Hi all ,
Can anybody confirm wether or not flashing beacons are required by law on a low loader ( not step frame ) , have a new trailer coming from King’s in a few weeks but nobody seems to know whats right or wrong .
cheers
Not by law,
Some police authorities insist on them when travelling under a movement order.
An awful lot of drivers appear to think that a low-loader or similar is required to display said beacon all the time, loaded or not, slow moving or otherwise 
Rikki-UK:
Not by law,Some police authorities insist on them when travelling under a movement order.
This trailer purely for steam engine transport so no over width or length envisaged , obviously all required markings on trailer rear anyway , so do we need them ?
What is it with the beacons…i`ve seen low loaders empty, breakdown trucks, whether loaded or not even when the car on the back fits within the width, running with orange lights on…even seen the odd tipper running along the highway with them on…whats that all about.
scourfield:
Rikki-UK:
Not by law,Some police authorities insist on them when travelling under a movement order.
This trailer purely for steam engine transport so no over width or length envisaged , obviously all required markings on trailer rear anyway , so do we need them ?
If your not overweight then no, if you are over weight if they are required in a certain police area then the movement order notification will tell you/
What is it with the beacons…i`ve seen low loaders empty,
Some low loaders even empty fall out of C&U regs and require a movement order… even some within C&U are up to 60 foot long with command steered axles right at the back, which around towns and tight corners have a hell of a tail swing which can easily take out anyone a bit unwary
Others the beacons tend to be wired into the lights so unless you stop and unplug the things manually everytime you turn the lights on they go on…
and some times the drivers simply forget to take them off
And some of course just like to have “look at me lights” going 
Rikki-UK:
scourfield:
Rikki-UK:
Not by law,Some police authorities insist on them when travelling under a movement order.
This trailer purely for steam engine transport so no over width or length envisaged , obviously all required markings on trailer rear anyway , so do we need them ?
If your not overweight then no, if you are over weight if they are required in a certain police area then the movement order notification will tell you/
Thanks , trailer we were using last year combined with unit we were 62’ 6" overall length which when we bought trailer was fitted with beacons , absolute pain when in the dark empty as beacons in mirror ( until blanked off ) , when i questioned it i was told that there was something to do with height of trailer at rear , with other drivers not recognising rear bridge height when empty ■■? , now with new trailer wer’e well in on all aspects - weight , length & width , the only thing slightly different is this is a tandem with a rear self tracker which will make us a bit friendlier on corners .
alll thoughts welcomed !
I am under the impression that the big drop bed stuff that is outside of C & U regs require a rear beacon at all times.
To be honest if you watch any rear steering trailer through a roundabout or sweeping turn the line they take is way different and on a long bed this is exaggerated. Regulation or not anything that keeps the ■■■■■■■■■ from trying to overtake through a roundabout has got to help when driving these beasts.
Cheers
Neilf
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wouldn’t by any chance be for JOE C would it Richard?, I drive for Allelys moving Trains and we run with Flashing lights on the back on the bigger trailers even when we are empty as it just covers you a bit more, Also a lot of our kit is notified when empty as we can be 100 tons or more when Ballasted.
Tell me what you are going to run with the outfit and i will run it through the office, Darren
Roymondo:
An awful lot of drivers appear to think that a low-loader or similar is required to display said beacon all the time, loaded or not, slow moving or otherwise
They just feel special cos they have flashing lights.
Those that haven’t got flashing lights and still want to feel special put their front fog lights on … doesn’t make them quite as special but they are certainly special 
scourfield:
Hi all ,Can anybody confirm wether or not flashing beacons are required by law on a low loader ( not step frame ) , have a new trailer coming from King’s in a few weeks but nobody seems to know whats right or wrong .
cheers
Hi. As an ex Low Loader driver of 40 years, You do not need a flashing amber light on the rear when empty, but you do need one on when loaded. If you are more than 3 metres wide you need a red and white retroreflective board 50mm square on each corner of the load with 3 marker lights down the side of the boards and if you go abroad you will need on top of all that an rotating amber light on each corner of the load as well.
In the U.K. you will need a rigid sign on the front of the truck 6foot by 1foot approx. having WIDE LOAD on it in black letters and the writing must be 8 inches high and the letters must be 1 and a half inches thick. The background must be
Yellow retroreflective grade 1 or 2 and the same on the rear of the trailer. These must be solid and not the tie on flexible material.
Regards Ben Bronson Abnormal Load ■■■■■■
Hi all ,
thanks for your replies , rang a chap who i remembered today who works for vosa , his immediate reply - not sure , however he got someone else to ring me from vosa swansea who confirmed the due to being withing limits all round & being able to achieve a top speed of over 25 mph we are exempt from rear beacons , however we did agree on the idiot factor element , since found out that kings are putting them on as standard so it’s our call .
erf, king trailer & burrell crane engine - full steam ahead i say !
but you do need one on when loaded. If you are more than 3 metres wide you need a red and white retroreflective board 50mm square on each corner of the load with 3 marker lights down the side of the boards
In the U.K. you will need a rigid sign on the front of the truck 6foot by 1foot approx. having WIDE LOAD on it in black letters and the writing must be 8 inches high and the letters must be 1 and a half inches thick. The background must be Yellow retroreflective grade 1 or 2 and the same on the rear of the trailer.
Which regs is this under? Has it changed? as far as I am aware all you need is for wide load Triangular marker boards on the extremeties of the load, illuminated at night (white to front and red to rear) and side markers
Use of beacons for wide loads as far as I am aware is down to the local conditions set down by the Police abnormal load officers when issuing movement orders in their areas
Rikki-UK:
but you do need one on when loaded. If you are more than 3 metres wide you need a red and white retroreflective board 50mm square on each corner of the load with 3 marker lights down the side of the boards
In the U.K. you will need a rigid sign on the front of the truck 6foot by 1foot approx. having WIDE LOAD on it in black letters and the writing must be 8 inches high and the letters must be 1 and a half inches thick. The background must be Yellow retroreflective grade 1 or 2 and the same on the rear of the trailer.Which regs is this under? Has it changed? as far as I am aware all you need is for wide load Triangular marker boards on the extremeties of the load, illuminated at night (white to front and red to rear) and side markers
Use of beacons for wide loads as far as I am aware is down to the local conditions set down by the Police abnormal load officers when issuing movement orders in their areas
TO the best of my knowledge the rules are as follows (but I stand to be corrected)
WIDTH
Up to 2.9m wide with no one side projecting more than 305mm NO REQUIREMENT
Less than 305mm projection to both sides and within 2.9m - NO REQUIREMENT.
More than 305mm projection on any one side (and over 2.55m) REAR MARKER BOARDS and POLICE NOTIFICATION
OVER 2.9 M to 3.5m REAR MARKER BOARDS and POLICE NOTIFICATION
3.5m - 4.3 MARKER BOARDS, POLICE NOTIFICATION and AN ATTENDANT
LENGTH (to rear)
Upto 2m projection NO REQUIREMENT
Over 2m to 3.05m MUST HAVE END MARKER BAORD, SIDE MARKER and ATTENDANT
Over 3.05m to 4.5m MUST HAVE END MARKER, SIDE MARKER, ATTENDANT and POLICE NOTIFICATION
4.5m + AS ABOVE plus ADDITIONAL SIDE MARKER
LENGTH (to front)
Upto 1m projection NO REQUIREMENT
Over 1m to 2m MUST BE CLEARLY VISIBLE
Over 2m to 3.05m MUST HAVE END MARKER BAORD
Over 3.05m to 5m MUST HAVE END MARKER, SIDE MARKER, ATTENDANT and POLICE NOTIFICATION
5m + AS ABOVE plus ADDITIONAL SIDE MARKER
In all of the above markers are the red and white triangular that must be illuminated at night but generally reflective is OK but not really
I have typed all this rather quickly but to the best of my knowledge it is correct - however don’t trust me and check with the authorities before you do any of the above.
Shep…
thats roughly what I remember without looking it up, which is why I am a bit confused with the wide load sign and 3 marker lights down each square marker board and beacon mentioned above by Big Ben …
If the regs have changed then only too happy to be educated
exmayor:
and we run with Flashing lights on the back on the bigger trailers even when we are empty as it just covers you a bit more,
Trouble is Darren, people see you with beacons on empty, think they have to do the same.
What’s happening is their effect is becoming diluted, the public just don’t take any notice of them anymore.
The reason being, everyone’s got them on, all the council lads, HATO’s who’re parked up doing nowt, Incident Support parked up at the top of sliproads have them on, bin wagons, ■■■ me even Mick and Paddy’s wheel barrows have them fitted.
In the recovery industry we’re finding that despite a massive drive in training, developed working practices, thorough risk assesments, more back-up available than years gone by (Highways), better clothing, PPE and reflective tapes on the trucks than we’ve ever had before, that the accident rate is going UP.
Studies have shown that amber beacons just don’t get attention anymore, people see that many of them they’re complacent with them.
This worries the hell out of me. My lads work on the hard shoulder for a living, it’s one of the most dangerous places you can be.
With beacons becoming less and less effective, it’s a grave concern for me and our lads out on the road.
PLEASE, don’t use amber beacons unless REQUIRED TO BY LAW! Their over-use is killing their effect.
I’ll give you an example, stopped at traffic lights on the dual carriageway through town. A council ■■■■■■ Tipper pulled alongside with beacons blazing. I wound the window down, said “ere mate all your hero lights are lit up”.
He said “Yeah mate, 'cos I’ve got the trailer on see”. He was towing a wood chipper/shredder.
WTF? Is this a legal requirement now, or just council policy that you need beacons on to tow a 1 ton trailer on the back of a van?
cieranc:
I’ll give you an example, stopped at traffic lights on the dual carriageway through town. A council ■■■■■■ Tipper pulled alongside with beacons blazing. I wound the window down, said “ere mate all your hero lights are lit up”.
He said “Yeah mate, 'cos I’ve got the trailer on see”. He was towing a wood chipper/shredder.
WTF? Is this a legal requirement now, or just council policy that you need beacons on to tow a 1 ton trailer on the back of a van?
As mentioned before - driver was ‘special’ and had special needs.
cieranc:
This worries the hell out of me. My lads work on the hard shoulder for a living, it’s one of the most dangerous places you can be.
With beacons becoming less and less effective, it’s a grave concern for me and our lads out on the road.PLEASE, don’t use amber beacons unless REQUIRED TO BY LAW! Their over-use is killing their effect.
I doubt I will EVER forget the time i was parked at the side of a fast flowing German road with my Chieftain Armoured Recovery vehicle. Around 60tons if I remember rightly. Amber flashing beacons on the back as required at the time, lights on. (It was broad daylight as well)
Audi 80 (nice car back then) ploughed straight into our vehicle. This thing wasn’t exactly small, I know it was painted camouflage but even so … lights on and amber flashing lights and the driver made no attempt to slow or brake. Pushed the tank forward a foot or so. Luckily we were all stood off to the side and not working the vehicle.
Anyway - i reckon the Audi must have be goin near 100mph. Took a long time to get all the fleshy bits out of the equipment on the back - no sign of the occupants apart from the splattered bits and the odd limb. i counted 3 arms so must have been 2 people.
We were parked there to ‘protect’ the recovery operation going on in front of us (Tank in a ditch) … standard practice where we could. proved to be a good idea as otherwise around 8 squaddies could have been hit.
I pity anyone has to work on the hard shoulder … there aint enough flashing illuminous sparkly anythings to wake some of these car drivers up.