towing on motorway?
Turbo Mini Forums

is it legal to tow a car with tax and MOT on the motorway using a bar?

Can the bar operate the brakes of the vehicle being towed?

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

no....

Are you talking about "recovering" a vehicle?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

a car I may be buying. Big ends have gone on it so could be "recovering"

No unless A framed

13.95 1/4 mile on a 2.95 fd. Carnt be that hard to beat!

Recovery services (such as AA) sometimes use a rigid bar to take you off the motorway. However I'm not saying they would take you far, just far enough to get somewhere a bit safer to fit a frame for instance eg next junction or services.

having said all that, this would still require a driver to apply the correct input to the towed vehicle

Edited by Rob Gavin on 30th Apr, 2012.

Does it run at all?

I've heard of people buying a car driving down the road and calling the AA saying its broken and having it recovered to home.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Ive done that ^ just make sure engine is warm lol

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

Recovery sevices are "trained" and all that heath and saftey bollocks.

Id do wat john said

13.95 1/4 mile on a 2.95 fd. Carnt be that hard to beat!

I looked into this a few years ago. You can recover only. This is a little lose on the law but the motor will need to be taxed, MOT, and insured unless all 4 wheels are of the ground. Taking the rotor arm out does not constitute a breakdown.

As said above, if no tax then it has to be trailered.

You can't even push a car on the road if it is not taxed (unless going to an MOT).

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

You can only tow a car on the motorway to a place of safety ie to the next juction, you will need an A frame spec or trailer

Training and health and safety has bugger all to do with it, the law says you cannot tow on the motorway.

Thanks for the info everyone. Did not buy the car in the end was not as advertised

i know its a bit late now as you have not bought the car, but I was under the impression to tow a car it has to be taxed insured and MOT's if all 4 wheels are on the ground, then if using a dolly (ie front wheels off the ground) it is then classed as a trailer, so will need trailer license and relative rear board etc.

not sure about motorways though

This is always a topic that gathers a lot of discussion.

Personally I use a trailer, I then know I'm legit.

However a good rule of thumb is, if the combination "looks" right, is under control, all lights working etc, then really you are unlikely to get a tug.
If you do and you are using an a-frame or dolly, it is basically down to the interpretation of the copper who pulls you, so you have to accept any consequence.

I follow tom's rule of thumb above.

Personally I have towed minis and metros thousands of miles on my a frame and have never once had a problem or a police officer wanting to speak to me about it. That's not to say I wouldn't get a tug if I where to do it today...

I would chance it with the A frame only if, 1) the car under tow is taxed, insured and MOT'd. 2) the car under tow weighs less than 750kg, 3) the towing vehicle un braked trailer capacity is at least 750kg.

number 1 ensures the towed car is entitled to be on the road, number 2 ensures it can be towed legally without brakes if it were a trailer and 3 ensures the towing vehicle can safely tow the 'trailer'.

I see everything else as a 'technicality', rightly or wrongly. The regulation are open to interpretation like most British legislation.

http://www.caratow.com/legal.php