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Checkmate
Page 90
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by Les Oldridge, TEng (CEI), MIMI, AM1RTE
Wreckers 4
A GOODS VEHICLE drawing a rigid drawbar trailer is exempt from the need for a driver's " mate " if certain conditions are complied with.
A broken down vehicle being towed is a trailer in the eyes of the law but it does not come within this exemption, however, as the driver of the recovery vehicle cannot apply the brakes on the vehicle being towed.
Fortunately, C and U Regulations 135 make a special exception to the requirement for an attendant where a broken down vehicle is being towed provided it "cannot be steered by its own steering gear "—ie, it is being towed on an ambulance or by means of a suspended tow.
C and U Reg 125 decrees that no trailer may be used to carry passengers for hire or reward, but it exempts broken down vehicles being towed in consequence of the breakdown provided 48km/h (30mph) is not exceeded. If more than eight passengers are actually carried or if the broken down vehicle is constructed to carry more than seven passengers and passengers are carried for hire or reward then a rigid drawbar must be used.
Regulation 127 prohibits, with certain exceptions, the towing of a trailer by a public service vehicle. One exception is the drawing of one empty psv by another empty psv in an emergency.
It seems, therefore, that if a bus breaks down in service, it can be legally towed with the passengers Still on board provided it is not towed by another psv, 30mph is not exceeded and a rigid drawbar is used.
There is a serious risk of fast moving traffic colliding with the emergency services at the scenes of accidents and breakdowns. It is necessary for vehicles attend
ing incidents to be as conspicuous as possible. The 1974 Road Traffic Act permits the police to use "pyrotechnic flares " for regulating traffic. The drivers of breakdown vehicles are not given this power but their vehicles can be painted with fluorescent and reflective paint of particularly bright colours to make them easily seen by approaching traffic.
Amber flashes
Breakdown vehicles are permitted by Regulation 64 (1)(b) (ii) of the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1971 to be fitted with amber flashing lights. The lamp must be 1.524 metres (5ft) from the ground and as near as possible on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The flash must be visible between 60 and 150 equal times per minute and the interval between each display of light must be constant. The light shown must be in the form of a concentrated beam rotating in a substantially horizontal plane.
The rated wattage of the bulb used in the lamp must not exceed 36. The lamp must be used only in connection with, and in the vicinity of, an accident or breakdown or when the vehicle is being used to tow a broken down vehicle. It must not be used when travelling to the scene of a breakdown.
Special lamps for illuminating the scene of an accident or breakdown may be fitted to recovery vehicles. Normally, no lamp which swivels or which shows a white light to the rear is permitted, but Regulation 65 of the Lighting Regulations permits the use of such a lamp in the immediate vicinity of a breakdown providing the amber flashing lamp described is in use at the same time, This lamp must be fitted at least 5ft from the ground and the person using it must ensure that no person driving a vehicle is dazzled by it. It may be used while the vehicle is in motion in the immediate vicinity of the accident or breakdown.