Towing untaxed car?

celica00

im not familiar if it comes to towing a car, can you toe a car from A to B if the towing car is a Fwd and the towed car without tax etc?

thanks

Atlantic Dawn

Yes if it's in a public road it must be taxed.

Also I am pretty sure that towing a car with a rope on a public road is illegal, you need an a-frame

CiniO

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Also I am pretty sure that towing a car with a rope on a public road is illegal,

People repeat it here, but is there any actual law against it?

Atlantic Dawn

CiniO wrote: »

People repeat it here, but is there any actual law against it?

Not sure, had read this thread a while ago and it was inconclusive http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055238092

emeldc

I carry a tow rope in the boot ........... Because the A frame won't fit.

CiniO

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Not sure, had read this thread a while ago and it was inconclusive http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055238092

I had a read of this thread and all links provided in it.
Nothing there about prohibition of towing with towing rope.

Even opposite.

I found this:

(3) This Regulation does not prohibit the towing of a broken down vehicle which is being towed, in consequence of the breakdown, to the nearest convenient place of safety or repair.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2003/en/si/0005.html


Obviously this doesn't prove it's not illegal to tow with a rope, but as no one could ever find anything in regards this, I have strong feeling, it must be legal.

biko

OP, if the towed car has no tax and no insurance you can trailer it instead.

flutered

i am led to believe that one can tow a car, provided it is being towed home, garages say no, the difference in cost is unbelievable, btw where is home.

corktina

A frames illegal too ,except for emergency use to clear the road afaik

Silvera

corktina wrote: »

A frames illegal too ,except for emergency use to clear the road afaik

A-Frames can be used (legally) by towing/recovery agents.

UK law states that A-Frames may be used to move a broken-down
vehicle 'to a place of safety', but may not be used for transportation
(Irish law isnt so clear cut/worded).

To my knowledge, it is NOT illegal to use a tow rope (once it is 'fit
for purpose' i.e. strong enough..not any half-rotten old rope).

An ideal (safer) option for private motorists is a towing-bar/brace.
I bought one of these a few years ago in Machine Mart, Edinburgh...

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/tb-2s-towing-bar-with-spring-damper

corktina

I think any vehicle you are towing would need to be braked as a trailer would have to be over a certain size and thus it's illegal to tow a car other than to clear the road in an emergency

steveone

Why are A frames illegal?

steveone

I have a mini being restored at the minute. Is it illegal for me to tow it ?

dhog4n

I looked into this for a club I'm a member of a couple of years ago.

Towing with a "suitable" rope for a short distance to a place of safety is allowed. This would be a matter for interpretation by the Garda who stops you though.

I couldn't find any direct reference to an a-frame or a solid bar.

For any other form of towing than ropes, the combination of vehicle and towing equipment is regarded as a trailer and must comply with trailer regulations, ie: limited to 750kg combined if unbraked or on a standard B-licence. Over 750kg, you must have brakes and an EB-licence.

The brakes requirement is where a-frames and bars don't make the grade. You can buy braked a-frames but they cost as much as a trailer.

Not in the regs that I found, but another consideration is nose weight on the towbar. More nose weight means more weight braked by the towing vehicle and more control in the event of an emergency stop.

whomitconcerns

I passed a guy in the middle lane of m50 yesterday towing a car with a rope at what what must have been 70-80kph....

corktina

dhog4n wrote: »

I looked into this for a club I'm a member of a couple of years ago.

Towing with a "suitable" rope for a short distance to a place of safety is allowed. This would be a matter for interpretation by the Garda who stops you though.

I couldn't find any direct reference to an a-frame or a solid bar.

For any other form of towing than ropes, the combination of vehicle and towing equipment is regarded as a trailer and must comply with trailer regulations, ie: limited to 750kg combined if unbraked or on a standard B-licence. Over 750kg, you must have brakes and an EB-licence.

The brakes requirement is where a-frames and bars don't make the grade. You can buy braked a-frames but they cost as much as a trailer.

Not in the regs that I found, but another consideration is nose weight on the towbar. More nose weight means more weight braked by the towing vehicle and more control in the event of an emergency stop.

More or less as I thought.

I should think few cars would be sub 750...steveone's mini perhaps.

danoriordan1402

I passed a guy last weekend in a Hiace towing a motorbike, biker and driver must'nt have a braincell between them

CiniO

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

I passed a guy last weekend in a Hiace towing a motorbike, biker and driver must'nt have a braincell between them

Assuming connection between van a a bike was not fixed and easiky detachable I cant see the problem

corktina

That was Hosannah in his Hiace on the highway to the next world.

danoriordan1402

CiniO wrote: »

Assuming connection between van a a bike was not fixed and easiky detachable I cant see the problem

Until the van does an emergency stop and the biker lands 50ft in front of him - imo there's no way to do it safely just look ahead to see what would happen when it goes wrong.

CiniO

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

Until the van does an emergency stop and the biker lands 50ft in front of him - imo there's no way to do it safely just look ahead to see what would happen when it goes wrong.

I assume biker should be able to stop without problems, even if van does emergency breaking.
I wouldn't imagine such towing with any higher speeds.

In place where I'm from, towing with rope is legal, and it's also allowed with motorbikes - with exception that on motorbike rope must be easily detachable.
Speed limit for towing vehicles is 30km/h and vehicle towed must be clearly marked (warning triangle on the rear or amber flashing beacon on the roof - or in the back on a bike)

I've seen plenty of bikes being towed, and couldn't think how could that be dangerous at low speeds.

Truckermal

danoriordan1402 wrote: »

I passed a guy last weekend in a Hiace towing a motorbike, biker and driver must'nt have a braincell between them

Why didn't the fool stick the bike in the back of the van??

ironclaw

CiniO wrote: »

I've seen plenty of bikes being towed, and couldn't think how could that be dangerous at low speeds.

I'd imagine in this case they were towing well above 30km/h. 30km/h is a decent human sprint speed, its far cry from doing 50km/h or more. Personally I think it would be suicide to tow a bike on a public road, especially in Ireland.

Gosub

corktina wrote: »

More or less as I thought.

I should think few cars would be sub 750...steveone's mini perhaps.

Only needs to be under 750 if unbraked. Most cars would have some braking even without servo support. I suppose a Garda might be able to make the call on whether or not a vehicle has enough braking force to qualify, depending on his or her mood, of course.

CiniO

Gosub wrote: »

Only needs to be under 750 if unbraked. Most cars would have some braking even without servo support. I suppose a Garda might be able to make the call on whether or not a vehicle has enough braking force to qualify, depending on his or her mood, of course.

I'd say all cars (except those with air-pressure breaking system) have full braking ability, even without servo support.
Only difference is that greater force needs to be put on the pedal to achieve it.

Gosub

CiniO wrote: »

I'd say all cars (except those with air-pressure breaking system) have full braking ability, even without servo support.
Only difference is that greater force needs to be put on the pedal to achieve it.

I had a car once -Can't remember which one it was - that needed a huge pressure on the pedal to make it even slow down when the engine was off. It caused me a brown trouser moment on a sloping driveway once. "Ah sure I'll just let the handbrake off and roll it back a few feet" I thought I was going to end up rolling backwards across a busy road. My arse was off the seat with the force required.

Mind you, this was a long time ago on a car that would have been a banger then.

CiniO

Gosub wrote: »

I had a car once -Can't remember which one it was - that needed a huge pressure on the pedal to make it even slow down when the engine was off. It caused me a brown trouser moment on a sloping driveway once. "Ah sure I'll just let the handbrake off and roll it back a few feet" I thought I was going to end up rolling backwards across a busy road. My arse was off the seat with the force required.

Mind you, this was a long time ago on a car that would have been a banger then.

I'd say it rather depends on size of the car.
Breaking a big transit without engine running, you literally need to put all your force on the pedal at achive adequate breaking.
But unless you have weak legs, it's always possible to achieve max braking force.

There might be a problem with ABS though. It won't work, and most cars equipped with it, use ABS to distribute breaking power between rear and front wheel, so without ABS, heavy braking might mean locking rear wheels without locking front ones, making car liable to side skid.