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Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2017
146Drawbar couplings
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#### 146 Drawbar couplings
146 Drawbar couplings
(cf ALVSR 2015 r 146; 2007 reg Sch 2 cl 166)
> > (1) A coupling for attaching a trailer, except a semi-trailer or pole-type trailer, to a towing vehicle must be built and fitted so that—
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> > > (a) the coupling is equipped with a positive locking mechanism, and
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> > > (b) the positive locking mechanism can be released regardless of the angle of the trailer to the towing vehicle.
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> > (2) A coupling fitted to a trailer first registered on or after 1 August 1963 must have clearly and permanently stamped, moulded or otherwise branded on its main component—
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> > > (a) means of identifying its manufacturer, and
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> > > (b) the maximum gross weight of the trailer it is designed to tow.
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> > (3) If the trailer is in a combination and is not fitted with break-away brakes in accordance with rule 127(2), it must be connected to the towing vehicle by at least 1 chain, cable or other flexible device, as well as the coupling required by subrule (1).
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> > (4) Any such safety connection must be as short as practicable and be so connected and affixed that—
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> > > (a) it is not liable to accidental disconnection but is readily detachable from the towing vehicle, and
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> > > (b) it permits all normal angular movements of the coupling without more slack than is necessary, and
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> > > (c) it will prevent the forward end of the drawbar from striking the ground in the event of accidental disconnection of the coupling, and
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> > > (d) if it consists of more than 1 chain or wire rope, the chains or wire ropes are in a crossed-over position, and
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> > > (e) the trailer is kept in tow if the coupling breaks or accidentally detaches.
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> > (5) For the purposes of subrule (4), a safety connection between a trailer and a towing vehicle includes anything which connects the trailer and the towing vehicle.
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> > Examples of what is included in a safety connection—
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> > > • chains
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> > > • cables
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> > > • a thing fixed to a trailer or a towing vehicle to which a chain is attached
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> > > • shackles
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> > (6) Any chain or wire rope in such a safety connection must—
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> > > (a) if a chain, be of welded iron links, and
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> > > (b) if a wire rope, have a strength of at least that of a chain of the same diameter, and
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> > > (c) be of a size specified in the following table—
> > >
> > > Table
> > >
> > > | Gross weight of trailer | Minimum size of chain or wire rope |
> > > | Up to 500 kilograms | 6.3 millimetres diameter |
> > > | Exceeding 500 kilograms but not exceeding 1.3 tonnes | 9.5 millimetres diameter |
> > > | Exceeding 1.3 tonnes | 12.6 millimetres diameter |