IF it wasn't obligatory to pass a driving test to drive on the roads, wouldn't you still take some lessons? Last winter, the towing test was scrapped for drivers who'd passed their test after 1 January 1997 meaning they - like older drivers - could tow horse trailers up to 3.5-tonne maximum authorised mass (MAM) without adding the B&E category to their licence.
The response among equestrians was mixed. For drivers who had spent years manoeuvring trailers around the farm, the test was an expensive formality; for others, while confident to drive a trailer forwards, reversing down a lane or through a gateway is another matter - this is often a skill we only realise we lack when confronted head-on with an HGV on a single-track road en route to a show.
While there was an initial drop in bookings at training centres, there's
