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Towing a car - master breakdown
Is it illegal to tow a car by rope or do you have to use a rigid bar ?


Moved over from Tech and duplicated post deleted from Discussion also deleted MB's reply to the answer provided by accident, but hey these things happen ! (pointless question anyway asking what DVD has to do with towing ? DVD if the daddy of legal questions ! ) - PU Mod
towing a car - martint123
DVD's post at the bottom - a few years old though.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post?t=14147

towing a car - bell boy
Unfortunately the above advise is well wrong now.
Im not the lew-r so dont want to get shot down in a ball of fire however i would strongly advise anyone not to use a rope unless its literally to remove a car a few yards to a safe haven.
Maybe dvd would like to update and bring up to date the new enviromental rules regarding cars and towing to there makers,i for one would like a definate definition
towing a car - master breakdown
i'm amased that no one knows this simple question, although being 50 i suppose i should know myself but not having towed or being towed for many years leaves me in a situation, because i have to tow a car tomorrow and needed to know either way, i havent seen a car being towed by rope for a long time and thought the laws might have changed, it would be a bit silly going to buy a rigid tow bar for one occasion because i have a tow rope in my garage.
towing a car - bell boy
from my point of view i wont tow anything
too dammed dangerous
i have two transporters if it wont go on either of those legally then i pay a man that can
£1 per mile every mile he travels
towing a car - master breakdown
i've enquired about getting it towed to the destination but it is going to cost hundreds of £s and that is just to find out whats wrong with my car then i have the diognostic charge if i was to do that i might as well scrap the car and buy another car
towing a car - henry k
>>i'm amased that no one knows this simple question,
>>
some info
www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/information/InfoCent...5
"Towing another vehicle
The bumper to bumper distance between vehicles must not exceed 4.5m. If the rope or chain is longer than 1.5m, it must be made clearly visible so as to assist other road users."

I cannot see any other restrictions in the Highway Code.
towing a car - master breakdown
thank you henry for looking up the rules and regs it does put my mind at ease knowing i am following the rules and regs because i dont mind towing at all and as long as i am legal thats all that matters thank you again graham
towing a car - Peter D
Are both vehicles insured, taxed, MOTed and driven by an insured driver for the vehicle. Display ON TOW signage. Regards Peter
towing a car - Vin {P}
tinyurl.com/ysz79b - a towbar for £13. I'm sure any car spares ahop will have one, and possibly tiool hire shops as well.

I'd suggest this is a much better idea than a rope, as you'll get braking force from the towing vehicle. Trying to stop a servo-assisted car on its own braking power alone is a tough job.

V
towing a car - master breakdown
thank you vin i think i will consider getting a towbar if they are that cheap it would make the job a lot easier because i have to take it about 14 miles with no hazards or indicators :)
towing a car - FotheringtonThomas
tinyurl.com/ysz79b - a towbar for £13.


www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/tb-2s-t...r

This is more expensive, £23.50, but has a shock-absorbing spring. I've got one, and it is very useful - far better than a tow-rope for a couple of handfulls more. The towed driver just sits there and steers, keeping the towed vehicle in line with the one in front. The towing vehicle is the one that does the braking. It's a Good Thing.
towing a car - master breakdown
yes peter both vehicles are legal thank you for your concern
towing a car - normd2
I was towed off the motorway last year on a rigid bar and found it much preferable to being towed on a rope. On reaching the garage however I found the conversation between the 'very nice man' and the garage guy quite interesting:
...a spring damper on a rigid bar is a 'must have'
...the rigid bar must have an emergency breaking point - not a nice thought but probably highly practical.
...the 'towing eyes' on many cars are actually designed to only cope with downwards stresses ie they're for lashing down whilst shipping only.
...towing by rope is a last resort and only for the shortest possible distances.
...if a low loader isn't available the next best is a Spec-frame, then an A-bar, then a rigid bar - rope only if very desperate.
towing a car - Mchenry
I wouldn't even consider towing or being towed on a rope or chain, considering that the towed vehicle has no assistance for its brakes or steering. On the subject of spec-frames, my sister-in-law, not knowing any better, allowed her car to be towed front wheels in the air, rear wheels on the road. Being a Subaru Legacy, the viscous coupling registered its disapproval by literally blowing up (casing split, innards all over the road...). Despite the perpetrator being a seedy-looking backstreet garage, they admitted their mistake, moved the vehicle to a Subaru dealer and paid for everything, including the hire car. Appearances can be deceptive!
towing a car - bell boy
Any local recovery company would move this vehicle safely 14 miles fully insured for less than £75 all in.
Its a hell of a journey to do 14 miles on a bar and as for doing it on a rope then as i said earlier ,no way.
Master breakdown crack open the wallet and pay a man that can before you kill someone.
towing a car - rtj70
I got towed behind an RAC truck last year on one of their rigid bars (quite strong looking). It was only probably little over a mile to home but I would not have wanted to go much further like that.

Although dishonest, if I did not already have breakdown cover with recovery I'd spend my money on that. Okay you're already broken down so there's the dishonest bit. Tesco does cover (actually via Green Flag I think) for £55.30 for comprehensive cover. Not sure how long you have to wait to not give the game away though.
towing a car - David Horn
Out of curiosity today I tried driving down our drive (gentle slope, one corner) with the engine off in the Accord. Steering wasn't too difficult, but braking from even 10mph took considerable effort and both feet on the brake pedal. Unless the towing car is doing the braking or the engine runs on the towee, I wouldn't even consider it.
towing a car - Lud
Of course you can't tow a non-running car with vacuum servo brakes with a rope, but you can (with considerable stress and risk) tow a car with non-powered brakes. Problem is that the towee must try to keep the rope taut at all times, without allowing the sort of jerks that can snap the rope or rip out whatever it is tied to.

Got a friend with a Morris 1000 convertible to tow my Citroen Bijou from the Embankment to Highbury once (the centrifugal clutch drum had worn through and disintegrated... should have taken the noise it was making as a danger sign!). Had the sense to leave it until the middle of the night though. Even so it was pretty knackering.
towing a car - Jonwm {P}
I remember a 2 years ago my collegue was on the way to a job interview in coventry when the turbo went on the company golf, if she had rang the company she would have been busted for skiving so i went in my golf and towed her all the way from cov to Solihull along the A45 with a rope, not a good experince at all, would highly not reccommend, took me about 1 hour to do the journey, she would periodically start the car to get the brakes to work, thus covering everyone in thick grey smoke!

The things you do that could have ended in both of us being sacked, not to mention causing a very bad accident!
towing a car - FotheringtonThomas
I wouldn't even consider towing or being towed on a rope or chain considering that
the towed vehicle has no assistance for its brakes or steering.


It's quite OK as long as you drive carefully and reasonably slowly. Obviously you have to remember that more steering/braking effort will be needed!
towing a car - Lud
It's quite OK as long as you drive carefully and reasonably slowly.


How slowly is reasonably slowly FT? Might not seem so reasonable to following GWhizes, old taxis and skip lorries.
towing a car - FotheringtonThomas
How slowly is reasonably slowly FT?


It depends on the road and road conditions! When I towed my wife in her dead Astra estate, we got up to about 50 on good clear roads, but were obviously slower at roundabouts, junctions, and other hazards.
Might not seem so reasonable to following GWhizes old taxis and skip lorries.


Normal rules apply.
towing a car - Lud
Well, either the Astra has very light servo assistance or Mrs FT has a very strong right leg...
towing a car - Lud
Or of course you are both raving maniacs, which I'm sure can't be the case :o)
towing a car - FotheringtonThomas
She told me really quite, quite soon afterwards that she hadn't really enjoyed the trip - it was quite uneventful, though. Towing and being towed is easier with a bit of experience!

A fair while ago, I bought an old Morris Traveller, for bits. It'd been parked outside on a sloping driveway for a couple of years. My friend had a Transit, and towed me home, about 20 miles. The first problem was that the car's brakes were siezed on - "no problem!" said my friend, and so I let off the handbrake, and he pulled... the brakes released, and off we went.... off the driveway, straight down a hill, joining a road at the bottom at a "T" junction. I cautiously tried the footbrake as we approached. It was like stepping on a brick embedded in concrete. No brakes. I pulled on the handbrake, and with a dull "thunk" it lifted as far as it would go in an instant - the cable had snapped. The bottom of the hill approached, no brakes!! I braced myself on the seat back, and pressed as hard as I could on the foot pedal, 'nnnnnng!' - there was a "Crack!" and the offside front brake started to work, rather well, and the front of the traveller stepped smartly out into the middle of the road - I could see my friend looking in his wing mirror! He kept going, so every time I had to brake I got ready for the thing to step out again, as it did, especially coming up to roundabouts.

Examinations on arrival showed that the cylinders on the rear wheels and nearside front were all still siezed "off". The handbrake cable was rust. The n/s front was working because the first extreme braking effort had for some reason caused one cast-iron cylinder to crack, freeing the piston (but losing a little brake fluid when the pedal was subsequently pressed!).
towing a car - Lud
That certainly reads like an authentic buttock-clenching experience FT. Obviously you are a raving maniac.

Welcome to the club.
towing a car - bell boy
It's quite OK as long as you drive carefully and reasonably slowly. Obviously you have
to remember that more steering/braking effort will be needed!

>>>>>>>>> Maybe ask milkyjoe to walk in front with his red flag?
;-)
towing a car - Dwight Van Driver
....approaches box, opens folder, leans on box

To Bellboy I would say I refer you to my answer to Hugo many moon ago.

There has been no change to Con and Use regs on use of tow rope, it still stands as quoted. Again I repeat that a rigid bar is better.

...stands up, closes folder and sits down.

dvd
towing a car - Screwloose
DVD

I seem to recall a Crown Court case in Wales[?] a while ago [possibly involving the RAC] that held that driving a rope-towed vehicle, without a working servo, was "using a vehicle on the public highway without a effective braking system." After that case, the recovery companies abandoned ropes unless the engine was running. [Clutch failure etc.]

Maybe Websters has a reference.

The speed limit on a legal [15ft] tow rope was always 30 mph.
towing a car - Sim-O
>>...After that case the
recovery companies abandoned ropes unless the engine was running. [Clutch failure etc.]


I would also suggest (with no evidence) that the recovery companies prefer bars to ropes, because, seeing some drivers about, I wouldn't want them 1.5m from my boot tied trying to keep the rope tight, working brakes or not.
----------------------------------------------
Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
towing a car - rtj70
When my Mondeo was towed by the RAC Transit, the steering was obviously very heavy and brakes ... well had to really rely on the van to slow me down.

Note the car would not start at all so no chance of any assistance for brakes.
towing a car - normd2
any time I've been towed on a rigid bar I have always been told not to even try braking at all. The trick is to concentrate on the back of the towing vehicle and keep the towed car in the correct position - invariably the towing vehicle will be using a centrally mounted tow bar with the connection to the towed vehicle being off to one side or the other ie if the bar is at 90 degrees to the vehicle then the towee will be off-set. Goes against all your instincts, no braking and 'tailgating'
towing a car - uk_in_usa
About 11-12 years ago in my Rover 620 I towed a disabled Astra diesel van, with a rope, from the car ferry at Dover all the way up the A2/M2 through the Blackwall tunnel to Hackney. Looking back now, I must have been absolutely stark raving mad. I have no idea what possessed me to do it.
towing a car - Vin {P}
On my last tow - some years ago, using a bar, the RAC driver just asked me to hit the brakes as hard as I could when I saw his brake lights, as it would reduce the amount of weight he was having to stop on his brakes.

V
towing a car - Roadster
If the car is not within three miles of your home I?d join a breakdown organisation on it?s basic policy ? circa £35 ? wait 48hours (usually the minimum period allowed before they pick you up) then call them. Ask them to tow you to your garage of choice ? which if it isn?t the closest they will do for a small supplement / free if you get a helpful rescuer.

Not only do you get your car moved safely for roughly the cost of a decent towbar, you also get another 360 odd days membership in case your car breaks down again.

Alternatively, find someone who?s a member of the AA / RAC and ask them to call on your behalf. They usually insure a person, not a particular car, and as long as that person is a ?passenger? in the car they?ll not ask any questions: I have used the RAC twice whilst travelling as a passenger in the last two years. Both times we were treated well, not asked any questions and were towed to a nearby garage on one occasion. You'll then get your car removed safely for nothing (although I'd suggest you by your friend a drink or two).
towing a car - Vin {P}
Roadster: What you're suggesting seems to me to be very close to, if not across the dividing line of, fraud.

V
towing a car - Roadster
I agree that it's a little sneaky - although to call it fraud is a little harsh.

You are paying the breakdown company for a service that they are willing to provide. Many people join these organisations but never / rarely use them over an entire lifetime so it will more than balance out in the company's favour.

With regard to asking someone to do it, I don't see the problem as it's obviously up to the individual as to whether or not they use their own policy - you're not defrauding anybody. I have used my policy whilst in friends / colleagues cars because it's an insurance against a car I'm travelling in breaking down. I have paid the premium to the company to provide the service - it's up to me whether or not I call them and ask for their assistance.