I need to get my car to the paint shop I was looking to tow the car there with a fixed tow pole. does the tow car ie my x5 do all the breaking and the car being towed just do the steering. can I use the motoway ? does the car being towed need break light does it need insurance ? it has no mot as its been off the road for 2 years , been reading up but getting mixed info some say its don't need to be road legal if the tow car is doing all the braking ? am confused. does any one know the FACTS not just hear say ? thanks for any info

Just call the DVLA in Swansea. 5 minutes on the phone and you'll have accurate information.

ive been reading on a link for vosa but its like all mixed up

 

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dvla your talking being on hold for 3 hour

Called them 2 days ago regarding a license query. I was on hold for 90 seconds.

I rung them few weeks ago about mot info had to ring back 3 times over a few hours before I get through

If the car isn't road legal then it needs to be carried even a frames and spec lifts are a very grey area even visa don't know what to say on them

You deffinatly cannot tow on a motor way.

No towing on Mway!! That's for sure!

Why not trailer?

Cost me 80 quid door to door! Round trip 80 miles?

Unfortunately, you are permitted 'now' from using a tow-pole to transport your car.

 

The use of tow-poles and ropes are for the recovery of a broken down car only and are not acceptable for the use of transportation.

 

A frames however are acceptable as long as they have a fitted braking system, normally an inertia mechanism that must provide a minimum of 50% of the total braking efficiency of the towing car, as the towed car is over 750kg.

 

Hire a trailer mate as stated, cheaper than fine.

well I need to take the car for wheel alignment that's like 3 miles away then back again to mine, then in a few weeks to the paint shop that's about 6 miles away the costs of moving the car around plus the work are just to much. even thought I have a 4x4 I cant tow as I don't have tow licence and the car and trailer would add up to over the weight limit anyhow, you cant win its a total pain in the arse trying to get the car moved round for work to be done, evey one trying to fight you with evey move you make

how do a frames work can you use them on the m roads, how about a dolly ?

According to the law, if you fit a braked A frame, are within your license perimeters, are within your total All Up Weight of the combined tow car and towed car, then and only then can the carriage be classed as a tow car and trailer.

 

An example of this is when you see a RV towing a car:

 

The RV driver will have a license to drive their RV and to tow a trailer.

They fit a braked A Frame system and car that our DVLA law then classes as vehicle and trailer.

As the car weighs over 750kg the trailer must be independently braked.

Here is probably a better explanation taken from the AA

 

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/general-advice/towing-advice-what-you-need-to-know.html

 

 

Towing on an A-frame

An A-frame or recovery dolly can only be used legally to recover a vehicle which has broken down.

 

If you tow a car that hasn't broken down using an A-frame or dolly then the law treats the combination as a trailer which must meet the appropriate braking and lighting rules.

 

Trailers below 750kg don't have to be fitted with braking systems, but if a braking system is fitted to a trailer of any weight – as is clearly the case for a car – then the braking system must operate correctly. This is not possible for normal systems fitted to cars, particularly the brake servo, which would not be working unless the engine was running.

 

Trailer regulations also require the fitting and use of a secondary coupling system to ensure that the trailer is stopped automatically if the main coupling separates while the trailer is in motion or, in the case of trailers, up to a maximum mass of 1,500kg that the drawbar is prevented from touching the ground and the trailer has some residual steering.

 

To comply with lighting regulations while being towed, the car (in its capacity as a trailer) would need triangular red reflectors and the number plate of the towing vehicle.

 

The simplest and safest way to tow a car behind a motorhome is to use a car transporter trailer. This can be done completely legally as long as you make sure you don't exceed the towing car's Maximum Permissible Towing Mass and the Gross Train Weight (maximum permitted weight of car and trailer combined) specified by the car manufacturer.

in in the real world then I cant tow to the car any were then can I fk sake total pain in the arse

in in the real world then I cant tow to the car any were then can I fk sake total pain in the arse

 

Yeah I know, it's a right pain in the ass if you want to move your motor over a short distance!!

 

I think the law changed to stop every Tom Dick and Harry transporting vehicles across the ends of the world on a tow rope. I know what I would do!! Does the place that is doing you're wheel alignment carry out MOTs?

evey one trying to fight you with evey move you make

 

No it is not that at all. It's in the interests of road safety.

No it is not that at all. It's in the interests of road safety.

 

ok

Yeah I know, it's a right pain in the ass if you want to move your motor over a short distance!!

 

I think the law changed to stop every Tom Dick and Harry transporting vehicles across the ends of the world on a tow rope. I know what I would do!! Does the place that is doing you're wheel alignment carry out MOTs?

 

yes but the cars in bits so I couldn't say it was going for a mot. I have plan now I know to what you would do :lol: