Trailer owners urged to make safety checks

AVON and Somerset Police has warned trailer owners to make sure they have checked their vehicles before taking them on the road, as they do not have any formal testing or MOT in their lifetime.

Dan Cox, who works as a road safety officer, said that trailers of any kind, whether they are used for transporting cattle, horses, boats, or other goods, can pose a serious risk if they are not properly maintained and inspected.

“My message is, before you take your trailer on the road, whatever guise that’s in – whether it’s a cattle trailer, horse transportation, boat trailer – make sure you’ve systematically checked it before you bring it onto the road. Trailers do not have testing and MOT in their lifetime so it’s imperative that you make sure before you take it on the road that you know what you’re looking at and you’ve gone through those checks to make sure that when it’s on the road, you’re not going to fall foul and it’s not going to become detached or cause a problem,” he said.

He added that there are different types of trailers that fall under the category of non-testable trailers, which include those used in the agricultural sector. He said that tractors are not the main cause of issues, but rather trailers or trail appliances that have braking or lighting problems.

“You can make that wider with horse trailers, cattle trailers, different types of trailers but with the same issue. It’s because the rural sector has those machines within it, and it doesn’t have any formal testing regime or the staff available to go and pull them in at the roadside and check them. Then it comes to fruition were we go and get a fatality or serious collision, we investigate it, but then it’s too late,” he said.

He urged trailer owners to intervene and get as many people as possible to understand what the problems are.