Pat Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 A close friend of mine was stopped by the Spannish Police as he left the Autoroute near Benidorm,last week, he was towing a car on a brand new two axle trailer, they fined him 150 Euro for not having a LGV type "Long Vehicle Sign" The outfit was a 36' Rv with a 2 axle car trailer. Regards Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Hi Pat, Are you saying the RV is 32 feet on its own and I assume the four wheel trailer is 16 feet or so. If so a sign might be nice. Regards, Brendan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Hi, Is the outfit classed as a long vehicle as it sounds long to me but I am not well versed in European Law regarding the signage for vehicles, does your friend understand the law in relationship to this infringement and are you/they saying that they were incorrectly fined. If the fine was incorrect and you can establish a legal defence then your friend should be able to claim his expenses back as i understand European law, albeit my understanding is only from a lay persons prospective Pat - 2008-11-16 6:35 PM A close friend of mine was stopped by the Spannish Police as he left the Autoroute near Benidorm,last week, he was towing a car on a brand new two axle trailer, they fined him 150 Euro for not having a LGV type "Long Vehicle Sign" The outfit was a 36' Rv with a 2 axle car trailer. Regards Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 At that length a "long Vehicle" sign IS required, and it must be the written type. Once your vehicle reaches a certain length, (I'm not 100% sure of the exact length until I look it up, but it's probably not as long as you think, IIRC about 6 metres), you are required to fit the chevron type. Also remember that they are compulsory on vehicles over 7500kg and trailers over 3500kg, so it could be they used the weight restrictions as well. Please let's not have all the "It's a motorhome, not an LGV" arguements, facts are, It's a vehicle, and It's long. Therefore needs a warning sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Hi Pat, I have just found the page on 'The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989' which gives marking requirements for all lengths of vehicle and trailer. See link below for details: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1989/Uksi_19891796_en_24.htm#nsch19 If we assume your friends RV plus trailer is 36 + 16 = 52 feet then this is around 16 metres so falls into the longest category for markings meaning they MUST HAVE 1 or 2 'LONG VEHICLE' markings correctly displayed. Another interesting point I picked up on is that the Maximum allowable length of vehicle and trailer is 18 metres, so watch out if you have a large RV. I hope this helps, Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 sounds to me like a self inflicted wound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Hi thanks for the replies. I spoke with him last night and he told me that the police measured the outfit and said it was over 18 metres when it definitely is not! Infact it is just over 17metres. They did fine him for the missing sign and also warned him that as the car's towbar protuded rear of the trailer (6") a red and white square should also have also been inplace!!! They allowed him to carry on to the site as he was about 4 kms from his destination. They also asked him for his driving licence and made sure that he had the full LGV licence (ie artic) which he has, also they had already checked via Swansea I presume that he had insurance, as when he offered them the certificate they said that they had already checked that!!! He say that they knew exactly what they were doing and what to look for (Although their mearuring tape seems to be too short) also spoke very good English! So those people driving RVs on normal licences be warned and if you tow you have to have the full licence!! Regards Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 It has become commonplace in Spain for those towing glider trailers (normally over 7 metres long) to be stopped if they don't have a rear long vehicle sign. However, UK Law is quite specific: rear markers are not required and not permitted if tow vehicle below 7500 MAM and/or the trailer below 3500 MAM. However rear markers are required as follows: Trailers over 3500 Kgs and/or with tow vehicles over 7500 Kgs must carry markers consisting of - red/yellow reflective diagonal stripes for combinations up to 11 metres - reflective markers indicating ‘LONG VEHICLE’ for combinations over 13 metres - either type of marker for combinations between 11 and 13 metres. The problem is that reflective yellow is not permitted on the rear of a vehicle except for the number plate. My advice is to fit a magnetic 'LONG VEHICLE' marker to the trailer. If you do get stopped in the UK, it is easy to remove. But, on such long combinations, I believe it to be an essential safety feature. And wear it abroad, since other EU countries are not necessarily bound by the same law as the UK in this case. Of course, this is simply my opinion. And there is an overall length limit of 18 meters in most countries (18.75 in a couple). This is raised to 25.9 metres if towing a an overlength trailer (i.e., over 7 metres long) necessary for the carriage of an indivisible load of greater length that 7 metres. Hope that clears up the legal niceties. Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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