Reflections on towing mirrors
Chris Hogan, 21st September 2015, Boat
Towing mirrors might not be required for a very small boat and trailer and but there is a legal requirement for adequate visibility to be maintained regardless of what you are towing. We take a look at the ins and outs of the regulations to help you decide whether you need towing mirrors or not.
Image shows Milenco's Aero 3 - just launched and reaching shops now
There are strict requirements for rear vision for all vehicles, whether they are towing or not - you have to be able to see 20 metres behind and four metres either side of your caravan. Also for towing vehicles registered in 2010 or later, the mirrors must comply with EEC regulation 2003/97 or the UNECE Regulation 46.01 (before 2010) or 46.02.
You might also see 46.03 and 46.04, which are updates to 46.02 largely to cater for video cameras - more on that later.
Do you need extensions for a boat trailer?
There's not a great deal of information out there about the need to have mirror extensions when towing boats and it wasn't until we spoke to someone at Milenco - manufacturers of the well regarded Aero family of towing mirrors - that we truly understood the rules. The main point is that the rear vision rules apply regardless of what you're towing.
Of course if you're not towing anything, the car's standard exterior and interior mirrors will give you adequate vision. If you add a trailer, you'll need to add extension mirrors unless it's too small to interfere with rearward vision.
The regulations regarding E-markings cover the standard of the mirror extensions themselves. When Caravan Magazine witnessed impact tests on non-E-marked mirrors the results were spectacularly bad: "it was as if the mirror had exploded", they said, so it's not worth buying cheap unmarked ones anyway.
Are towing mirrors worth the money?
The price of a correctly made and fitted pair of towing mirrors is very cost effective. If you are stopped by the police (and it does happen) you can gain three points and be fined up to £1000 for any of the following:
- Not having towing mirrors fitted at all if your trailer is too wide
- Having mirrors that are too small or not far out enough
- Having mirrors that don't have the right E-mark
We have to say we'd be very surprised if any UK traffic police will be aware enough to pick up on that last one but, as we said earlier, it's a very good idea to make sure they conform, quite apart from the legal issue.
Whether or not your trailer is wide enough to need towing mirrors (point 1 above) can be difficult to work out and is a concern. If you were stopped it would probably be up to the officer on the spot to decide whether they are required. That's probably reason enough for you to buy some if there's any doubt at all!
Different fittings
Car manufacturers haven't exactly made it easier to choose and fit towing mirrors in recent years. Mirrors used to be round or rectangular but now they're all sorts of shapes and the covers are much larger, providing room for positioning motors, heater elements and often indicators too.
This all makes it harder for accessory manufacturers to make universal towing extensions that will fit securely with minimum vibration. If you can find mirrors that are specifically made for your make and model of car, those are likely to provide the best fit and clarity of vision, but they will be more expensive than universal ones.
Universal extensions generally have one of three fitting types - straps that go around the mirror, suction caps that secure to the glass, or top-mounted clamps.
- Straps - these are most likely to fit a wider variety of cars and you can probably re-use them if you change cars. But they are ungainly and obscure a fair bit of the ordinary mirror. They're also time-consuming to fit and many users report a lot of vibration.
- Clamps - these grip the top of the mirror cover and support a rod that holds the second mirror. They will fit all mirrors except those with an extreme curve on the top edge. On most of them you can slide the rod in and out so they'll suit a range of trailer widths. A good tip to reduce vibration is to have the two mounts set as far apart as possible. If the top of the mirror is too curved for this, you can trying swapping left and right over and mounting them on the bottom of the mirror instead.
- Suction - similar to satnav mounts, these attach to the standard mirror glass although that means the standard mirror becomes virtually useless. They get very good reviews for low vibration (which means a clearer view) and being quick to fit or remove, but you must make sure they are attached properly to avoid them coming off at high speed.
Convex or flat?
Most mirror types come with either flat or convex glass, the latter giving a wider view at the expense of some distortion - this can seem a bit odd until you get used to it. There doesn't seem to be any real advantage either way, it's purely personal preference.
A final mirror tip
A new problem has been added to the towing mirror world - powerfold mirrors. If you got mirrors that fold electrically but are switch-operated then you're ok as long as you remember not to fold them
But increasingly cars are being designed to fold the mirrors automatically when you park. Unless you can disable that function, you'll have to find extensions that won't break or scratch your paintwork when they fold in or remember to remove them before they start folding!
What about cameras?
This article has all been about mirrors but we're going to finish by mentioning video cameras, which have become more accessible in the last few years. Prices have been coming down recently and most medium to high priced camera systems have an option to link to another camera at the back.
But we could find no rearward camera system that conforms to UNECE Regulation 46.03 or 46.04. These later regulations define the capabilities of "devices for indirect vision" so that they apply to both mirrors and cameras and the reality is that we know of no system currently available that will pass those regulations, particularly at low light levels.
Cameras aren't enough on their own
So if you are using a video camera on it's own to rely on rearward vision when towing a boat then you're breaking the law, unless you are certain that the trailer and boat are small enough not to interfere with rearward vision.
That doesn't mean you can't use a camera, but it's likely that you'll have to fit extension mirrors as well - on its own it won't be legal.
What's your experience been?
Do please let us know if you have any stories, good or bad, relating to towing mirrors, which you can share for other boat and yacht owners to learn from. Just reply to the newsletter email to let us know - thank you!
