Caravan MOTs......... maybe?
Beginning to wonder if we are heading for caravan MOTs after reading the page 18 of the club mag and the links below.
Maybe it is time, what do you think?
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It was looked at by the EC and nothing came of it then. As someone who has spent some 30 plus years dealing with accidents I have yet to see a caravan accident that an MOT would have prevented so the idea is probably a sledgehammer to crack a nut. There must have been some I have not seen that would have been prevented, but to my mind there are far more serious issues which need to be tackled first.
The main causes of caravan accidents has to be excessive speed for the conditions, overloading, bad loading and other basic driving errors.
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A safety check which is mainly visual and theoretical is a long way from being an MOT.
Someone needs to invent a way of testing the braking system before it can be anything like an MOT.
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As Wildwood eludes to the EU did have a consultation of introducing MOT's for trailers, including caravan. It didn't go ahead for two reasons. Firstly the CMC and the C&CC ,plus the NCC were, surprising in my view, quite hostile to the idea. However the main reason for not introducing a system was because of cost. There are a relatively small number of caravans compared to cars and setting up a registration system and being able to monitor such a system would be costly which clearly the Government did not want to help pay for. That would have meant that more than the actual cost of having the test done would have fallen of the caravan owner.
David
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Firstly the CMC and the C&CC ,plus the NCC were, surprising in my view, quite hostile to the idea.
I can't see why either of the clubs would be for the idea David. I doubt that any problems that such a test would have picked up would be unlikely to make a significant accident reduction with the possible exception of tyres. And there members would have been out of pocket and faffed around for little benefit for most.
I am more surprised that the NCC were not in favour. The dealers etc could possibly have ticked the boxes during a service and levied a (no doubt) standard charge.
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For this to happen all 500000+ caravans (and of course all farm trailers…) would have to have their own registration system. Every caravan would have to be accounted for and some way of knowing which caravan on the road had passed its MOT and which hadn’t.
This would cost money and of course the cost would be justified if there was a serous safety issue with caravans. But as Wildwood says there isn’t and there is further evidence of this in the official statistics that state the accident rate for towed caravans is somewhere between 0.007 and 0.008% per year.
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I think there is a point being missed here, Mot's or not, any trailer you tow on public roads, it's your duty to ensure it's road worthy. be it you maintain it yourself or have it serviced / checked professionally or you face prosecution the same as you would for any other vehicle.
If your stupid enough to flaunt the law then you deserve the punishment that comes with it.
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"Surely if the introduction of MOT's saves just one injury or life it must be worth it?"
Not in this day and age. even in H&S law there is a get out clause based on Risk V's Cost.
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why is there such strong support for draconian measures to curb speeding on CC Ltd sites where the accidents caused due to speeding are even less?
Not sure if there are any Draconian measures DD. For me speeding is simply ill mannered and hence why I avoid it whether on CC site or other sites I go for tickover speed.
If somebody won't stick to club 'laws' why not eject them? Seems fair to me
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I don't think the two (a club site and national roads up to and including motorways) are really comparable like that.
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As someone who has had a collapsed axle which was wearing it's way through the wheel arch and told by the chassis manufacturer that it was safe to use and is now on the 4th set of warranty replacement brakes in a year I would hope an MOT type safety check would firstly help owners identify problems and secondly inform the authorities of manufacturing safety issues. Both of the above issues are not limited to one manufacturer as most UK vans use the same chassis.
Identifying a collapsed axle on my van was visually easy and I spotted this myself, on most other makes of van it is not so easy to spot. This is where a proper examination help.
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Or just a blanket tax on any leisure type vehicle
It could be called the Awning pole tax 
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Over the years I've seen some pretty ropey trailers on the Queen's Highways, I've also witnessed some pretty awful driver behaviour whilst pulling trailers dangerously and/or against the law.
Now rather than a statutory 'MOT' for caravans an industry driven standard which reduced insurance premiums may be the way to go. In addition, any trailer involved in an accident which is sub this 'standard' should invalidate one's insurance policy and result in the heaviest of fines and prosecutions. After all such 'accidents' may incidentally involve you or your loved ones.
Just a thought!
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No need to re-invent anything. Caravans in Germany which are subject to their equivalent of an MOT are tested for braking performance. Only a couple of weeks ago mine failed the test on one side and had to have them reajusted before resubmission.
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I know the handbrake operation and efficiency can be tested quite simply but can you explain, please, how the forces acting to operate the over-run brakes can be calculated? It is governed by many variables.
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Mmm, but how do you apply the force to the coupling head and what force should be applied? The force equivalent to stopping when towing downhill at 60mph or the considerably less force needed to stop when going uphill at 40mph? Should allowance be made for headwind, tailwind and so on? 🤔
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Maybe but let’s wait to hear what Lutz has to say. All may become clear then.
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