This is the time of year when small trailers, tentboxes and caravans are all being transported across the UK to various holiday destinations and events like country shows, air displays etc. But is the increasing age of trailers increasing the risk for insurers? Here’s the word;
The UK Towing Safety Alliance (UKTSA) has today released a comprehensive four-year analysis of incident data (2022–2025) from National Highways’ Strategic Road Network (SRN). The findings reveal a critical 23% increase in total towing-related incidents, driven primarily by a growing maintenance crisis involving utility and commercial trailers.
While the data shows a welcome 17% reduction in traffic collisions involving towed vehicles—suggesting improvements in driver behaviour and awareness—the number of incidents caused by mechanical failure continues to rise. Breakdowns now account for 77% of all towing-related incidents, highlighting vehicle and trailer condition as the greatest challenge facing the sector.
The findings come as new SMMT Motorparc 2025 data reveals that Britain’s vehicle fleet is older than ever before. A record 45.7% of all cars on UK roads have now been in service for more than 10 years, while the average age of a car has risen to 9.7 years, as motorists continue to delay servicing, maintenance and replacing vehicles amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
The findings also coincide with the busy summer harvest season, when thousands of agricultural trailers, livestock trailers and other working trailers return to the road after months of limited use. Recent research from NFU Mutual found that collisions involving agricultural vehicles and third parties are 56% more likely between May and September than during the rest of the year, reinforcing the importance of ensuring both tow vehicles and trailers are roadworthy before every journey.
The Alliance believes these trends are directly influencing towing safety, with older tow vehicles often being paired with ageing trailers that may have seen years of intermittent use, limited servicing or multiple owners.
Trailer Incidents Continue to Rise
The analysis highlights a significant shift in the types of vehicles requiring assistance.
- Utility trailers, used for both commercial and domestic purposes, together with agricultural trailers, are contributing to a significant rise in trailer-related incidents. Trailer incidents now account for almost half of all towing-related callouts, surpassing 3,000 incidents in 2025.
- The North West has overtaken the South East as the UK’s most incident-prone region, experiencing a 60% increase in trailer failures since 2022.
- The North East has also recorded a dramatic rise, with trailer incidents increasing by more than 55% over the same period.
A Tale of Two Sectors
The report highlights an increasingly clear divide between leisure and commercial towing. Improving trends in parts of the leisure towing sector, including fewer horsebox incidents and reductions in caravan incidents in some regions, suggest that targeted awareness campaigns may be having a positive impact.” However, incidents involving failures with utility trailers continue to rise throughout the year, indicating that maintenance standards across the commercial and domestic utility trailer sector require greater attention.
Reece Wigmore, Approved Workshop Scheme Manager said:
“While caravan-towing related incidents remain significantly lower than those involving commercial and utility trailers, and the overall national picture is encouraging, there is no room for complacency. Regular servicing, routine maintenance, correct loading and coupling to the tow vehicle is essential. Greater awareness of safe towing practices is also key to keeping caravans roadworthy, preventing avoidable incidents and protecting both caravan owners and other road users.”
Rural Roads and Harvest Season
For many working trailers, summer represents the busiest period of the year. Agricultural trailers transporting silage, hay, grain and livestock, together with utility trailers used by contractors, landscapers and rural businesses, see a sharp increase in use during the harvest season.
At the same time, rural roads become significantly busier with tourists, cyclists, walkers and horse riders, increasing the complexity of the driving environment. According to NFU Mutual, more than a third (35%) of UK motorists say they feel uncomfortable navigating agricultural vehicles on rural roads, while collisions involving agricultural vehicles increase by more than half during the peak farming season.
These seasonal pressures reinforce the importance of ensuring trailers that may have been stored for extended periods undergo thorough inspection before returning to service.
A spokesperson for the UK Towing Safety Alliance said:
“It’s encouraging to see fewer collisions involving towing vehicles, which suggests that drivers are becoming more aware of safe towing practices. However, that progress is being undermined by a growing number of preventable mechanical failures. The challenge is no longer simply about how people tow—it’s increasingly about what they’re towing and the condition it’s in. As both tow vehicles and trailers get older, regular maintenance has never been more important.”
Stuart Lovatt, Chair of TyreSafe, said:
“Harvest season places extra demands on both vehicles and trailers, particularly those that may only be used for a few months each year. One of the most common issues we see is tyres that appear to have plenty of tread but have deteriorated through age, weathering or prolonged storage. Whether you’re towing a livestock trailer, plant trailer, horsebox or caravan, tyres should always be inspected for correct pressure, damage, cracking and signs of ageing before every journey. A few minutes spent carrying out these checks can prevent breakdowns and significantly improve safety for everyone using our roads.”
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