Wayward Trailers Hit Random Targets

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Decades ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made proposals for federal standards on hitches and requiring safety instructions for motorists who would tow trailers. These proposed federal regulations were resisted by manufacturers and rental companies, and US transportation authorities finally dropped them in 1972.

The next time you meet or follow a truck towing a trailer on the highway, you should be very wary and steer clear. The trailer could easily separate from the truck, and you could be in trouble.

Unbeknownst to many motorists, runaway trailers have caused a number of devastating crashes across the country, resulting in deaths and serious injuries.

There are no statistics on a nationwide scale on accidents caused by runaway trailers. There have been reports that recorded 540 trailer crashes from 2000, causing deaths to at least 164 people and injuries to hundreds more. These are sketchy numbers and probably are huge understatements of the actual frequency.

Majority of the victims in wayward trailer crashes are helpless motorists. The trailers, once they break loose, become like unguided projectiles running into an oncoming vehicle. In some cases, oncoming vehicles trying to avoid the speeding trailer crash into other vehicles instead. Trailers have also hit pedestrians, including children waiting at a bus stop, or rammed into bedrooms.

Many crashes are the result of neglect: the failure to follow proper precautions and safety procedures in attaching the trailer to the truck. A 2006 survey on 300 trailer owners found that a majority did not even know how to attach a trailer’s safety chains properly. Most lacked knowledge of basic safety methods and proper towing practice.

There are federal and state regulations on commercial trailers. But there is virtually no federal regulation, and only haphazard state rules, on smaller trailers.

Decades ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made proposals for federal standards on hitches and requiring safety instructions for motorists who would tow trailers. These proposed federal regulations were resisted by manufacturers and rental companies, and US transportation authorities finally dropped them in 1972.

State regulations are almost nonexistent, and where they exist there is no active enforcement. A number of states do not require safety chains — which are the most fundamental protection — for light-duty trailers. But accident reports show that safety chains, when used, were too rusted or worn to do much good.

For bigger trailers with brakes, many states require a backup system that automatically applies the brakes when a trailer comes loose. But accident reports also show that in many accidents such systems were not operating because the battery that supplied the system power was dead.

There are a few laws, but there is no one enforcing them.

Safety experts say motorists should be required to qualify for a special license in order to tow small to medium-size trailers. Currently, in all 50 states, you only need to have a basic driver’s license to tow.

Safety tip:
* Make sure the trailer is securely hitched to the tow vehicle. A trailer’s coupler will not hitch securely if it is wider than the hitch ball on the tow vehicle.
* Always attach the safety chain. It keeps the trailer attached in case the hookup fails.
* When buying a trailer, ask your dealer for proper techniques and instruction on hitching trailers. Many techniques are common sense, but some are not and need special instruction.