trailers?

[hoverfrog]

usually if you need a bigger/different size or shape/occasional use of a/ trailer you borrow your friend's one.

What is the law on this in France?

I got 'done' by the gendarmes recently as the registration plate on the trailer was not the same as the one on the car. It wasn't the case that the car's one was obscured by the trailer either!

I was under the impression that in the UK as long as the trailer's reg plate was a legit one you were OK - maybe I was wrong!

If you have to change the reg plate for each car here, is there a prescribed acceptable format or do you have to pay the 10€ and get a proper licence plate?

[Ron Avery]

I was under the impression that in the UK as long as the trailer's reg plate was a legit one you were OK - maybe I was wrong!

What has the UK to do with it, you got done in France  Anyway you are wrong about the UK, the trailer must be the same registration as the towing car.

If you have to change the reg plate for each car here, is there a prescribed acceptable format or do you have to pay the 10€ and get a proper licence plate.

If the trailer is over a certain size then it has its own registration, but if not, it has the plate of the towing car.  As for plates, well chalk on the car plate on a bit of tin on a string and get done for 60€ and then think perhaps a proper 10€ plate was a better bet[I].

 

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="hoverfrog"]What is the law on this in France? I got 'done' by the gendarmes recently as the registration plate on the trailer was not the same as the one on the car.

Were you driving  a UK reg car or a French reg car?

It wasn't the case that the car's one was obscured by the trailer either! I was under the impression that in the UK as long as the trailer's reg plate was a legit one you were OK

In UK The trailer must have the same reg as the car!

In France I'm sure the trailer has its own reg with its own carte gris (sp.) if it is over 700kg.?

 - maybe I was wrong! If you have to change the reg plate for each car here, is there a prescribed acceptable format or do you have to pay the 10€ and get a proper licence plate?[/quote]

What did the Gendarmes fine you for?

EDIT: Sorry Ron You posted while I was typing

 

[hoverfrog]

I appreciate that UK driving laws have no bearing over here - I was merely using them as a point of reference/comparison.

It is not unusual to see trailers on both sides of the channel with plates that differ to the car / plates that don't conform to car rules, including carboard tied on with string!

I was somewhat surprised by the severity of the gendarmes - they apparently could have impounded both the trailer and the car, and I had to plead to stay on the road!

I was fined because the licence plate on the trailer did not match the one on the car.

[allanb]

I know that a trailer under 500kg isn't required to have its own registration, but can you register it voluntarily if its use is shared by a few friends and you want to avoid the nuisance of changing plates? Or is this just too expensive to think about?

[Ron Avery]

The hire compay that has trailers for rent for carrying scaffolding has a blank plate that they chalk on the reg of the car using it,  How legal that is I don't know.

You still often see lorries from Spain with a different reg plate on the trailer to the tractor unit but I thought that they were going to stop  or was that only on UK roads?

[AnOther]

[quote user="hoverfrog"]I was merely using them as a point of reference/comparison. It is not unusual to see trailers on both sides of the channel with plates that differ to the car / plates that don't conform to car rules, including carboard tied on with string![/quote]That's a classic hoverfrog but only serves to prove that a crime is not a crime until you get caught, as you unfortunately did. It's probably the same rationale that people still driving around on UK plates after x years work to, everyone does it so it must be alright [Www]

[quote user="hoverfrog"]I was somewhat surprised by the severity of the gendarmes - they apparently could have impounded both the trailer and the car, and I had to plead to stay on the road! I was fined because the licence plate on the trailer did not match the one on the car.[/quote]That is the potential penalty so by letting you go the gendarmes were not as severe as they could have been.

I don't know if you could even register a trailer under 500kg, I imagine the Prefecture would just tell you it was not neccessary and to go away. It's a complete nonstarter to even contemplate anyway because it the cost would almost certainly exceed that of the required different number plates never mind the hassle !

Just how many are likely to be sharing this trailer ?

Are homemade plates legal, I don't know. I guess that if the hire companies use a blank plate with the number chalked on it must be OK, musn't it ? [6]

As Ron says, €10 for a proper plate isn't exactly going to bankrupt anyone nor does it need to be riveted in this case so if you did a bit of synchronised drilling and used self tapping screws it would be a 2 minute job to change it. You could even velcro it on I suppose.

For the record:

Under 500kg Gross a trailer does not need registration but is towed under the number of the towing vehicle.

Between 500 and 750kg it need it's own registration.

Above 750kg it needs it's own registration plus brakes.

[Anton Redman]

I understood that once a trailer has its own registration it needs it own insurance as well.

I am pretty sure 'chalked plates' do not match the visibility requirements unless the towing vehicle is old enough to be running legally on white or silver on black plates. The Gendarmes always used to turn a blind eye to WW temporary numbers while people were waiting for the new number to be issued but these days they seem to temporarily authorise the exisitng number.

I though the UK was out of step with the rest of Europe which reguired trailers bigger that 500 kg to be separateky registered rather than Spain being the odd one out.

[Ron Avery]

"I though the UK was out of step with the rest of Europe which reguired trailers bigger that 500 kg to be separately registered rather than Spain being the odd one out"

It is Anton, but there was some rumpance in the UK sometime back about trailers not having the same reg plates as the lorry which caused confusion to Mr Plod in the UK.  I note that Ernie recommends screwed plates on the trailer, which SD will tell you are illegal, however, I was in Pezenas in 34 and I just happened to notice that the majority of cars in the car park there had plates screwed on the cars and they had larger letters,  more GB sized than we have in 12 as also does the Tarn.  Are there different specifications?.

[hoverfrog]

I believe car plates have to be rivetted on, but trailer plates can be screwed or stuck on. This may of course be diferent for a trailer that has its own registration number...

[AnOther]

[quote user="Ron Avery"]I note that Ernie recommends screwed plates on the trailer, which SD will tell you are illegal[/quote]Oh no he won't, trust me [;-)]

[AnOther]

[quote user="hoverfrog"]I believe car plates have to be rivetted on, but trailer plates can be screwed or stuck on. This may of course be diferent for a trailer that has its own registration number...[/quote]Correct on all counts [:)]

[AnOther]

[quote user="Anton Redman"]I understood that once a trailer has its own registration it needs it own insurance as well. [/quote]Correct, I didn't mention it because it was not the topic [:)]