BETTER PARTSCan you sit in a car that is on a trailer or car transporter?
If the BOB has a trailer driver's license, is this the solution for Saturday evening?
There's a big party coming up and no one wants to be the BOB. Fortunately, you are a democratic group and you vote almost unanimously (with the exception of one vote, very strange) that Pieter and his supporter are not allowed to drink. You load one car onto the trailer, which can seat five people, and the other five go into the towing vehicle. Nice idea, but is that allowed?
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to set up a small-scale competitor of the NS on your own. Article 61b of the Traffic Act states: 'It is prohibited to transport persons in the open or closed loading space of a motor vehicle or moped and in or on a trailer behind a motor vehicle or moped.' You are therefore not allowed to sit in or on a trailer that is behind a moving car. The same applies to a car transporter.
But what if you were very afraid of ending up alone in the nursing home and with half your team breaking down on the highway? If your car needs to be towed, you won't all fit in the cabin of the car transporter. Fortunately, you don't have to do rock-paper-scissors to determine who gets left behind.
A spokesperson for the ANWB said: 'During corona, there was an exemption from Article 61b for a while to transport people on the platform trailer in their own car. This is now no longer allowed. So we currently no longer allow anyone to sit in their own vehicle. We can transport 4 people in the platform car. If there are more people there, we call a colleague who will pick up the rest of the group.'
If you tow a car, it is allowed
There is a small exception to the traffic law. If you tow a car, on its own wheels, people are allowed to sit in the towed vehicle if there is no more room in the tow vehicle. But if you're going to tow a car with a tow rope, someone still has to steer – so you might as well go with two cars.
Or organize your own parade
Even more fun is coming up with an excessively difficult solution for a simple problem. Contact the municipality and organize a permit for a festive parade exactly on the route to the fun party. During an 'event or parade for which a permit has been granted under a municipal ordinance', you may transport people on a trailer or in a loading area.
Another method is to buy a train like they use in amusement parks. They may not drive faster than 45 km/h and there may not be more than eight people in a wagon, excluding the driver. This is only permitted 'if a permit has been issued for this transport by the competent authority'. So it would be extremely helpful if one of your walking buddies has good friends at the municipality. Otherwise you may have to call a few taxis and split the cost by ten.