OT: Perfectly Normal For Norfolk

[GB]

A47 steam engine towing three vehicles stopped at 5mph

[GB]

It's interesting to see the ratio of water to coal in the trailer. I thought they'd need much more coal.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

The coupling onto the traction engine looks well dodgy.

[Colin Bignell]

Fred Dibnah used to stop at hydrants to take on water.

[Colin Bignell]

IF you mean the bottom right of the composite picture of three images, I think that is the A frame for towing the Land Rover. It looks as though it is connected to the living trailer by a U bolt around a bar at the back. Perhaps that is why the Police allowed them to continue with the Land Rover as an escort vehicle.

[SteveW]

I wonder under what rules they stopped him? A "locomotive" (a vehicle for towing, but not carrying a load itself and weighing over 7370kg) can pull up to three trailers (a towing dolly or other device does not count as one of the three), none of which may be longer than 7m and the total length of the combination cannot exceed 25.9m. As a Discovery is only

4.7m long, that combination looks a lot shorter than the limit.

There is presumably not a prohibition on traction engines on the A47 (especially as the police allowed it to continue with one "trailer" detached).

I can't see that he was breaking any laws or defying any restrictions.

[SteveW]

Thank God it wasn't this combination:

A Scammell pulling numerous other heavy trucks, totalling 325 tons!

[Robin]

They might have felt the combination of length and slow speed amounted to inconsiderate driving given there was no escort vehicle. (The full name of the offence known as "careless driving" is of course "careless, and inconsiderate, driving".)

[SteveW]

What they "feel" is not the law though. Traction engines typically travel at 5 to 10 mph and there is no requirement for them (or for them towing trailers) to have an escort vehicle.

It cannot be classed as careless or inconsiderate driving if you are travelling slowly, but at the maximum speed your vehicle would be expected to achieve under the circumstances and are on a road that your vehicle is legally allowed to use.

From what I have read elsewhere, it is not uncommon for traffic police to not know or understand many of the more unusual laws (maximum length for vehicle combinations is a typical one) and for them to act in ways that they actually have no power to do so.

[Tim Lamb]

A while back now, but I think farm vehicles are required to have a flashing lamp on dual carriageway.

[Tim Lamb]

I think you need an escort vehicle if more than 8'6" wide. See, not everything is metric.

[Robin]

I wasn't aware that "my vehicle won't go any faster" was an absolute defence.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

Fred Dibnah used to steal water from hydrants.

[Harry Bloomfield Esq]

It happens that Colin Bignell formulated :

I did mean that - it doesn't look very robust where the pin goes through at the hitch, nor how the cyclinder is attached to the A frame. I would guess the cylinder is some sort of shock absorber.

[SteveW]

There's one on top of the living van, one on top of the Discovery and one on the trailer ... so I think he's alright there.

[SteveW]

He used to argue that he regularly had to dig them out before he could use them and therefore he was providing a service to the utility company and the fire brigade.

[SteveW]

No vehicle can be expected to exceed its limits and unless there is a prohibition on the road for slow moving vehicles, they cannot be expected to avoid them.

Anyway, the fact that the police were happy to allow it to continue (at the same speed) with the Landrover detached shows that it cannot be the slow speed that was a problem. Adding an escort vehicle, which will be travelling at the same speed doesn't make any difference.

[Colin Bignell]

Two, as the Land Rover was pulling the tender trailer and presumably continued to do so as an escort vehicle. That trailer had warning signs and a beacon and probably should have been at the back of the convoy.

As discussed in another part of this thread, the towing connection for the Land Rover looks decidedly Heath Robinsonish. They may have considered it was not safe, which would explain why he was allowed to continue with the Land Rover as an escort vehicle and not as a trailer.

[Colin Bignell]

I agree, but I was concerned about using a single U bolt as the connection to the living van. That is a lot of load to put on a couple of not very substantial looking nuts.

[Robin]

The report included "Police said traffic had been held up as the engine had been travelling so slowly on its 40-mile (65km) journey." If it had not been pulling over when safe to do so to let people pass that is potentially inconsiderate driving - with HC Rule 169 ready to be cited if it came to court.

AIUI an escort vehicle can make a difference in practice if the driver looks out for stopping places and pulls in so the driver behind has to follow. Drivers of really big loads can have a tendency not to want to stop.