DSA to revise drawbar tests
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• The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is closing a loophole which would have allowed learner artic and drawbar drivers to take their tests with a car-type trailer.
The DSA is set to implement new test requirements next July, combining the tests for drawbar and articulated combinations (Category C+E). The agency issued a consultation paper to training bodies in August, which is when Essex-based driver training firm Roadtrain spotted the flaw. Drivers could use a 15.5-tonne rigid truck to tow a 4m, four-wheel lightweight trailer. The DSA is drafting revised requirements. fl The DSA Consultation document defines a category C+E test vehicle as: "Any articulated vehicle of at least 18 tonnes and 12m in length, capable of 80km/h, or a combination of a category C test vehicle (at least 10 tonnes and 7m in length) with a trailer of at least 4m, with a combined weight of at least 18 tonnes and a combined length of at least 12m."