Should there be a trailer MOT?

As someone who enjoys studying the motoring small ads, this one, from preloved.co.uk, caught my eye: “Ideal for camping or the odd tip run. I’ll be honest, needs slight tidying but not that bad. Has no light board hence £50. Tows lovely. Contact Wayne.”

On the M4 recently, I passed a forlorn figure standing next to his car and trailer. The cause of his dismay was obvious. His trailer had collapsed, its body resting on the road.

That could have been me. At the end of every journey, I always felt a sense of relief that my trailer had withstood the rigours of the journey.

Owners’ amateur efforts to rebuild trailers would not be permitted in countries such as Sweden, where all trailers need to be registered and have a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer. Most significantly, they need to pass a regular roadworthiness test.

Is this necessary in the UK? It might well be, given the startling results in Sweden, where the number of trailers failing the test has increased over the past 10 years. Cecilia Blom Hesselgren of Bilprovningen, the vehicle testing authority, stresses: “There is definitely a need for periodic testing. We tested 236,876 light trailers (up to 3.5 tons) in 2010. Sixty-two per cent passed the test. Of the 38 per cent that failed, 24 per cent had severe defects, the most common in the braking system.”