The case in summary: Driving license class B allows driving with a trailer that has a permissible total weight of up to 750 kilos, including load. It is possible to drive with a heavier trailer as long as the permitted total weight for the car and trailer combined is a maximum of 3,500 kilograms. Mats Danielsen, who runs BookATrailer, believes the rules should be changed to be more about the actual load weight of the trailer, not the permitted total weight. Police officer Aleksander Naley points out that many do not secure the load well enough, and recommends the use of nets and jack straps. Violation of the trailer rules can cost around NOK 6,000 in fines. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has no plans to change the regulations for the use of trailers, as Norway has undertaken to follow the driving license rules that apply to the EU and the EEA area. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – This is a complicated matter, says police officer in the Sør-West police district, Aleksander Naley. Summer is a holiday for the use of trailers. Many people need it, whether it is for several bags of garden waste or furniture and moving loads. – I have no control over the rules, says Ann Kristin Hellås. – But I have full control, says her husband Bjørn Ove. Bjørn Ove has a class BE driver’s license and knows a lot about both how heavy a load he can drive and how to secure it. – I see many people in traffic who break the rules, he says. With a class B driver’s license, you cannot exceed a total weight of 3,500 kilograms for car and trailer. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news For: Before attaching the trailer to the back of the car, it may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rules. They are not always so easy to understand. This is the law and not the law – The main rule for driving license class B is that you can drive with a trailer that has a permitted total weight of up to 750 kilos, explains Naley. Police officer Aleksander Naley in the South-West police district. He often stops motorists who are either driving illegally with a trailer. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news This means that the trailer and load must not weigh more than 750 kilos together. But if you are stopped and the permitted total weight is over 750 kilos, you may still not have to pay a fine. Naley calls it the “campervan rule”. – You can drive with a heavier trailer as long as the permissible total weight for the car and trailer combined is a maximum of 3,500 kilos, says the police officer. Rules for trailers: Class B: You can tow a trailer with a maximum permissible total weight of 750 kilos. This means that the trailer and load must not weigh more than 750 kilograms together. You can tow a heavier trailer if the permissible total weight of the car and trailer together is a maximum of 3,500 kg. Class B 96: Class B 96 entitles you to drive a car and trailer with a combined permissible total weight of up to 4,250 kilos. B 96 is obtained by taking a training program at a traffic school or course organizer. Class BE: You can tow a trailer with a permissible total weight of up to 3,500 kg. Remember: Even if you can tow a heavy trailer with BE, your car may not be able to. In order to obtain this driver’s license, seven hours of compulsory training must be completed at the traffic school. You must also pass a practical driving test at one of the Swedish Road Administration’s traffic stations to obtain a driving licence. Source: Naf Thinks the rules should be changed But with a large car and a spacious trailer, it doesn’t take much before the permissible total weight of the trailer exceeds 3,500 kg. Driving license class B 96 gives you a total permitted total weight of 4,250 kilograms. And with a driving license class BE, the trailer can have a permissible total weight of up to 3,500 kilograms. A Tesla Model Y has a permissible total weight of 2,371 kilograms. With this car, you cannot rent a trailer with a permissible total weight of two tonnes (such as one you rent from the hardware store, for example) if you have a driving license class B or B 96, regardless of whether you only fill the trailer with Styrofoam sheets. Because then the permitted total weight will be over 4,000 kilos, even if what you are actually driving is not that heavy. Do you think the trailer rules are difficult? Yes, they are not that easy to understand🤔 Yes, but I have learned a little more now😅 No, they are completely inside 🥳 Show result Want changes Mats Danielsen runs BookATrailer where he rents out trailers. – There are many examples of driving that most people do, which is actually illegal. We get a lot of feedback that the rules are complicated and difficult to understand, he says. He believes the rules should be changed. For now, it doesn’t matter how much or what you fill the trailer with. – It must be about how much weight you actually have on the trailer. If you have a trailer and load something light, then you know that it is under 750 kilos. Then it should have been allowed, he says. Mats Danielsen in BookATrailer is calling for new rules for trailer use. Photo: Privat Using an app to check if it is legal Hans Kristian Oddsen throws away furniture and other old scrap at the recycling station in Stavanger. – I use trailers within the limits set by my driving license class B, he says. Hans Kristian Oddsen uses an app to check whether he is allowed to use a trailer on his car. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen He checked whether he was allowed to drive with the trailer through the “Bil og henger” app from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. – It works fine. We don’t need new rules, says Oddsen. The Hellås couple have bought a table at Ikea. In addition to weight, you must also make sure that things are secured well enough. – It is important that nothing falls off when you are driving. People are too poor to insure, says Bjørn Ove. Securing the load is one of the rules you must follow in order to drive legally with a trailer. Here, Bjørn Ove straps a flat-packed table from Ikea. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news NOK 6,000 if you are stopped The police officer says it costs you around NOK 6,000 to be stopped for breaking the trailer rules. But it’s not just cargo and weight that you have to think about. – The lights on the trailers are often poor. You must also check whether the car is strong enough to tow it. There are many pitfalls, he says. Naley also adds a new problem that has arisen in recent times: – Electric cars are heavy. Danielsen in BookATrailer believes this reinforces his message. Because then you suddenly have less to go on before the permitted total weight exceeds the limits found in the regulations. – It’s more about which car you drive, he says. Norwegian Public Roads Administration: No plans to change the regulations – Norway has committed to following the driving license rules that apply to the EU and the EEA area, says Cathrine Håheim in Norwegian Public Roads Administration. She has been subjected to criticism. Håheim believes that the current regulations are based on the fact that driving with a trailer is more demanding for the driver than driving without. Therefore, additional training is required to take driving license class B96, and even more so for BE. And the bigger and heavier the trailer becomes, the greater the demands placed on the driver, Håheim believes. – As of today, there are no plans to change these regulations, as these requirements are directive requirements, she says. Aleksander Naley thinks it is difficult to answer whether we know the trailer rules well enough. – Most of the people I stop have a relationship with the rules. I expect people to know the rules of the driver’s license they have, says the police officer. Police officer Naley advises you to check whether you are legally driving with a trailer. Photo: Ingvald Nordmark / news Published 14.08.2024, at 13.05
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This is important to remember when using a trailer – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
