DVSA consultation on scrapping the B+E test

borrowdale

The government has published a consultation on the proposal to (amongst other things) scrap the requirement to pass a B+E test to tow a car/trailer combination over 3500KG MAM.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-hgv-and-bus-driving-tests-and-allowing-car-drivers-to-tow-a-trailer-without-an-extra-test/changes-to-hgv-and-bus-driving-tests-and-allowing-car-drivers-to-tow-a-trailer-without-an-extra-test

 

I filled it out, highlighting that the current rules actually incentivise drivers without B+E to choose the lightest possible car with the heaviest possible trailer, making the combination less safe than if the driver was allowed to use a heavier car.

The proposal seems to be that the test will be replaced with optional training. That's probably better as you'd be able to use your own combination rather than the (tiny) trailers used by instructors.