In the past year or so, the global pandemic has forced people to cancel or think twice about holidays abroad and instead turn to staycations and the life of caravanning. And with the sudden influx of caravan holidays, more and more having been having to take a car and trailer (category BE) test. Until now.
This week, the government have announced that from later this autumn, the law will change to allow all drivers to tow heavier trailers and caravans, without additional tests. The change has been made in hopes to free spaces for HGV tests to help solve the shortage of lorry drivers across the UK.
However, with there yet to be a date released for when the changes will come into effect, the current rules still apply. and if you don’t follow them, you could be fined up to £1,000, be banned from driving and get up to 6 points on your license. But what are the current rules?
Currently, if you passed your category B (car and small vehicle) test before 1st January 1997, you can legally tow anything up to 3,500kg MAM (Maximum Authorised Mass). If you passed after that date, you can legally tow up to 750kg or more, as long as the combine weight of the load and car is under 3,500kg.
You can also tow up to 3,500kg MAM (Maximum Authorised Mass) without a category BE license if you display learner plates on the front of your car and back of the trailer and you are accompanied by a person with a category BE license.
Once the new laws come into effect, you can legally tow anything up to 3,500kg MAM and the DVLA will automatically update your driving license record to include the category BE car and trailer license.
If you have a car and trailer test before 20th September 2021, they will be going ahead. Any tests after that date will be cancelled.
For more information, click here.
