Caravan MOT
Comments
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whats a car MOT got to do with the caravan its towing?
your post contains some lovely unsupportable, sweeping statements...
'unenforceable and of no value'......hmmmmm, they seem to manage with cars, with recorded MOTs linked to insurance databases and licensing, the owner needs all these in place to legally take their vehicle on the road....could be the same for a caravan...
'engineers have said for many years....'......etc.....so, on the strength of this, do you never have anything of yours serviced......?
yes, i can understand it would be more hassle and expense for a caravan owner to get their van tested on a regular basis, but other than that (which doent seem like much of a reason) i cant see why you are so anti and extra safety and ownership/registration processes....
however, lets just agree to disagree, i think its a good idea, you dont...happens all the time on CT.....
that's fine.....its just a discussion
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Why MOT, surely if you have your van serviced yearly things should be fine, you could I suppose bring in a sticker like those service engineers stick to the "A" frame now proving its been serviced to a safe standard and that would be your proof if the police are spot checking..
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How many accidents are caused annually on UK roads by badly serviced and faulty caravans? Answer that then we can have a worthwhile debate on the potential value of periodic testing.
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Nowhere have I said I'm against MOTs for trailers - all trailers.
I am trying to deliver a dose of realism to demonstrate such a scheme is currently unworkable, impractical and unenforceable. You, yourself, have already stated some of the reasons for that but perhaps a more engineering oriented background is needed to see the full range of problems.
When someone delivers a workable plan, along with a technical solution to brake testing, I'll applaud their ingenuity. Meanwhile, statements trying to compare different entities, such as MHs with cvans, and calls to make servicing compulsory are not going to help the cause one bit.
Yes, we'll agree to disagree, although it's only on practicalities and not on the theory of the issue.
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Rather than base a decision on pre conceptions and, it has to be said, prejudice by some posters against caravans, as anyone actually looked at the statistics to see how really safe caravans are? According to:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2015
Of the 257,845 recorded accidents, 188,872 involved cars, and guess how many of these involved towing a caravan, 107. Yes one hundred and seven.
Actually mobility scooters has a far greater rate with 222 - are they MOT?
A few years ago the EU tried to introduce MOT for caravans against the wishes of all the political parties here and of course the club and it was stopped. Of interest farm tractors would have been exempt, but if you look at the data these are more likely to be involved in an accident.
If you are a van or light goods vehicle towing a caravan it goes down to 7 (yes seven). Other ‘tows’ which might mean farm vehicles and/or trailers of some kind the number is 376 for cars, and 167 for van or light goods.
Towing a caravan appears to be the safest of all
Towing a caravan is very safe, are you legally required to insure a caravan (unlike MH)? No. Do you pay extra on your car insurance to tow? Again no. Why? Because the data shows them not to be a danger and hence MOT are not needed.
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It would be interesting to know why a fifth wheeler seems to require an MOT. As the legislation states that :-
The following require an annual MOT
vehicles that are built or have been adapted to form part of an articulated vehicle
That statement certainly seems to describe a fifth wheeler. Perhaps someone with one could confirm or not if an MOT is required.
If the case, I can only assume they have more accidents than caravans, otherwise why bother.
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Personally I think the reasons there are no MOT's on caravans, is purely historic and the law just has not caught up. When I was younger the average caravan wasn't much heavier than our baggage trailer, which we used for all our camping gear. Over the years they have evolved into huge monsters, some approaching 2 tonnes in weight, with an average one well over 1 tonne. They also contain a bit more tech in the form of friction stabilisers and ATC. Just my opinion but I believe it is time to bring them into line with other road vehicles of a similar size.
Just a thought
Doesn't the tow bar on the car now form part of the cars MOT test. It just seems a little strange that there is no requirement to check the bit on the caravan that attaches to it.
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Thanks!
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Perhaps this will help, Steve.
Unless the regulations have changed in recent years, fifth wheelers are tested as articulated vehicles and as such have a brake and control system integrated and matched to the towing vehicle's control systems. Hence, a fault on the trailer could affect the towing vehicle's braking system. Also, the fifth wheel coupling is an integral part of the vehicle which can wear badly in some situations. A normal artic trailer is tested as a separate item in its own right and can be used with any compatible legal tractor unit. This is not the case with a trailer caravan whose brakes are completely independent of the towing vehicle.
Without a good understanding of how the various systems work it can sometimes be difficult for a lay person to understand the reason for some decisions regarding testing.
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A better solution would be to make it a legal requirement,for all motor vehicles to have to have an annual mot from new not wait until they have done probably 30.000 + miles (av 10.000 a year) where as most clvans would not do that in their lives,
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Its a no from me on this one for several reasons.Caravans roadwise are no different than a basic trailer.They have a very basic brakeing system and a chassis that wont rot so require minimal attention.They cover only a fraction of the mileage that cars do so spend the majority of their time doing nothing.From safety point of view our roads are not littered with broken caravans and never have been and besides haveing a certificate to say its safe means nothing.An MOT on a car makes it legal but it is no gaurantee of safety its like a lot of service history these days not its worth the paper its written on from a safety point of view.There is more than enought expense and regulation on the motorist today and no need for anymore so for me this would be a step too far and serve no real purpose other than be a money makeing scheme for the government and garages.
v9
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There are lots of vehicles on our roads that are exempt from statutory MOT tests. Some of these are very large and very heavy.Think agricultural and plant, recovery vehicles and fire engines, armed forces and showman, and probably some more that I can't recall. Operators of these vehicles should have planned maintenance schedules in force to ensure compliance with regulations and some will voluntarily submit them to the authorities for road worthiness inspections.
I can't see a caravan MOT having any impact on road safety statistics, especially as a meaningful brake test may not be achievable.
I can't see any advantage in the registration of caravans either.1 -
I agree. Why do so many people, not necessarily people who post on CT, believe that anyone who disagrees with them is insane?
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Come on, Steve, you might have been well outvoted on caravan MOTs for very valid reasons but where's your sense of humour?
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I thought it funny, read it as that, my opinion and I'm entitled to it.