does this get on your nerves as much as mine

stacie21

stacie21

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well i am currently sorting out my trailer test (massive pain in bum not to mention expensive). Now while i am jumping through hoops to try get this passed and have spent nearly a months wages on it, others who cannot reverse a car and are not that great at driving in general can happily tow trailer with poor animal inside or a caravan. Now i no there are allot of people who passed there test before 97 that are very good drivers but i seem to always come across the complete opposite. I must add i drive trailers at work and had no issues with the actual trailer part of test i actually failed as i messed up a roundabout (long story stupid mistake not to drastic but hay ho) Does it annoy anyone else ? should the people who passed prior to 97 have a training day at least !!! i just think its mad now i have to train and pass a test for everything yet others with GRANDFATHER RIGHTS no matter what there capabilities can do or drive how and what they like up to 7 1/2 ton sorry for rant but i had to watch someone who i no tows a horse reverse up lane very short distance yet could not even keep car in straight line up both verges RIDICULOUS. sorry for rant lol rant over :)
 
As a pre 97 passer with the extra rights on my licence......couldnt agree with you more :-))
I cant reverse a trailer for toffee and it would give me the necessary impetus to go and get trained so I could!!
 
oh dont get me wrong i think you blooming lucky :))) but as long as it not to expensive would you not think about taking a training day to learn to reverse etc
 
Sorry, I'm a pre 97 test pass and I can reverse and drive a trailer properly! Might I add that passing a test doesn't always make you a better driver either!
 
I'm a pre 97 and am pants at reversing. Hubby has bought me a training day so I can learn to manoeuvre properly and confidently. In the meantime I don't tow.
 
stacie21 said:
oh dont get me wrong i think you blooming lucky :))) but as long as it not to expensive would you not think about taking a training day to learn to reverse etc
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i learnt to reverse tractors and trailers at college lol, but if i had to tow now i think a refresher course would be a good idea, thank lord for hubby who will drive and tow anything meaning i can sit with my feet on the dash giving him orders;)
 
I'm a pre 97 and I hate towing and only done it once. Luckily I have good friends that tow for me if needed and I contribute towards petrol etc (far easier option!) I think everybody regardless of age should pass a trailer towing test and have lessons. God knows many need lessons including me!
 
like i said i am Not saying unless you do a test you cant drive nor if you do the test you are perfect. I am also saying that i wish i was pre 97. But if you take a test or a training day you have the basics to do with what you will. i have had to help a couple people by reversing there trailers as have loaded horse and got wedged and i could not get passed with out them moving and i am the one not allowed to tow!!1
 
Ali2 said:
I'm a pre 97 and am pants at reversing. Hubby has bought me a training day so I can learn to manoeuvre properly and confidently. In the meantime I don't tow.
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^This (ps well done on being sensible!). I dont think we should have to "legislate" if a pre-97 driver has any common sense and feels they are struggling they should book themselves lessons. Just because they dont have to sit the test does not mean they CANT take lessons if they feel they are required.

You would hope people use common sense - if driving is not your strong point dont tow!
 
i agree its common sense it was a pointless rant really its just so frustrating spending a load of money that i never really had spare and feel like i'm jumping through hoops to pass the dam test just so i can enjoy taking my horse out and then i come across people who are lucky enough to have the GRANDFATHER rights lol and drive appalling Sorry everybody :)
 
I totally agree with you. I had to reverse my horsebox, with horse in it, round a bend and downhill because the pillock towing a flat bed trailer in a Stewart Milne works van (ie he was working) couldn't reverse in a straight line and the road was too narrow to get past! He couldn't reverse at all!

And caravans! Does anyone who ever tows a caravan actually know how to tow? I was overtaken by one doing at least 80mph on the dual carriageway recently, it was swaying side to side behind a small car!
 
Mithras said:
I totally agree with you. I had to reverse my horsebox, with horse in it, round a bend and downhill because the pillock towing a flat bed trailer in a Stewart Milne works van (ie he was working) couldn't reverse in a straight line and the road was too narrow to get past! He couldn't reverse at all!

And caravans! Does anyone who ever tows a caravan actually know how to tow? I was overtaken by one doing at least 80mph on the dual carriageway recently, it was swaying side to side behind a small car!
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yay someone understands lol that is my point exactly i no it not everyone but there are some that really are dreadful.
 
I'm pre 97 & tbh can reverse a trailer anywhere!!! Have trouble figuring out how come people can't do it!!! My mate won't go to some shows where she knows she has to reverse unless someone else is there to do it for her!!!
 
I must add i drive trailers at work and had no issues with the actual trailer part of test i actually failed as i messed up a roundabout (long story stupid mistake not to drastic but hay ho)

I have to say that I really think that it is more important to be able to negotiate a roundabout safely than to be able to reverse a trailer. Admittedly the ability to reverse is useful if you drive a trailer but EVERY driver should be able to go round a roundabout safely EVERY time.
Those of us who have been driving a long time without accidents have the experience to do this.
 
Im not allowed to drive anymore - I pulled the drainpipe off the wall when i reversed the 4x4 off the drive, and i dented the back end when i reversed into the haybarn!
 
I am pre 97 and wouldn't dream of towing as I don't know the first thing about it, I think I am a good enough driver but towing is a whole other ball game, I will never do it unless I did a course. I am not a fan of Grandfather rights even though they benefit me, it has been long enough now that they should have been phased out, I think in an ideal would everyone should have had say 5 years after the changes to either take the test or forfeit the rights to tow and drive up to 7.5 ton.
 
Towing and manouvering a trailer is not hard if you have some common sense and take the time to practise before taking horses out IMO, but if I did not feel confident in my own abilities then I would not tow. My horse is my most precious, and I certainly do not want him to suffer because I am incompetent!! I had some reversing lessons from my brother when I got my trailer, and he is a lorry driver so is pretty good at it all. I think you cannot legislate for idiocy - look at all the people who have passed a driving test but are still complete morons when they get behind the wheel of anything!! Basic common sense *should* tell you to slow down and take wide turns when towing, but some people just forget that they are, in effect, in charge of a 30' plus articulated rig.

Poor horses!
 
Totally agree, I am yet to take my test but will have some lessons soon. I thnk they are £40 a lessons and the guy said I would probably need a couple to help to learn the ways of how to pass the test, ie hands at ten to two position on the steering wheel etc and of course the reversing. It is bizzare though and even more bizzare to think that someone who is not legal to tow could do so if they had someone in the passanger seat that had passed their driving test before 97. so you could have an elderly person with no idea in the passenger seat with someone towing that hasnt got b and e on their license and still equally as clueless.
 
I know someones that pre 97. She cannot reverse a trailer in a straight line, i mean not ruler straight but I swear she goes back at a good angle! Reversed into one of the barn pillars once and claimed she didn't know what way to turn the steering wheel!
 
It does annoy me! I've just bought my trailer and still practicing reversing etc before I even think about booking my test.

My friend kindly acts as chauffer in the meantime though as she past her test pre 97 (in return for borrowing the trailer when I don't need it) but yet when parking/reversing at shows it's me who's giving instruction! "Turn the wheel the opposite way...THE OPPOSITE WAY!!" :D
 
Whenever you passed your test is really irrelevant:rolleyes:

As with anything in life it the practise that makes these things easier - and lots of people don't practise:o We have people at this yard who tow - both pre '97 and trailer tested people who can not reverse, never try and nevr practise:rolleyes:

Then again I know people who can't parallel park their car or reverse into a parking space.....:rolleyes:
 
I have no trouble towing or reversing with my double trailer, I dont see why I should do a trailer test just because some other hare soles cant drive properly, that's the trouble with this country, everyone gets penalised for the sake of the idiots, "EVERYONE" knows not to drive using a mobile, but just look at how many do, should we all take an extra test driving one handed just because of them.

I have been on the road for 40 years, 2 motorbikes, a 3 wheel reliant and numerous cars and vans, my road experience gives me an edge when it comes to towing, it's common sense, now if you think people should pass a test before being allowed to breed, that would be far more useful, as we seem to have bred stupidity into the nation.

Enshrine of Tools.
 
Pedantic said:
I have no trouble towing or reversing with my double trailer, I dont see why I should do a trailer test just because some other hare soles cant drive properly, that's the trouble with this country, everyone gets penalised for the sake of the idiots, "EVERYONE" knows not to drive using a mobile, but just look at how many do, should we all take an extra test driving one handed just because of them.

I have been on the road for 40 years, 2 motorbikes, a 3 wheel reliant and numerous cars and vans, my road experience gives me an edge when it comes to towing, it's common sense, now if you think people should pass a test before being allowed to breed, that would be far more useful, as we seem to have bred stupidity into the nation.

Enshrine of Tools.
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'like'
 
Personally I think it would be more beneficial to make people learn how to deal with a badly snaking trailer (and I dont mean just theory) rather than worry about reversing. That to me is a much greater danger.
 
JunoXV said:
Personally I think it would be more beneficial to make people learn how to deal with a badly snaking trailer (and I dont mean just theory) rather than worry about reversing. That to me is a much greater danger.
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This entirely, having been in a crash due to a trailer snaking.

I think it is prob harder to drive a trailer than it is to drive something up to 7.5T though. I have had to pass my lorry test, but elder sister and dad can just drive it. That said, driving our lorry is really just like driving a big car - no dramas over reversing etc - that is a whole world of different! I struggle reversing our 4x4 with muck trailer (in field only!) although the trailer is tiny, which makes it harder to control direction. :)
 
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