Towing and Transporting Vehicles

A vehicle being towed with a rigid or flexible tow may only be driven by a person who has the right to drive it. A vehicle whose steering mechanism is defective is transported lifted onto the platform of a tow truck, or with its front or rear lifted onto a special support device, ensuring that such a method of transportation does not endanger traffic safety.

The length of a flexible tow must be from 4 m to 6 m; it must be marked with brightly colored flags (panels) or be of a bright color and no narrower than 50 mm. A rigid tow must not be longer than 4 m.

A vehicle being towed, or one transported with its front or rear lifted onto a special support device, must travel with switched-on hazard warning signals at any time of day. If the hazard warning signals are absent or out of order, an emergency stop sign must be attached in a place visible to other road users at the rear of the vehicle being towed or on the part of the transported vehicle facing the opposite direction to vehicle traffic.

It is prohibited to tow or transport vehicles:
217.1. with both a rigid and a flexible tow – a vehicle whose steering mechanism is defective;
217.2. with a flexible tow – a vehicle if at least part of the carriageway being traveled on is covered with snow or ice; also a vehicle whose main brakes are defective;
217.3. with both a rigid and a flexible tow – a vehicle without a driver in the towed vehicle;
217.4. with part of the vehicle lifted onto a special support device – when the mass of the transported vehicle with its cargo is greater than half the mass of the carrying vehicle with its cargo, except where the manufacturer of the carrying vehicle has provided otherwise;
217.5. with a rigid tow – a vehicle whose main brakes are defective and the mass of the vehicle with its cargo is greater than half the mass of the towing vehicle with its cargo;
217.6. to tow more than one motor vehicle, tractor or self-propelled machine;
217.7. to tow with motorcycles without sidecars, and to tow such motorcycles;
217.8. to tow with mopeds, and to tow mopeds;
217.9. with a flexible tow on roads marked with the road signs "Motorway" or "Expressway";
217.10. with part of the transported vehicle lifted onto a dolly.

The driver of the towing vehicle is responsible for ensuring that the requirements of this chapter are complied with.