New driving licence rules will come into effect in the UK on January 19th 2013. These will require newly issued licences to be produced in a format that will be harder to copy illegally. Drivers' images, as such, will be burnt by laser onto several layers. These will therefore be black and white rather than colour as with the current format. Licences will also made from polycarbonate - rather than basic plastic - so they will be light and tough.
New driving licence rules will also influence what motorists can tow. According to www.gov.uk, the Category B (car and small vehicle) licence will enable motorists to have:

small trailers weighing no more than 750kg.
trailers weighing more than 750kg, where the combined weight of the towing vehicle and the trailer isn’t more than 3,500kg.
In contrast, Category B licences issued on or after January 1st 1997 allow drivers to have:
a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500 kilograms (kg) Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (with a combined weight of up to 4,250kg in total).
a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as it is no more than the unladen or ‘kerb’ weight of the towing vehicle (with a combined weight of up to 3,500kg in total).
The new licence rules will also affect lorry and bus drivers. As such, www.gov.uk says: “If you pass your driving test in categories C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E, after 19 January 2013 you’ll get a licence valid for 5 years. Every 5 years up to age 45, you’ll need to sign a declaration to show you still meet the medical standards. After age 45, you’ll need to provide a medical examination report every 5 years to renew your driving entitlement.”
In contrast, the following rules will apply to those under 45 with older licences: “If you passed a driving test in one of the categories below you’ll come under the new rules when you renew your driving licence. The categories affected are C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1 or D1E. When you renew your licence, you’ll receive a licence valid for 5 years. Every time you renew you’ll need to confirm you still meet the medical standards. If you apply to replace your licence because it is lost or stolen, or your personal details have changed, your new licence will run until the end of your original period. However, if you update your photo at the same time you’ll come under the new 5-year rule.” Finally, “drivers over 45 will continue to renew their entitlement as they do now. When you renew your licence at the end of a 5-year period, you’ll need to provide a medical examination report.”

Motororing.co.uk

As long as it still give me permission to speed in fine with it!! One day your life will flash before your eyes......................................make sure yours is worth watching!

This is something that really confuses me. As someone who is 27 and passed my normal driving test in 2003, if get a range rover will i be able to tow a caravan weighing approx 1000kg? one minute i read it that i can and the next i cant, please help?

Simple answer after I read up on it is NO you can't unless you have someone with the entitlement with you and you display L plates so you'd be a learner under instruction.

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No you can't tow a caravan weighing that weight with a range rover
I had to sit my b+e to tow big trailers etc

You could tow with say a focus weighing 1600kgs and a trailer weighing 1000kgs as its total weight is under 3500kgs.
I looked into this for hours and hours trying to find a tow vehicle suitable to be under the 3500 gross category but there was no way around it.

I thought the new rules only aplied to work use letters not necessarily in the right order

The trailer rules are not new they have been about for years. I passed my b+e in 2005
Anyone can tow a trailer… it's only when it goes belly up and there is an accident etc and the police are involved then it bites you in the ass. I bet you most people would fail a b+e test even if you have Been towing for years, there is all the manouvers, reverse parrallel park,Coupling/uncoupling, emergency stop and a 1 hour drive around the city centre. The trailer can not be a flatbed and must be a box trailer etc so you have blind spots

Gazellio @ Prestige Cars wrote:

New driving licence rules will also influence what motorists can tow. According to www.gov.uk, the Category B (car and small vehicle) licence will enable motorists to have:

small trailers weighing no more than 750kg.
trailers weighing more than 750kg, where the combined weight of the towing vehicle and the trailer isn’t more than 3,500kg.

Im pretty sure a 7.5 ton can tow a lot more than a 750kg trailer on ther old licence. One day your life will flash before your eyes......................................make sure yours is worth watching!

The towing rules dont make sense for ffrr or heavy 4x4's as an experienced tower i have looked at these in detail pre 97 licenses can tow anything upto max gtw of vehicle irrespective of the 3500kg rule. Post 97, cant, basically what gaz said.

I have a pre 97 license, however if anyone with a post 97 license wanted to tow any caravan or large trailer would need a b + e license.

Pre 97 came with "e" entitlement included

I do t think that they will take these entitlements away......?

I also have one of the polycarb licenses and still have all my original gubbins. And its valid until 2045, so are all the entitlements.  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Copied from gov website.

On 19 January 2013, new driving licence rules come into force for drivers of cars/ small vehicles (categories B and B+E) who want to tow trailers. The new rules will apply to you if you pass your test on or after that date. Driving entitlements obtained before this date will not be affected.

The way I read this the new rules only affect people passing their test after this Jan and were all far too old to be worried about that?  Lloyd Barnes

Current
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Gone
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For us oldies, i think we are ok

You need to look at your licence and the codes then have a look at this page.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories


Jay  2020 Porsche Panamera Turbo Hybrid (V FAST)
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Poor young uns, no caravanning for them......... Unless they take more tests.

All daft. Which is safer

A: 2.7t rangie towing a 1.5 t caravan
B: 1.5t focus towing a 1.2t caravan

A obviously...... Yet B is legal and A is not for post 1997 tests. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
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That is really dissapointing news that i feared might be the case. Does anyone know the punishment for towing a caravan and being over the weight limit???