Towing

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I know this story is by word-of-mouth not from personal experience, but I thought it worth posting.

Apparently a car broke down on a slip road of the A12 in Essex recently & the driver called his son for assistance.
The son's arrival on scene happened to coincide with a police traffic unit; the officers then refused to allow him to tow his father the short distance home, insisting that a proper recovery outfit be employed.
Dad was not a member of any breakdown organisation & had to fork out for the service.

Obviously I don't know the exact circumstances; was the proposed towing device considered by the officers to be unfit for purpose for example, or have new rules been introduced regarding DIY recovery ?
 
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The police get a bung from recovery companies for phoning their company as opposed to another company.
 
The Highway Code says

Breakdowns. In the event of a breakdown, be aware
  • that towing a vehicle on a tow rope is potentially dangerous. You should consider using a solid tow bar or professional recovery
  • it may take longer to build up speed when rejoining a carriageway (see also Rule 278)
Years ago I would ( and did ) DIY tow but not today.

Two recent local incidents
(1) rope too short and the driver being towed ran into the back of the car towing
(2) rope too long and a third car tried to cut in between tow car and towed car
 
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It's a long time since I towed anyone with a rope, thought nothing of it back in the day with close mates or brothers etc who all collectively new how to do it but I'd certainly not now with someone who's never towed before.
 
Are there not, strictly speaking (police point of view), requirements that there should be a light bar with towing vehicle operated lights, trailer triangle and towing vehicle number plate on it?
 
It's a long time since I towed anyone with a rope, thought nothing of it back in the day with close mates or brothers etc who all collectively new how to do it but I'd certainly not now with someone who's never towed before.
It's admittedly long ago, but I'm very experienced in the art so the last time we had a breakdown I got my partner to drive my 4x4 whilst I was towed in her car. At the end of the day it's not rocket science, don't let the rope/strap go slack & communicate with each other by signals.

Decades ago I was involved in the two-way tow of an HGV without brakes. Coupled all three trucks with chains, the front one towed whilst tail-end Charlie acted as brakes for the disabled vehicle; THATS teamwork ;)
 
I broke down on the motorway some years ago (snapped cambelt). Those traffic patrol people turned up and said I had an hour to get off by my own means or they would call out one of their contractors.

You'd think these day with managed motorways they'd tow you off to get traffic flowing.
 
Are there not, strictly speaking (police point of view), requirements that there should be a light bar with towing vehicle operated lights, trailer triangle and towing vehicle number plate on it?
The Construction & Use regs are full of dispensations for "a broken-down vehicle" (or one that's towing it). I suspect that there's more to the original story than meets the eye.
 
Many years ago, my dad was in a broken-down car, being towed by my mum. Apparently, at one point, she had to cross a dual carriageway from a side road. She looked right, and then cautiously proceeded to the gap in the central reservation and stopped to await a gap in the traffic on the other carriageway...

...meanwhile, my dad, a sitting duck at this point, prayed fervently that the brakes on the Jaguar tanking towards him were good...
 
Years ago many vehicles had non-servo brakes and non-power steering. Have you tried controlling a vehicle without those nowdays? No brakes and no steering. Sometimes I can’t get our Diesel Golf outside our house as a station Parker has parked there so I park two houses up. Before I go to bed, I like my car to be outside our house so I move it. As it’s often late and we have a slight slope in our road, I just let the handbrake off and roll it two houses. Almost impossible to turn the steering wheel and I have to practically stand on the brake pedal to stop it and that’s at less than walking pace! Being in the motor trade, I have many years of experience of both towing and being towed and even I wouldn’t allow myself to be towed in a modern car - there is NO WAY I could brake for the car I’m in, let alone the car towing me.

Try this. Find yourself a slight hill with no cars parked on it. Switch off your engine and pump the brakes half a dozen times to exhaust the servo. Let your handbrake off so that the car rolls downhill. Try to brake and steer it. Let us know how you get on.
 
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It's a long time since I towed anyone with a rope, thought nothing of it back in the day with close mates or brothers etc who all collectively new how to do it but I'd certainly not now with someone who's never towed before.
Same here and it really annoyed me when the mate you were towing found it funny to try to overtake you!
 
During my apprenticeship I used to work evenings and weekends in a garage that did overspill work for the AA. Once when I was flat-towing a bloke in a Marina who assured me that he knew how to be towed, I got at least half a mile or more down Balls Pond Road, crossing several major junctions. When I turned left at Dalston Junction he went straight on and dragged the arse of the tow vehicle round. He had forgotten to take off the steering lock!
 
It's a long time since I towed anyone with a rope, thought nothing of it back in the day with close mates or brothers etc who all collectively new how to do it but I'd certainly not now with someone who's never towed before.

Last time I towed, was a family who had broken down in a rather dangerous spot on a coast road. I just towed them a few hundred yards to a safer place to wait for breakdown services - that around 20 years ago. I still always carry a tow rope, jump leads and a few other bits in the boot.
 
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