First I would totally agree with getting both the car and van weighed as neither the MIRO or stated kerbweight is likely to be accurate. This inaccuracy if your stopped by plod and weighed is not the best time to find out!
Problem I have with splitting the outfit on a weighbridge though, that's not how it was being towed on the road?
Below is a copied email reply from I believe a magazines 'legal Guru' posted elsewhere,(could be this mag although theres no way of knowing), It does however I think cover this overall problem very well;
This is my "get out of jail" card. With anything to do with the law we have to say that whilst we believe this to be the case, only the courts can decide.
Although the police do tend to use figures like MTPLM from the chassis plate, they shouldn't and I've had to point this out to them on a number of occasions.
In the "Everyman's guide to the Construction and Use Regulations" book the traffic cars are supposed to carry (loose leaf and usually with grey covers) it says that caravans (or more accurately trailers) are un-plated vehicles. That means caravans don't have to be fitted with a so-called chassis plate, and any information on that plate carries no legal status.
Interestingly MTPLM means nothing. There is one manufacturer who will, at the time of manufacture, fit a chassis plate with a higher MTPLM figure.
If the police want to issue even a verbal warning as to towing an excessive weight they must put the caravan on a weighbridge. Unfortunately they often don't know this.
All the advice I've had is that towing a weight in excess of the vehicle manufacturer's maximum is an offence.
However I would strongly advise you to check how much actual weight you intend to tow. The Caravan Industry's advice (as contained in the Towing Code which is Government recognised) is that for safe towing you shouldn't exceed 85% of the towing vehicle's kerbweight. The more you exceed that 85% guideline the greater the possibility of having an instability induced accident. Many traffic officers do know this and will issue a verbal warning if you do exceed 85%. Two years ago we even had a police force which was intending to prosecute a couple of caravanners for exceeding 85% and their solicitor advised them to plead guilty.
At the very least a traffic officer who believes you are towing an excessive weight, but may be legal, will take a close look at your caravan and towing vehicle to make sure they are absolutely legal.
What follows is a stock reply I send to readers who query the validity of the Towing Code and its advice about sticking to 85%. You may find it interesting.
The Towing Code
Over the last few years we, and I'm sure other magazines and the two clubs for caravanners, have been criticised for sticking to The Towing Code when advising people what weight of caravan they can safely tow. That criticism has even included letters and phone calls from caravan salesmen who have complained that we are loosing them sales.
I actually have some sympathy for the caravan trade. Imagine this scenario. A prospective customer goes to a caravan dealer hoping to buy a new four berth caravan. His car is the Ford Focus, Britain's best selling car and therefore the best selling family car.
If the salesman sticks to the Towing Code he finds, to his horror, that he hasn't got a new UK built family berth caravan light enough to be towed by Britain's best selling family car. To add to his frustration he sees Ford Focus cars towing caravans, but knows if he sticks to the Towing Code he won't be able to make a sale. Understandably he complains to those promoting the Towing Code for denying him a sale.
Because this is a fairly complex issue we've decided to produce this note which explains the situation.
History
Back in the late 1970's early 1980's the caravan industry was lobbying the Government to raise caravan speed limits. Nobody could disagree that a 50mph speed limit for caravans on motorways and 40mph on rural single carriageways was realistic when solo cars were being driven at 80mph on the 70mph restricted motorways.
The Civil Servants at the Home Office agreed to recommend a raise in speed limits, but only as part of a package deal. The caravan industry had to produce a code of good advice for their consumers. The resultant document was called The Towing Code. If caravanners followed it they could almost guarantee safe towing.
The Towing Code was signed by the National Caravan Council (NCC) on behalf of caravan manufacturers, importers and dealers, The Camping and Caravanning Club and The Caravan Club, the Caravan Writers' Guild and the Home Office on behalf of the police. There is some doubt as to whether the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) actually signed the document, but people who have been in the car trade for some time believe that in some way the SMMT did register their approval of the Towing Code as being best practice.
What the Code means
The Code is what, today, we would call Best Practice. The bit which really concerns us is the advice that the actual laden weight of the caravan shouldn't exceed 85% of the towing vehicle's kerbweight.
I've talked to two people who sat on the committee who drew up the code and their memories of what was said accords to what seems to me to be common sense. The more the 85% weight ratio was exceeded the greater the risk of instability and possibly an accident. However if the caravanner was experienced, loaded his caravan with care, recognised a potential road induced instability problem before discovering that it was a problem and used a suitable car (basically good power to weight ratio and fairly rigid suspension) exceeding the 85% limit a little bit shouldn't be a problem.
The legal position
The 85% guideline is not a legal requirement. However in recent years we've seen an increasing number of instances where individual police officers, and even two police forces, have believed that it was. Fortunately nobody seems to have had more than a verbal warning for exceeding 85%.
My own feeling is that if you wish to exceed the 85% guideline by any significant degree you need to be in a position to argue with a police officer that 85% is not a legal requirement.
However two legal towing limits are legally enforceable. It is an offence to exceed any maximum towing weight published by the vehicle manufacturer. It is also an offence if the combined weight of your loaded car and loaded caravan exceed the vehicle manufacturer's published Maximum Train Weight.
Slightly less clear is the position of caravanners who exceed any lower towing limit quoted by the vehicle manufacturer for a situation where the towing car is carrying more than just the driver. The legal advice we've been given is that exceeding this lower figure would be an offence. However the manufacturers who publish this lower figure (in particular Renault with their Scenic) seem to be very helpful in that they will send customers a letter effectively saying you can ignore this "driver only" lower towing figure. The legal advice we've had on this is that even if towing more may be an offence, the letter absolves the customer from having committed an offence.
Duty of Care
What has changed since the introduction of the Towing Code is the requirement of professionals and experts to exercise a Duty of Care towards the general public. This obligation is imposed on manufacturers, importers, dealers, individual salesmen and even caravan journalists.
So let us assume that you ask any of the above "can I tow that caravan with this car?" Unless we know a lot about you and are absolutely certain that you could be classified an experience caravanner with a suitable car we have no obligation but to advise you that your towing limits are those contained within the Towing Code. In other words 85%.
Lets assume the worst. We advise you that you can safely tow a caravan whose actual laden weight represents 89% of your car's kerbweight. You then have an accident and can either prove or imply that the reason why you had an accident was because the caravan was too heavy for your car. The Courts would then have absolutely no choice but to find that the person who gave you the advice failed to exercise Duty of Care and was therefore at least partly responsible for your accident.
Up to a year ago I would have suggested that even if I did tell you you could tow the 89% caravan mentioned above, the chances of me ending up in Court if you had an accident were so slim as to be non-existent. But the world is changing. Salesmen who tell customers they can just plug a new cooker into an existing outlet and ending up in Court when the mains circuit blows. In this modern society experts who give advice have no option but to err on the side of caution.
You've only got to look at current legislation to see how the legislature id determined to protect the consumer. You can still change a main's electrical socket in your house, but you can't wire in an extension socket or change a single outlet for a double unless you get the Council to inspect your work or you employ a skilled craftsman to do the job. In America, where much of this attitude comes from, there is even doubt about whether you can legally change the engine oil in your car.
The Towing Code is the industry's code of good practice and it would be a fool who would offer advice which was contra to what the Towing Code says.
The future
There is a good argument for suggesting that the Towing Code is out of date and needs changing. However it cannot be legally changed unless those who signed the original document agree to do so.
The real world
Confusion often arises when caravan salesmen, caravan journalists and even caravan manufacturers are seen towing caravans which are definitely over the 85% limit. Providing they don't exceed the maximum towing limit or the maximum train weight this is legally considered to be acceptable. As professionals or experts we are supposed to be aware of the risks and tow accordingly.
Very much "do as I say, not as I do."
Facebook
Twitter