Trailer breakaway cable laws registration#

When driving with a trailer connected, you must not drive faster than 80 km/h. The breakaway cable is properly connected and sitting correctly.The support wheel is raised and locked in place.Indicators and lights work as they should.The towbar noseweight is not too high or too low.The load is properly strapped down and will not come loose when driving.The service brake and parking brake both work as they should.This situation can be very difficult to control. This is when the trailer pushes the car to the side and both vehicles fold in the same way as a jackknife. If the car brakes better than the trailer, then the jackknife effect may occur. You must always brake carefully when driving on slippery road conditions with a trailer attached. Rear-wheel drive cars having impaired tractive force.If there is too much weight at the back of the trailer, then the towbar noseweight will be too low. Front-wheel drive cars will have impaired tractive force.Too high a towbar noseweight can lead to: High towbar noseweight is caused by placing too much weight towards the nose of the trailer. In order to measure your towbar noseweight, you can either buy a noseweight gauge or place a set of bathroom scales under the trailer’s support wheel when it is disconnected from the car. You can find your optimal towbar noseweight in the instruction manual. Having too high or too low a towbar noseweight can impair driving performance. However, the trailer can have studded tyres even if the car has non-studded tyres.If the car has studded tyres, then the trailer must also have studded tyres when driving in slippery road conditions.If you connect a trailer which is wider than your car (such as a caravan, for example), then you must fit additional wing mirrors to the car. To check the parking brake, apply the brake and drive forward slowly, making sure the wheels are braked. In order to check the service brake, drive at a low speed and then brake. You should check that the brakes work properly at regular intervals. If the trailer’s kerb weight is more than 400 kg, then it must also have a parking brake. When the car brakes, the trailer’s drawbar is pressed against the tow hitch and the trailer is braked automatically. A common type of such a brake is the so-called over-run brake. If the total weight of the trailer is more than 750 kg, then it must be fitted with a service brake. If the trailer comes loose, the cable will become stretched and the trailer will brake automatically. The brake is connected to the car by a so-called breakaway cable. On the sides, it should have orange marker lights and reflectors.Īll braked trailers must be equipped with an emergency brake.

Trailer breakaway cable laws registration#

At the rear, it must have triangle-shaped reflectors, in addition to brake lights, tail lights, indicators and a registration plate lamp.It must also have a white position lamp if it is wider than 160 cm. The trailer must have two white reflectors at the front.To tow even heavier trailers, you need a BE driving licence or higher. If the total weight of the trailer is greater than 750 kg, then the combined total weight of the car and the trailer must not exceed 4,250 kg. If the trailer is heavier than 750 kg, then the combined total weight of the car and the trailer must not exceed 3,500 kg.Trailers with a total weight of no greater than 750 kg.If you have a category B driving licence, you can tow light trailers. In addition to the limitations of both the car and the trailer, the weight you can tow will also depend on what type of driving licence you have. You can find information about this on your registration certificate. This depends on various factors, such as the car’s traction and braking. Different vehicles can manage different weights. To know how heavy a trailer you are able to tow, you will need to know the limitations of both the car and the trailer.