Just copied this from H4H forum.
I was stopped last Saturday by VOSA for a vehicle check (quite used to it!!) found nothing un-toward as they did not do a full check (read on). I was asked 'have I got an operator's licence', no I don't need one was my reply, 'yes you do Sir', no I don't. This went on for some considerable time. After getting their rule book out they conceded and I won the argument. 'but it all changes on the 4th of December Sir we'll get you then won't we?'.
(Under the current law any towed trailer with an un-laden weight of less that 1020kgs is exempt from the calculations, mine is 900kgs)
WHY?
No publicity
No advertising campaign
No warning
New EU rules!! That's why.
As from the 4th December ANY vehicle towing a trailer for hire or reward (a driver in 1999 was convicted after admitted his mate bought him a pint!!!) a gardener, tree surgeon, builder etc who's combined weight exceeds 3,500kgs (laden or un-laden) will need a **HEAVY GOODS VEHICLE OPERATORS LICENCE** along with the numerous rules that go with it.
Off road parking
6wk maintenance check by a VAT reg garage.
Have a CPC (certificate of professional competence) (operator not driver cpc)
Be or nominate a transport manager with a CPC (or pay for one!)
Have instantly available at all times, 9,000 euro's 24/7 which is checkable by the Traffic Commissioner.
Apply every 12mth for a new licence (was 5yr)
Plus many more.
As far as they were concerned I was stopped only to give a 'routine check'. I only had a Ford Fiesta on the back!!! They never checked my lights, brakes, weight or tacho. Which in itself is highly unusual as having been stopped 3 times last week alone having the full works (and nothing mentioned of the change) leads me to only one conclusion. They have 'advised' me that the law is changing and have logged it onto their system accordingly meaning that if they see me after the 4th Dec???
I cannot afford these new changes so therefore as of the 4th Dec I am out of a job and no doubt a lot of others. What happens to those thousands of other drivers who are unaware of the changes, the max fine is £5k
This apparently is to bring us in line with the rest of the EU
They say that ignorance is not a defence!!!!!
and:
Quote:
.............................may need a *restricted* operator's licence which allows you to haul your own equipment. You are allowed to receive fuel costs as long as there is *no element of profit* involved.
and:
Quote:
....................... because ANY racer, rally, hill climber, 4x4 etc who is towing to a meeting where there is a *prize* at the end of it comes under these new reg's. The list is endless!!
_________________
God is not on the side of the big battalions, but on the side of those who shoot best.
Sounds like a paperwork nightmare to me. I'm glad I don't tow stuff anymore, I used to take racecars all over the place and had no idea I even needed a towing license, oops :/
I feel for you though, it must suck having to deal with all that shit. Have you tried asking about to see if there's any loopholes? http://www.pepipoo.com/ is a site full of advice and info and lawyers on the motorists side. Could be worth asking about on there
This is already in place for commercial towing. It has been for some time....
i think someones over-reacting tbh, looks like its aimed at people towing trailers for a living. Looking at the paperwork i couldn't see anything that mentions it affecting people not running for hire or reward (private use)
there's nothing there that sounds like it's going to affect people towing track day cars about. It's all talking about commercial use and towing with more than 3.5tonnes total weight etc...
An unladen trailer of more than 1020kgs is fooking massive!
Good job they didn`t pull me a few week ago.
I had to move my Lathe from the storage i`d been using to a place of work.
My car weighs what, er 750-800kg.
My trailer is the maximum Laden weight of 750kg before a brake needs to be fitted.
My Lathe weighs 563kg but if i`m correct the car isn`t meant to pull more than 450kg. oops ::)
Car pulled it well though and easily took my Lathe the 12 miles to its current location
& gave my own made towbar a good testing.
When i got home i checked the Maximum towing weight lol.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/668/11102011172.jpg)
(http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1629/11102011173.jpg)
This subject pisses me off. MASSIVELY. No-one i have ever spoken to knows the actual rules and some of them are involved with the trade. You will ask 10 people about this and you will hear 5 different stories. I am towing a vehicle trailer from time to time for work now so i have to get on the case and make sure im gonna be doing it legally. From what i understand from looking into it so far to get the liscence i need im looking at £2k :o but i could be wrong. The direct.gov website doesnt make things clear in my opinion...
Quote from: jez1272gt on November 23, 2011, 09:27:36 PM
This subject pisses me off. MASSIVELY. No-one i have ever spoken to knows the actual rules and some of them are involved with the trade. You will ask 10 people about this and you will hear 5 different stories. I am towing a vehicle trailer from time to time for work now so i have to get on the case and make sure im gonna be doing it legally. From what i understand from looking into it so far to get the liscence i need im looking at £2k :o but i could be wrong. The direct.gov website doesnt make things clear in my opinion...
i've done my trailer test, didn't cost me anything like £2k. I know you can play with weights and not have to do it, but i wanted to be fully legal towing anything with my van etc (private use). The rules change when you're towing for business purposes with regards to tacho laws etc allthough if you're staying local to your base and towing tools for your trade then i dont think you need a tacho.
Yeah you dont need to spend to £2k on just a trailer liscense (i hope lol) im looking into doing a 7.5t o liscense that wil cover me to tow my large trailer with my van as well. Looking at getting a low loader so will need the larger vehicle liscence as well.
pettsy - can I ask how much it did cost and what you had to do?
Quote from: jez1272gt on November 24, 2011, 08:24:09 AM
Yeah you dont need to spend to £2k on just a trailer liscense (i hope lol) im looking into doing a 7.5t o liscense that wil cover me to tow my large trailer with my van as well. Looking at getting a low loader so will need the larger vehicle liscence as well.
A cat C licence won't allow you to tow anything more than you can on a B, unless you do C+E.
hayesey, i did mine with a local company who specialise in trailer tests, http://www.diamonddrivertraining.co.uk. I can't remember the exact cost unfortunately. The test is basically the same as a driving test, only the manouvers you do are slightly different because you have a trailer. I had used trailers for a while before i did my test, but had a couple of days training with them where they give you handy hints for passing the test.
you are indeed correct. C+E is the cookie!
Quote from: Fred on November 23, 2011, 08:22:08 PM
Good job they didn`t pull me a few week ago.
My Lathe weighs 563kg but if i`m correct the car isn`t meant to pull more than 450kg. oops ::)
Nice bit of kit there Fred, hope it's earning for you.
I got my trailer license for free in the navy.
haha, fred those photos are comedy!
To be honest Justin i had no choice.
I was shitting it a bit thinking What if the trailer turns over lol.
The Lathe is very top heavy but i did have an hefty ratchet strap over it and a mile or so down the road i
realised it was all fine. The AAV engine did really well to be fair though a little
jerky at times.
I made the Towbar myself for this car as I couldn`t buy one anymore and the deciding factor
that the one i bought for the previously written off polo was shite. The welding was cold lapped
and i didn`t trust it for a heavy load plus in the rear end shunt it broke underneath on a major weld.
Scotsjohn.
The Lathe came from a school in Liverpool that was being demolished and the only remaining classroom
left when we got there. They pulled it down just as we got it clear.
It was a mates dad who`s mate was doing the demolision and so it cost me £600
It a Harrison T300 Gap bed & thankfully came with a screw cutting gearbox as so many didn`t.
It`s a Teaching version of the very popular M300 and so doesn`t have the same spindle speeds.
Unfortunatly! All the extra bits wer pillaged like revearse jaws and all the bits standard to the Lathe.
I`ve used it for a few things so far and screw cutting works well, however! The jaws are worn to the point
of not holding work central but i`ve just had them de-hardend so i can bore them true assuming the scroll is ok.
Shame i couldn`t afford the Tom Senior Milling machine that was also there but both was £1500 so getting the
Lathe for £600 was a bonus. The miller sold for well over 1k on ebay.
I hope nobody minds this post here but it seemed appropriate being bout trailers.
Fred.
when did you pass you test fred im only asking because i past mine in 93 and iv got a c+e on my licence automaticaly,i know that just after they changed it and you had to take a seperate test >:(
as for vosa they realy are a joke,im a coach driver so have quite alot to do wi vosa rules,i once asked two seperate vosa blokes the same question and got to different answers.if vosa dont know the correct rules what chance are we ever going to have!!!!!!!!!you can get all the information from any vosa office but you might aswel read it turned upside down lol.and as for eu rules i wount say what they can do with them!!!!!! at the minute my companys having meeting after meeting about passengers wearing seatbelts,the eu are trying to make it so if you are pulled over by vosa or police,as a driver you will get fined for every passenger aint wearing a seatbelt thats all well and good but i could have 65 passengers on and its a 50 ft coach.
no mater how many times you tell someone to put a seat belt on if they want to they can just take it off down the road!!!!!
Im totally jealous of those who passed their test before the cut off. But it also annoys me that the just because you passed your test before a certain date that you can tow a trailer or drive a 7.5t vehicle. I needed to get my dad to take the van and trailer down to my mates and he didnt have a clue where to start, how to ensure the trailer was hitched correctly, that it was safe, do a lights check, ANYTHING bascially. Now thats not his fault, hes never needed to or has towed a trailer but hes legally allowed to?! Really?
yeah your right it's totaly wrong they seem to change things just for sake of changing it.i was talking to a mate the other day that works in a agency and now they're starting to struggle getting 7.5 tonne drivers due to most people these days not having the licence for it
Poloandyb. 27 Years ago mate. I`m 47 ;)
Fred.