in your neighbour's garden, probably hasn’t moved for a few months, and so there are certain checks that we have to do to make sure that it’s safe to tow.

Nigel bends down to inspect the hitch and electrics.

Ok, we would be looking at the hitch to make sure it locked properly onto the tow ball, and we will be checking the electrics to make sure there was no damage to it.

Nigel walks around to the front of the trailer and demonstrates that the wires will not get caught in the moving parts of the trailer. 

You’ve got to make sure that the cables don’t go near where the moving parts of the trailer are.

Nigel moves to the tires and inspects the tire tread and its side wall.

And we’ve got to check the tyres for both the tread, any cuts or bulges, and the tyre pressures; we must make sure they’re right. And give the wheel a push and a pull to check the bearings

Nigel hold on to the wheel on both sides and pushes it from side to side

because when they’ve been stood for a while the bearings actually do deteriorate.

Nigel walks around to the rear of the trailer and points at the number plate and touches the clips on the tailgate.

We must also check that the registration plate is the same as the one on the vehicle, that the lights work, the clips that hold the tailgate are fastened so it can’t come undone. 

Nigel walks around to the back of the trailer and points inside.

And finally the floor must be sound with no holes or rot, and if it is put another sheet in and load on top of that, making sure that the load is over the axle and that it doesn’t move. And then you should be fine.

The next scene shows Roger Wright (Highways Agency) giving some practical advise.

Roger: Just as you’re about to set off, for that last final check, check that the tyre pressures are still correct, check your lights work on the back of the trailer, and check as you sit in the driving seat that you can actually see properly behind the trailer through your mirrors. Because of course the fundamental point is that you must remain legal and fit to tow.

The final scene shows Carol walking towards the camera as she did at the beginning of the film.

Carol Smile: Towing is easy once you’ve given it a go but you're going to have to practice first and don’t forget, make sure you’ve got the right vehicle for the job and that you’ve carried out all the relevant safety checks before you set off.
And above all else make sure you’re fit to tow.

The film closes as Carol stands and the words “FIT TO TOW” come up next to her.

The following text is then shown on screen

“Most of the larger trailers, particularly those with four wheels or more, including horse-trailers, have a MAM which in combination with a suitable towing vehicle will take you over the legal limit for the current “B” category licence. However the majority of caravans and goods trailers can be towed within the current “B” category licence limits.

The category “B” licence requires that where the MAM of the tow vehicle is 3500kg, the trailer MAM must not exceed 750kg. This would give a combined MAM of up to 4250kg. Where the MAM of the tow vehicle is less than 3500kg, the trailer can be more than 750kg MAM  provided the combined weight does not exceed 3500kg MAM, and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the tow vehicle.

Category “B+E” licence holders have a larger limit which will allow them to tow larger combined weights. These should be checked if you are unsure. The extra section can be added to a category “B” licence by passing an additional test.

MAM = Maximum Authorised Mass sometimes known as Maximum Allowed Mass, Maximum Gross Weight or Gross Vehicle Weight. These limits can be found on the identification plate of the vehicle (usually on the bulkhead) or trailer.”