Cattle Transport Stopped in Germany: Two Cows Towed Behind an Opel Meriva

In the city of Hamm, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police stopped a livestock transport on the morning of 3 November because it did not meet road safety requirements. The check took place at about 8:20 a.m. on Dortmunder Straße in the Herringen district and was carried out by officers of the Hamm police traffic service.

The officers examined a 26-year-old farmer from Coesfeld. He was pulling a two-axle trailer carrying two cattle behind an Opel Meriva, heading for a livestock auction at the Zentralhallen exhibition halls. According to police, the rig had weight problems in two respects.

Two violations

First, the actual weight of the loaded trailer exceeded the Meriva's permitted towing capacity by 690 kilograms. Second, the combination also went over its permitted gross train weight of 3.2 tonnes, a figure that covers the towing vehicle, the trailer and its load.

A simple fix was therefore not enough. A stronger towing vehicle alone would not have solved the problem, since the load would have stayed the same. Unloading one of the cattle while keeping the Meriva would not have helped either, because the car would still have been unsuitable for towing. For the transport to be lawful, a more powerful vehicle had to take over and the trailer's total weight had to be cut. The farmer had to use another towing vehicle or unload one of the animals.

Police assessment

Christian Klasing, head of the traffic service, said that road safety is not guaranteed with such an unsuitable combination of car and trailer. He said it creates considerable danger for the driver and for uninvolved third parties. In his words, permitted weights and towing loads are not up for negotiation.

It is not known whether the farmer and his cattle eventually reached the auction.