Illegal towing mirrors

[alaintaylor]

Hi all

At he end of the day we'd seem to be the only people that take any notice of EC directives. They bring out directives like confetti and like good little soldiers here in UK, they say jump we are forced to say how high. The rest of the EU just does its own thing.

On Milenco's web site (after, no doubt a brisk trading period):

Caravan Club Article - Towing Mirrors - Update

The Caravan Club article about towing mirrors has caused countless telephone calls and some confusion.

We deeply regret any concern this may have caused caravanners.

The article was designed to be a comprehensive guide about the legal requirements for towing mirrors. It was carefully prepared and based upon information that we have on file provided by the Department of Transport, Vehicle Certification Agency, British Standards Institute and from meetings with Trading Standards officers.

May we clarify some of the points in the article, which may have been misunderstood?

Milenco is not the only manufacturer of e - marked Mirrors.

At the time of writing, we believe Milenco were the only manufacture to have Towing Mirrors approved to the latest standards (ec2003/97 ec2005/27 un46.02) with products in caravan accessory shops.

Since the article was published, it is evident other manufacturers of towing mirrors also do have products approved to these newer standards, although we have not seen these products in shops.

The article as published was shortened to fit onto a single page. In the original text we did explain that the e - mark may contain other numbers than E11. E1, E2 etc up to E51. This number denotes the country of testing. Any of these numbers are acceptable on an e- mark.

We have also learnt that since the publication of this article, the Department of Transport may have provided information to an importer of towing mirrors that contradicts the article and that the requirement for the e - mark on a towing mirror may not be until the 26th of January 2010.

We are awaiting a definitive response from the Department of Transport in respect of what date e marking became or will become a legal requirement. In either case Milenco mirrors do comply with the latest requirements.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

From DOT (as per catherine post)

Hi ***

I understand you wanted clarification on the caravan towing mirrors.

The requirements for caravan towing mirrors follow the vehicle mirror requirements as defined in Regulation 33 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. Regulation 33 requires that the mirrors comply with either the EC Directives (71/127/EEC or 2003/97/EC) or UNECE Regulation 46.

The current confusion is based on the fact that that Regulation 33 allows compliance with EC Directive 2003/97/EC. However, the requirements of this Directive do not become compulsory for new cars until 26th January 2010. Therefore, if the towing-mirror is already in use, or newly purchased now - E marking is preferred (but not strictly required).

If a NEW car is purchased after 26th January 2010, then 2003/97/EC or UNECE Regulation 46 compliant caravan towing mirrors will be required for that vehicle. We assume that all caravan towing mirrors would comply with the new requirements by that time.

For those who want to be pedantic about the markings on the mirrors:

'e' in a rectangle signifies approval to the EC Directives; and

'E' in a circle signifies approval to the UNECE Regulation.

Either of these markings is acceptable.

I trust this helps.

Kind Regards

*****

***** *******

Department for Transport

Transport Technology and Standards 8

Zone 2/05

Great Minster House

76 Marsham Street

London SW1P 4DR

 

[phillip1]

hi guys i work in a camping and caravanning accessories shop, and we have been informed by email that the milenco mirrors are indeed ok but the current legislation states that if your car and mirrors were being used before 2007 you are still ok to use them you only have to replace them if your car is new or you don`t already have mirrors and yes indeed the responsibility does lie with us the retailer not you the consumer hope this helps thanks from phill

 

[Lutz]

Refer to my reply in this thread:

http://www.practicalcaravan.co.uk/newforums/fm_messages.asp?FO=13&FM=392818

 

[Barney2]

Hi all

At he end of the day we'd seem to be the only people that take any notice of EC directives. They bring out directives like confetti and like good little soldiers here in UK, they say jump we are forced to say how high. The rest of the EU just does its own thing.

Or, as one of my old Sergeant Majors used to say..........

"When I shout S**t, you jump on a shovel".....

Barney.