Make sure you check your towbar

[Olderisbetter]

Yesterday i was woken up by a loud bang caused by a box trailer that had become unhitched from a car,
On the CCTV it is following the car along but looks a bit far away then suddenly it turns right and hits the traffic lights, They have had 4 vans working on it all day so i bet the bill to the drivers insurance will be alarming.

 

[snoozer]

I wonder if he had a break away cable fitted and hooked up...

 

[MattH]

A LR lost a trailer like this on a busy street in Bristol a few years back.
Took a 3 yr old out of his mother’s hand and killed him.

As you say, check your towbar.

 

[postie jon]

sadly last year somone was killed when a trailer came loose from a pickup and hit there car, apparently everything was checked thoroughly by police and vosa , out come was it was due to a bump in the road , no one charged.

 

[brightspark]

and check make sure your insured 3d party for pulling a trailer on your insurance

 

[TechnicAl]

Does anyone remember the thread where someone had restored an old caravan......he was warned about the difference between 2" and 50mm tow bars......next a set of pictures with the van in the middle of a field, having gone through a hedge, smashed to bits

 

[the snooper]

99.9% of these accidents will be human error when hitching up and the fact it didn't stop straight is either badly maintained braking system or no safety cable used

 

[4String.]

They have had 4 vans working on it all day so i bet the bill to the drivers insurance will be alarming.

A few pounds worth of damage, no-one injured or involved.

With the lights isolated, it could easily be cleared away in under 20 minutes and the traffic returned to normal, but hey, this is UK PLC, so let's close the area down and inconvenience thousands of road users for a day, just so a few council and highway non-entities can justify their overpaid jobs by taking meaningless photos and measurements...

 

[anto44]

I vigorously check mine on a regular basis

 

[TechnicAl]

I vigorously check mine on a regular basis
View attachment 206862

Ive heard youre famous for it......

 

[ajlelectronics]

Ive heard youre famous for it......

No, I told you that he was a wInker!

 

[123hotchef]

I wonder if he had a break away cable fitted and hooked up...

that little trailer probably is not braked

 

[the snooper]

that little trailer probably is not braked

Quite possibly, looks home made from old caravan chassis, can't see the draw bar, maybe it was rotten and snapped off hence the runaway trailer

 

[brightspark]

going on some of the home made trailers I've seen its not surprising they let go

 

[Roger440]

I vigorously check mine on a regular basis
View attachment 206862

I has an Audi A6 with a genuine detachable tow bar. Indicator in the green. Came out while towing a loaded car trailer as i turned left at the lights. Trailer went straight on. Fortunately ran into a traffic light. Never again will i use something not bolted on. I was lucky, very lucky nothing worse happened.

 

[Ali]

I know someone who was overtaken by the flatbed trailer / steam roller he was supposed to be towing, on the M6. Ended up on the other side of the c/r, luckily nobody hurt but an old fella it just missed had nightmares for months and everyone needed new trousers. After that he learned about the break away cable.

 

[wacky7791]

chain them on over here, nothing breaksaway from anything

 

[Turbo]

Dad & me were going to fetch something with our car trailer. We drove 6 miles down bumpy, twisty B & C roads & when we arrived we discovered that the trailer coupling was only sitting on top of the tow ball, not pushed down & locked into place. It had the safety chain connected so other road users were safe but I cannot believe that it didn't come off & wreck the back of my car!

 

[CornishPete]

Dad & me were going to fetch something with our car trailer. We drove 6 miles down bumpy, twisty B & C roads & when we arrived we discovered that the trailer coupling was only sitting on top of the tow ball, not pushed down & locked into place. It had the safety chain connected so other road users were safe but I cannot believe that it didn't come off & wreck the back of my car!

I once drove sixty miles from hawes to Huddersfield in a fiesta with some scaffolding on a Thule roof rack. When I got to Huddersfield and undid the ratchet straps the roof rack was just resting on the roof not actually fastened on at all!

 

[fizzy]

chain them on over here, nothing breaksaway from anything

Ahh but what happens if the whole towbar comes off?
Tbh I don't have much faith in the brake away cable either and tend to use chains.