hi need some help . i need to get my car to darwen lancs from where i am and it will be towed via a rigid towbar am i legal to tow it on the motorway or not ■■
Thats a good question searching google i found this from one forum
can you tow a car on the motorway with a straight bar or not
Yes you can be towed off the m/way on a straight bar but not on to it (straight bar is classed as emergency towing equipment) and tbh id never use a rope unless a, i knew the other person was up to it and b, if there was no other option
but if this correct or not i don’t know ,but if you used an A frame or one of those dolly (a manual spectacle lift on a 1 axle) it should be ok, as then no one needs to be sitting in the vehicle being towed,you would just need a heavier vehicle to tow it, but it would have to also have working trailer lighting board and so i believe a sign saying “on tow”
so really as a precaution don’t do it then ahh well long way it is then
Towing a car this way is a bit of a legal grey area. It’s OK if it’s an emergency but otherwise the law says that any trailer over 750kg should have brakes. However, we have all seen campervans towing cars on an A frame withoult anyone seeming to worry about it, so it seems that this requirement is not enforced.
The car would have to be MOT’d, taxed and insured too.
i would do it with trailer board and driven at sensible speed
It seems like there isn’t a definitive answer, all I could find that sounded official advice was this;
Reg 86 Road Vehicles (Con and Use) Regs 1986
Where a trailer is attached to the vehicle in front solely by means of a rope or chain, the distance between the trailer and that vehicle :
Shall not exceed 1.5 metres unless the rope or chain is made clearly visible
Shall not exceed 4.5 metres in any case.
I would suggest a car without an engine is not roadworthy, but if it is legal then a rigid bar just makes it into a trailer. The easiest way would be an A frame or a car trailer though. Probably hire one for about 30 - 40 quid a day.
Hi i think if you go on the recovery forum, you will find that an A-frame is only to be used to tow a car from the place of a breakdown to a local place of repair.
I would imagine its the same for a bar.
Be safe check first.
I have seen the AA plenty of times on the motorway towing some numpty with a rigid bar.
motionlotion:
Hi i think if you go on the recovery forum, you will find that an A-frame is only to be used to tow a car from the place of a breakdown to a local place of repair.
I would imagine its the same for a bar.
Be safe check first.
I based my answer on the fact that I could not find anything official restricting it and the fact that an old friend of mine was a motor trader and he used to travel the country with an A frame (ambulance) buying rare and expensive sports cars. I remember the only time we ever had a problem was a time I was with him and we got stopped because the car behind was on trade plates, his own Bentley was taxed and insured for business use but because I was a passenger, the plod were a bit confused. I was carrying another set of plates as we were picking up another car on the way back, so we were waved on our way after the plod checked over both cars.
I am going back over twenty years so would be interested to know if anything has changed.
It does seem to make sense that you should not tow a car onto a motorway using rope and only use it to recover one, but I cannot see a difference between a bar and an ambulance except the number of articulation points.
When is the last time you seen a polis on motorway, just tow it nobody will stop you, the law will be in some services sleeping and even if you did pass a cop they wouldn’t have a clue. Buy a amber beacon it will make it look like you know what your doing 
Then when you drop it off you can drive home at night with it flashing doing everyones ■■■■ in 
found this, the last post is from a traffic bod i believe.
According to this…
traffic-answers.co.uk/motorways.htm#tow
If your vehicle is capable of being towed safely then you can arrange for a friend or relative to come and tow you with a normal towrope. There is no law against towing on the motorway as long as it is done safely and within the 60 mph speed limit for cars and trailers.
motionlotion:
found this, the last post is from a traffic bod i believe.
I think the risk is too high 
My car trader mate did have a few scare stories about towing a Bentley with a Bentley
Wheel Nut:
I based my answer on the fact that I could not find anything official restricting it and the fact that an old friend of mine was a motor trader and he used to travel the country with an A frame (ambulance) buying rare and expensive sports cars.
A quote I’ve found from the DfT would agree. It states " [we believe] the use of A frames to tow is legal provided the braking and lighting requirements are met". It also states an A frame and car are classified as a trailer.
mrpj:
A quote I’ve found from the DfT would agree. It states " [we believe] the use of A frames to tow is legal provided the braking and lighting requirements are met". It also states an A frame and car are classified as a trailer.
Which they won’t be if the car weighs over 750kg, and virtually all cars weigh over 750kg ( A Smart is 730kg)
However, if using a rope then this would not apply as the towed vehicle is braked by the driver. It seems it is not illegal to tow on a rope, although commercial businesses do not do it as a matter of workplace safety.
my old boss towed a vw t4 with an other vwt4 on an a frame from cornwall to lincolnshire semed to do ok
Will you lot stop using the word Numpty i n a derogative way it was given to me with love and i am quite proud of it (it could even be true) take care.
I’ve seen the “A” frame thing on campers, cranes and busses. If you can’t get any where with that try :- http://www.shiply.com/
Just to railroad the thread a little. I steered a truck on a bar from Hungary just over the Romanian border to Zeebrugge and the only problem I had was a control in Aachen who said we couldn’t do that, after explaining where we had come from, he said. “I think you have enough problems without me adding to them” enjoy your trip home
Back to towing a car then!