Quote: Originally posted by neil and lena on 23/4/2009
Suprising how many car / caravan outfits you see with none fitted
Very True, saw one today Nissan Xtrail on the M42 doing in excess of 70mph when he passed me and changed to lane one no mirrors could be seen. Also saw a couple of towcars over Easter driving around with there Towing Mirrors still fitted whilst no van hitched. I understanding is that it is already already law that if you cannt not see down both sides you require Towing Mirrors. All the Police do when you get pulled is get your outfit in a straight line stand at the rear corner of your van if they cannot see the car mirrors you nicked.
I looked into this several years ago for someone who posed the question and the outcome I came to was that if the caravan is wider than the tow vehicle then you should have additional mirrors fitted.
It is actually very surprising just how enhanced a view you get with the additional mirrors on, and in my case using the car mirrors helps too.
The Police can and will pull you over if they think your rear view is not adequate and then as said above stand behind your van and check to see if they can see the mirrors, no view = fine, comes under careless driving I believe.
With so many newer vans having no see through factor there is more need to use proper extension mirrors in order to get the optical view when pulling in or outof traffic.
Did I not read in the CC mag a couple of months ago that it is now points on the licence for not having towing mirrors if your van is wider than the car?
AFAICT, the most likely offence would be "using a vehicle in an unsafe condition", which attracts 3 points plus a fine of up to £2,500 (£5,000 if you're towing with a goods vehicle, minibus, etc.)
For info, the article originally published in the CC magazine last year seems to be a press release from Milenco and has more holes than a colander. I find it disturbing that the CC seems to have effectively permitted Milenco to claim their product to be the only one to comply with the law. Although that might have been the case for cars first used from next year onward, it certainly isn't the case for current outfits. You can read about the whole sorry story in this thread. FWIW, after that incident I resolved to never knowingly buy another Milenco product.
Anyway, for current outfits the legislation requires that you have an adequate view to the rear. You must have a mirror or other device on the offside of the vehicle and, where there is an inadequate view to the rear through or over the vehicle, a second mirror or other device to the nearside also. At least one mirror or other device must give an adequate view of the covered area, which means you must be able to see down the offside of the 'van and, if you have inadequate "see through", down the nearside also. (see item 8 on page 9 of the legislation). For towcars first used after 26 January 2010 (i.e. next year), two mirrors are required even if you have adequate "see through". Only e-marked mirrors may be fitted to vehicles first used after that date. However, for all current vehicles e-marking is not necessary.
Mirrors must not project more than 20cm beyond the widest point of the combination, which is why most towing mirrors are illegal when the car is driven solo.
yep we have a 4x4 pick up and i still stick em on because my mirrors are just the same width as van but you cant really see behind you and lane changing is a night mare makes your blind spot much smaller as you cab use the extra ones and original ones to your advantage . why do you think trucks have them stuck on arms so they can see down the side not hidden behind the load on the cab
Quote: Originally posted by pajaholic on 25/4/2009
AFAICT, the most likely offence would be "using a vehicle in an unsafe condition", which attracts 3 points plus a fine of up to £2,500 (£5,000 if you're towing with a goods vehicle, minibus, etc.)
For info, the article originally published in the CC magazine last year seems to be a press release from Milenco and has more holes than a colander. I find it disturbing that the CC seems to have effectively permitted Milenco to claim their product to be the only one to comply with the law. Although that might have been the case for cars first used from next year onward, it certainly isn't the case for current outfits. You can read about the whole sorry story in this thread. FWIW, after that incident I resolved to never knowingly buy another Milenco product.
Anyway, for current outfits the legislation requires that you have an adequate view to the rear. You must have a mirror or other device on the offside of the vehicle and, where there is an inadequate view to the rear through or over the vehicle, a second mirror or other device to the nearside also. At least one mirror or other device must give an adequate view of the covered area, which means you must be able to see down the offside of the 'van and, if you have inadequate "see through", down the nearside also. (see item 8 on page 9 of the legislation). For towcars first used after 26 January 2010 (i.e. next year), two mirrors are required even if you have adequate "see through". Only e-marked mirrors may be fitted to vehicles first used after that date. However, for all current vehicles e-marking is not necessary.
Mirrors must not project more than 20cm beyond the widest point of the combination, which is why most towing mirrors are illegal when the car is driven solo.
HTH,
Geoff
Post last edited on 25/04/2009 09:23:11
Thanks for the links and clarification Geoff, this is what I was also led to believe when I researched this issue previously, with exception to the E-mark which I am now aware of.
The mirrors on my picaso will turn out enough for me to be able to see down the side of the van and the road behind.I have towed like this perfectly fine but when I use the extended mirrors I feel much happier driving and have an even better view.
Quote: Originally posted by pecker on 28/4/2009
The mirrors on my picaso will turn out enough for me to be able to see down the side of the van and the road behind.I have towed like this perfectly fine but when I use the extended mirrors I feel much happier driving and have an even better view.
I am the same with our Picasso, Pecker, with the extension mirrors I can see cars right up the back end of the outfit as opposed to not seeing them at all using just the car mirrors, or should I say joan sees as at the moment I have not been fit enough to drive! (again)
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Topic: Towing mirrors The LAW?
(again)
