a ll' I use one of my rigid vehicles to recover
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a broken-down attic, the two vehicles, in effect, become a drawbar-trailer outfit. The maximum length allowed for this kind of outfit is 18 metres and my two vehicles when one is towing the other should presumably conform to this restriction. But the artic alone is 15 metres long. How then can I legally rceover broken-down antic vehicles?
AThe answer lies in the special provisions made for broken-down vehicles in the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1973, both in regard to length of road train and the number of trailers which may be drawn.
First, as to the number of trailers, presumably your rigid vehicle can be classed as "a heavy motor car" and if so it is able to draw only one trailer. The law says that an artic comprises a motor vehicle and trailer and when it is being drawn by another vehicle it constitutes two trailers.
However, Regulation, 136 of the C and U Regs provides for a broken-down artic to be regarded as one trailer provided it is unladen.
Regulation 68 of the C and U Regs deals with the length of trailers. Here, it is stated that, in general, the overall length of a trailer (excluding trailers which form part of an artic vehicle) shall not exceed seven metres (22ft 11 'in) but subsection (2) (d) exempts a broken-down vehicle which is being drawn by a motor vehicle in consequence of the breakdown.