Towing a trailer? Read this first

There are several laws to adhere to when towing a trailer. This doesn’t just apply to truckers, but also to the general public.

Most drivers find themselves needing to draw a trailer from time to time, whether to get rid of garden refuse, take extra gear on holiday, or move a variety of other goods. When the need arises, they hire one from the local trailer rental business or borrow from a buddy. They may check the licence disc validity, tyre condition, and signal lights. Few drivers, however, bother to check whether they have an appropriate driving licence to actually draw a particular trailer, or whether the trailer’s brakes are suitable when coupled to the drawing vehicle. Getting this wrong could result in an insurance repudiation in the event of a crash involving the vehicle when coupled to a trailer.

It is noteworthy that, in regulation 99(4), light vehicles may be driven by the holder of a code B licence. Light vehicles are defined as “motorcars not exceeding a tare (T) mass of 3 500 kg, or an LDV or minibus or bus not exceeding a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3 500 kg, with or without a trailer (the GVM of which does not exceed 750 kg)”.

Where the driver of the drawing vehicle holds an EB licence, the 3 500 kg limit still applies. However, the trailer’s GVM may exceed 750 kg (the E in the EB licence provides that the trailer may have a GVM greater than 750 kg). An articulated motor vehicle may be driven with an EB licence provided that the gross combination mass (GCM) of the truck tractor does not exceed 3 500 kg, while the trailer mass may exceed 750 kg.

When looking at the requirement for brakes on trailers, we always look at the relationship between the T of the drawing vehicle and the GVM of the trailer.

For example, if my LDV has a T of 1 880 kg and I couple a 1 500 kg-GVM trailer to it, the trailer will require a park brake and at least an overrun brake (or a service brake, which is a more effective brake) in terms of regulation 151(1)(b)(i). This is because the trailer exceeds 750 kg.  

Coupling a light luggage trailer with a GVM of 700 kg instead, the trailer would only need to be fitted with a park brake or device as per regulation 151(1)(a)(i), as the GVM does not exceed 750 kg and the trailer GVM (700 kg) is less than half the drawing vehicle’s T of 1 880 kg.

If the GVM of the trailer was 2 000 kg, this mass would exceed the tare of the drawing vehicle, requiring a park brake and a service brake. An overrun brake would no longer be adequate, as outlined in regulation 151(1)(b)(ii).

So, the next time you need to rent or borrow a trailer, make sure to look at the relationship between the tare of the drawing vehicle and the trailer’s GVM. Check to see if the trailer’s brakes meet the minimum requirements when drawn by your vehicle, and remember to verify whether your driving licence allows you to draw the specific trailer with your vehicle.

Regulation 151: Brakes on trailers

• Subject to the provisions of subregulation (4) no person shall operate on a public road a trailer, if –
• the gross vehicle mass of such trailer does not exceed 750 kg and the gross vehicle mass –
• does not exceed half of the tare of the drawing vehicle, unless such trailer is equipped with a parking brake or other device to keep such trailer stationary;
• exceeds half the tare of the drawing vehicle but does not exceed such tare, unless equipped with a parking brake and either a service brake or an overrun brake; or
• exceeds the tare of the drawing vehicle, unless such trailer is equipped with a parking brake and a service brake;
• the gross vehicle mass of such trailer exceeds 750 kg but does not exceed 3 500 kg and the gross vehicle mass –
• does not exceed the tare of the drawing vehicle, unless such trailer is equipped with a parking brake and either an overrun brake or a service brake; or
• exceeds the tare of the drawing vehicle, unless the trailer is equipped with a parking brake and a service brake;
• The gross vehicle mass of the trailer exceeds 3 500 kg, unless such trailer is equipped with a parking brake and a service brake, and where more than one trailer is drawn by a drawing vehicle, the foregoing requirements shall apply in respect of each such trailer and, in such event, the gross vehicle mass shall be construed as the total of the gross vehicle mass of all trailers so drawn.
• The service brake of a trailer shall be capable of being operated by the driver of the drawing vehicle while such trailer and drawing vehicle are in motion.
• If the service or overrun brake of a trailer is capable of being used as a parking brake, a separate parking brake need not be fitted to such trailer.
• Notwithstanding subregulation (1)(c), if a trailer referred to in that subregulation is drawn by a tractor and such tractor is not designed for or capable of operation at a speed exceeding 40 km per hour on a reasonable level road, such trailer may be equipped with an overrun brake in lieu of a service brake.

Definitions

“Tare”, in relation to a motor vehicle, means the mass of such vehicle ready to travel on a road and includes the mass of:

• any spare wheel and all other accessories and equipment supplied by the manufacturer as standard for the particular model of the motor vehicle concerned;
• anything which is a permanent part of the structure of such vehicle;
• anything attached to such vehicle so as to form a structural alteration of a permanent nature; and
• the accumulators, if such vehicle is self-propelled by electrical power,

but does not include the mass of:

• fuel; and
• anything attached to such vehicle which is not of the nature referred to in paragraph (b) or (c);

“Gross vehicle mass”, in relation to a motor vehicle, means the maximum mass of such vehicle and its load as specified by the manufacturer thereof or, in the absence of such specification, as determined by the registering authority.

Extracted from the National Road Traffic Act, Act 93 of 1996 (as amended).