hi we have just come back from 10 days at northam farm in brean back to north lincolnshire. we did about 60 mph most of the way home on the motorway and thought that was as fast as you should go when towing a caravan but we were past by what seamed to be every other caravan being towed on the motorway.how fast do most people tow when on the motorway
60 is the limit & I try to stick to that but it requires disipline because I tow a 750kg caravan behind a 110bhp car & this is why you see so many caravans being towed over the limit nowadays I think.
Turbodiesels particularly have so much pulling power these days that people tend to drive as if they aint towing, when they are. Its very easy to let your speed creep up to 75 without really noticing.
I was on the M5 Northbound last night and saw 3 caravans in the queue southbound in the outside lane, heading right for the police who were 1/2 a mile further on in the queue sorting out a couple of accidents. Amazes me that people either aren't aware of the law or that they feel it doesn't apply to them.
I tend to tow on week days so tend to tow at the same speed as the trucks unless there is a particularly slow one. Even in France where, depending on weight, you can tow at 80mph I still tend to keep around the 60mph, although it is easy to creep above. My previous car was an X-Trail which tended to over read its speed so an indicated 60mph was often only 55/56 so you do have to factor that into your observation of others. You might not be going as fast as you think and they might not be breaking the law by as much as you think!
just a thought - if your speedo is showing 60 then you're prob only doing 57 as most speedos err below the actual reading - if somebody is using a satnav which indicates a truer speed they could be going that 3 mph faster and so overtake you then factor in that most rozzers would ignore the fact you are say 2-3mph over the limit you may then have a van overtake you going 5-6mph faster - they would still be breaking the limit but maybe not by as much as you think?
20 years ago I never got overtaken by another caravan when cruising at 60mph despite most people on motorways doing 80-90 solo. I used to be amazed that caravanners were such a law-abiding lot.
Nowadays about the same proportion of caravanners exceed the speed limit as solo drivers.
It'll change though, more and more "safety" cameras are being equipped to use a lower trigger speed when something heavier than an ordinary car goes past - these pictures need to be assessed before sending a NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution) requiring the registered owner to name the driver and subsequent COFP (Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty £60 + 3 points) but if it's a trailer or goods vehicle the appropriate action will be taken.
Speedometers can vary in practice from 10% fast down to 0.1% fast so don't assume yours is 10% out - driving at 65 on the speedo might still be above the 60 limit and any "allowances" are discretionary, not a legal right. Sat navs are accurate but only at cruising speed as the reading is slightly delayed.
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Topic: towing speed (
Topic Closed)
