Is it just me, or has the caravanning world experienced a change in the law regarding towing mirrors?
Over the last few weeks, I've observed (because I'm a bit of a geek and check other folks vans when driving about) that the great majority of towcars I've seen out have absolutely no mirrors fitted whatsoever, or at best just one on the drivers side!
Over the years I've been lucky to have towed with a great many vehicles (for business and pleasure) from Mondeo's to Range Rovers and I can confidently say that pretty much every combination on the road needs towing mirrors to comply with the law as it is in the UK.
What possible excuse is there to not use mirrors, when it's arguably the cheapest accessory to ensure one is towing within the law?
Interesting piece about "caravanning laws" in latest Practical Caravan magazine, which boldly states that if the van is wider than than the car, you need mirrors.
The law on towing mirrors is a little hazy. The law requires the driver to have an “adequate” view to the rear and down the sides of the caravan, but does not define “adequate”. So do you need extension mirrors or not? Not if your towing vehicle’s mirrors are large enough and can be adjusted to see down past the sides of the caravan. But most cars will need extension mirrors to satisfy the law.
If you do fit extension mirrors, remember that it is an offence if they project more than 200mm from the side of the vehicle or trailer, whichever is the wider. This means that when driving solo, they must not project more than 200mm from the edge of the towcar – hence most will need to be removed after pitching if you are going to take the car off the site.
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
You ought to have seen my Dad's face when I told him it was the law to have tow mirrors! After a gap of around 30 years, he didn't realise the law had changed and back in the good old days, you didn't have to have mirrors, check payloads or anything else it seems!
I have one on the drivers side. My micro caravan is no wider than the car, but I have one on the driver's side so that I can see not just down the side of the van (with my ordinary side mirror) but see what's behind me as well.
Two extension mirrors would make my outfit wider than it is and I would be taking a wide berth in case it took the mirrors off and not because of the width on the outfit!
Viggo, I'd seen the bit you'd posted, but I'm puzzled why they claim the law relating to mirrors is a 'little hazy' as I'd have thought it pretty much cut-&-dry.
Law states that you should be able to see clearly down both sides of the caravan, and see 4 meters either side of the caravan at a distance of 20 meters behind the rear of the caravan, plus of course the limit on the 200mm projection of the mirrors.
Not sure where the mag gets their info from, I'll post the official link once I've found it again.
Law states that you should be able to see clearly down both sides of the caravan, and see 4 meters either side of the caravan at a distance of 20 meters behind the rear of the caravan, plus of course the limit on the 200mm projection of the mirrors.
I could do that with our old van just having the standard mirrors on the car, in fact I find that most towing mirrors are so small they are next to useless and I am pretty certain that many of those that buy them use them solely for the requirement of law - and not to see what is behind them
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
Quote: Originally posted by G7ACU on 02/8/2010
Viggo, I'd seen the bit you'd posted, but I'm puzzled why they claim the law relating to mirrors is a 'little hazy' as I'd have thought it pretty much cut-&-dry.
Law states that you should be able to see clearly down both sides of the caravan, and see 4 meters either side of the caravan at a distance of 20 meters behind the rear of the caravan, plus of course the limit on the 200mm projection of the mirrors.
Not sure where the mag gets their info from, I'll post the official link once I've found it again.
You are correct. It's not 'hazy' at all, but obviously the understanding of it is, even by the likes of Practical Caravan (or maybe they just need to update their website). It doesn't help that there's no clear, standard advice on this. Everywhere I look I see slightly different interpretations and wording. For instance, the DirectGov website states:
If your caravan or trailer is wider than the narrowest part of the rear of the towing vehicle, you must by law fit towing mirrors
The narrowest part - what's that all about? Where did that come from? The narrowest part of the rear of a towing vehicle is the tow ball, so clearly that's ridiculous!
What is clear is that the vast majority of tow vehicles towing the vast majority of trailers will need towing mirrors. Plural.
------------- * You never know where you're going 'til you get there...
Just wondering how farmers get on towing huge bails of straw and hay as the mirrors on their tractors would never be legal, but then again, most of the trailers dont have number plates, indicators, lights, brake lights etc!!!!
Quote: Originally posted by bakers-cottage on 03/8/2010
Just wondering how farmers get on towing huge bails of straw and hay as the mirrors on their tractors would never be legal, but then again, most of the trailers dont have number plates, indicators, lights, brake lights etc!!!!
But they may have their own laws!
They do but best not to go there
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
An ordinary motor car used on the road after June 1978 must have at least one mirror fitted externally on the offside of the vehicle, and at least one mirror fitted internally, unless a mirror so fitted would give the driver no view to the rear of the vehicle, in which case at least one mirror must be fitted externally on the nearside. These requirements are the same for a vehicle drawing a trailer.
In addition, each mirror shall be fixed to the vehicle in such a way that it remains steady under normal driving conditions and each external mirror on a vehicle fitted with windows and a windscreen shall be visible to the driver, when in the driving position, through a side window or through a portion of a windscreen which is swept by the windscreen wiper. Where the bottom edge of the mirror is less than 2 metres above the road surface, the mirror must not project more than 200mm (7.9ins) beyond the overall width of the vehicle, or in the case where the vehicle is drawing a trailer which has an overall width greater than that of the drawing vehicle, more than 200mm beyond the overall width of the trailer.
The driver must have an adequate view to the rear of the trailer and extended mirrors may be necessary.
Note the bold sentence in the first paragraph and the last paragraph - in other words it is not necessary to have add-on extended mirrors (very often referred to as towing mirrors) unless an adequate view has been obstructed by the trailer you are towing.
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
I can see down the side of the van well without mirrors, but I got a set anyway just so I was legal, and tbh they really have made a difference, glad I bought them now.
Quote: Originally posted by Greendemon315 on 03/8/2010
I can't understand why anyone would not want them. Regardless of the law, I would just have gone out and bought a pair.
You can never see too much.
Jim
Tell me Jim, do you wear a crash helmet when you are driving your car?
Ofcourse not. Why not? Because the law does not require you to wear one, despite the fact that you may step out of your car, trip and fall and smash your head against the kerb.
I do not use Towing Mirrors when I am towing my caravan because, regardless of other people's opinions, I do not need them.
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Topic: Towing mirrors - an observation
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