Towing a trailer in Alberta
A trailer adds weight and length to everything you do: pulling into traffic, braking, changing lanes and turning. Here are the rules and the techniques from the Driver’s Guide.p. 120
Checked against the Driver’s Guide (Spring 2026) on .
The short version
- The trailer needs its own registration (carry it with you) and a visible licence plate on the back.p. 120
- With a ball-and-socket hitch, cross the safety chains under the trailer tongue and fasten them securely.p. 120
- It is against the law to let anyone ride in a trailer while it is being towed.p. 94
- To back a trailer to the left, turn the wheel right; to go right, turn it left.p. 122
Before you tow: registration and equipment
- Register the trailer and attach its licence plate before using it on the road. Carry the registration while towing.p. 120
- Tail lights, brake lights and turn signals on the trailer must work, controlled from the towing vehicle.p. 120
- Ball-and-socket hitch: attach safety chains, crossed under the tongue. This applies to all trailers except fifth-wheels.p. 120
- Connect any emergency breakaway system as the manufacturer instructs.p. 120
- Set your mirrors to see traffic coming from behind, and use extension mirrors if the trailer is wider than your vehicle.p. 120
A trailer needs brakes if they’re needed to control it safely. These trailers don’t need them:p. 120
A load sticking out one and a half metres (five feet) or more behind the vehicle needs a red flag at least 30 cm (one foot) square on the end by day, and a red light at night.p. 95
What a Class 5 licence lets you tow: Your Alberta driver’s licence: codes, renewal, registration and insurance.
On the road
- Allow extra time and distance before pulling into traffic.p. 120
- Keep a safe following distance, and remember the extra room you need to manoeuvre.p. 120
- Speed up and brake more gently, and allow more time to merge or change lanes.p. 120
- On a multi-lane highway, slower vehicles keep right.p. 120
- Look well ahead so you don’t need sudden lane changes or stops, and if traffic builds up behind you, pull off somewhere safe to let it pass.p. 120
- Never let anyone ride in the trailer, and never tow a person on skis, a toboggan, a motorcycle or a bicycle.p. 94
Turning: allow for off-tracking
In a turn, the trailer’s wheels follow a path inside your vehicle’s wheels. This is called off-tracking. Misjudge it and the trailer can hit a curb, a parked vehicle or a pedestrian.p. 121
To turn left:p. 121
- Approach slowly. Near the intersection, keep to the right edge of your lane, without any part of the vehicle or trailer in the next lane.p. 121
- Start turning when the front of your vehicle is even with the left side of the lane you’re turning into.p. 121
- Glance at the trailer wheels in your left mirror, and steer toward the right side of the new lane to allow for off-tracking.p. 121
- Once the trailer is safely through, steer into the centre of your lane.p. 121
To turn right, reverse these directions.p. 121
Backing up a trailer
- Have someone guide you. Without a guide, walk to the back of the trailer to check the path is clear.p. 121
- Never reverse faster than walking pace.p. 121
- Turn the steering wheel the opposite way to where you want the trailer to go: right to go left, left to go right.p. 122
- Use only a quarter to a half turn of the wheel so the vehicle doesn’t hit the trailer, and straighten the wheel as soon as the trailer starts to turn.p. 122
- Backing to the right, remember the trailer creates blind spots behind it.p. 122