Q I am considering pulling a trailer
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behind my 30cwt model Ford Transit truck and have tried to find out the requirements to comply with the law, but cannot get the picture straight because of so many conflicting reports. Can you help?
1. If the trailer and vehicle exceeds 3 tons, does the driver of the vehicle, which weighs less than 30cwt unladen, need an hgv licence and, if so, what group?
2. Would the driver be required to carry log sheets when the trailer was attached?
3. With regard to section 76 (3) Construction and Use Regulations, 1969, what would be the maximum permissible weight for the trailer unladen and loaded for this vehicle?
4. Would the trailer require plating? 5, At what weight would over-run brakes be inadequate?
6. I understand new legislation is on the way, to the effect that the weight of the trailer must not exceed two-thirds of the weight of the towing vehicle; if so, in the case of a goods vehicle would this apply correspondingly to loaded vehicles or solely to unladen vehicles? When is this likely to come about?
AAnswering your questions in the same order:
1. Provided the towing vehicle weighs less than 3 tons unladen {which you say it does}, no hgv driving licence is required whether a trailer is drawn or not. A different ruling applies in the case of a tractive unit and semi-trailer forming an articulated outfit but this does not apply in your case.
2. You do not provide all the information necessary to enable us to give a conclusive answer on the question of log sheets but you should consider the following points. If neither the vehicle nor the trailer is plated and they weigh together more than 30cwt unladen or. if they are both plated and the total of the plated gross weights is more than 3.5 tons (as seems likely from your description) then an operator's licence is needed and therefore records must be kept when the vehicle draws the trailer. However, as the vehicle alone weighs less than 30cwt unladen and we presume therefore that, if it is plated, the plated gross weight is less than 3.5 tons, then records are not required to be kept, and no operator's licence is required if no trailer is drawn.
3. As you have not given a detailed specification of your vehicle it is difficult to give categorical figures for the maximum towing weights for it but we are advised by Ford Motor Co Ltd that if it is a normal specification 30cvvt model with the two-litre petrol engine and manual gearbox the maximum recommended gross trailer weight is 1.18 tons. If, however, it is fitted with the two-litre diesel engine, the gross trailer weight reduces considerably to 0.27 tons, or about 6cwt. The original handbook supplied with the vehicle gives details of the permissible towing weights 4. If the trailer weighs more than one ton unladen it must be plated and tested annually.
5. Overrun brakes are permissible on trailers weighing not more than 3.5 tons laden.
6. The legislation you refer to is. sofarasweare aware, still under consideration and not likely to be implemented for some time. It first arose in the 1968 Government green paper -How Fast?" relating to the proposed changes in vehicle speed limits, most of which are now in operation.
The particular proposal, which was further outlined in draft regulations circulated in April 1970, concerned the problems of safely matched light vehicle and trailer combinations and the advisability of allowing certain suitably matched outfits to travel at up to 50 mph on de-restricted roads instead of the present limit of 40 mph.
The terms of the proposal were that an increase to 50 mph would be allowed in a case where the maximum weight of a braked trailer was not more than the kerbside weight of the drawing vehicle, or in the case of an unbraked trailer if the laden weight was not more than 60 per cent of the kerbside weight of the drawing vehicle.