Road safety advice and driver licensing rules for drawing light trailers

Section 2
Roadworthiness
If you’re towing a trailer, it is your responsibility as the driver to ensure that both the
towing vehicle and trailer are:
• safe and mechanically sound,
• fit for purpose, and
• legally compliant with all relevant Road Traffic legislation.
Remember, to be fully compliant, your towing vehicle must be taxed, insured
and have passed its roadworthiness test – that is, the NCT or Commercial Vehicle
Roadworthiness Test (CVRT) as appropriate.
Before attaching a trailer, bear in mind that the trailer you are about to tow may or
may not be your own, and it may have been parked or stored by someone else. In any
case, there are a number of things that you should do before towing the trailer away.
Firstly, you must ensure your vehicle is safe to drive before setting off on any journey.
After you’ve checked the drawing vehicle, carry out a walk-around check of the trailer.
Make sure you do the following checks:
• Check that all windows and mirrors are clean, properly adjusted and in
good condition so that you have a good view to the rear. If the mirrors are not
adequate, you should fit ‘extension’ mirrors – these are towing mirrors to be
used when the trailer is wider than the towing vehicle.
Figure 13. Extension Mirrors also
known as Towing Mirrors
18 Road safety advice and driver licensing rules for drawing light trailers