The Government have announced changes to the current rules for towing a trailer. At the moment, if you passed your driving test after the 1st January 1997, then you needed to take a second test in order to realistically tow a horse trailer. These tests were often expensive when you included the training and it could be hard to find the time to do them.
What are the rules changing to?
All licenses after 1st January 1997 will have the B+E rules added to them. This means you can tow a trailer up to 3,500kg MAM (Max Authorised Mass.) The total MAM of your car and trailer needs to be less than 7,500kg.
When does this come into place?
There will be no more B+E tests after the 20th September 2021. There is no set date yet for when these changes will come into place but it is said to be later this year.
What do I need to do?
Nothing. The changes will be made to your license by the DVLA automatically.
What could this mean for trailer & lorry prices?
I am interested to see what this might do to lorry and trailer prices. Typically trailers & 3.5+tonne lorries are less desirable due to less people being able to drive them and are therefore cheaper. 3.5tonne lorries what you can drive on a standard car license can cost a fortune as anyone can drive them. We might see that trailer prices go up or 3.5tonne lorry prices go down as people start to have more options.
In the meantime, I am going to have to put a tow bar on my car! I bought it as it is capable of towing 2,100kg, with most trailers having an unlaiden weight of 1000kg, I have plenty of weight left for Scottie and all our stuff. Although I don’t think I would risk taking two horses.
Last Updated on 22/12/2021
I would like to tell you that in Spain it is not exactly the same, we follow the same rules and regulations.
Greetings from Spain!