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The tragic deaths of a father and his three year old daughter in southeastern Minnesota reminds us of the need for safety when traveling with a trailer. The two were killed when a trailer came loose, traveled across the medium, and rammed into their SUV. Sympathy goes out for their family and friends. Hopefully, all travelers will learn from what happened.

Previously, I addressed the issue of boat trailers with:

Fishing Opener: Think About Getting The Boat Safely From The Road To The Water, Mike Bryant | May 15, 2010 1:55 AM

It is important that we look at safety with all trailers. The California Department of Motor Vehicles provides the following checklist:

Perform a safety inspection before each trip. Make sure that:

  • The pin securing the ball mount to the receiver is intact.
  • The hitch coupler is secured.
  • Spring bar hinges are tight with the safety clips in place (load equalizer or weight distributing hitches).
  • Safety chains are properly attached.
  • The electrical plug is properly installed.

There is also a great video series from eHow that breaks down the process into short videos.

The Minnesota State Patrol is reporting that this type of incident isn’t uncommon. In most cases the trailer ends up in the ditch. It seems that with safety this type of thing just shouldn’t happen.

4 Comments

  1. Gravatar for Ron Melancon
    Ron Melancon

    Great Article...Please go to www.dangeroustrailers.org

    Where are the attorney's? Look at what the State Police Said...

    The Minnesota State Patrol is reporting that this type of incident isn't uncommon. In most cases the trailer ends up in the ditch. It seems that with safety this type of thing just shouldn't happen.

    so if this is the case...

    This quote The State Patrol says it's not uncommon for trailers to become unhitched but thankfully they end up in the ditch most of the time..

    If a child safety seat was used in this line....The State Patrol says it's not uncommon for a CHILD SAFETY Seat to become unlatched in your vehicle....but thankfully they end up in the ditch outside your car with your child in it most of the time.

    In the United Sates we accept Flying Trailers AKA as a Flying Missile and we do nothing?

  2. Mike Bryant

    Interesting point, it did seem odd that the trooper would admit this kind of problem. But, as I write I hope that people do learn from this. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

  3. Gravatar for Ron Melancon
    Ron Melancon

    Thank you for responding...The point is people are not learning from this type of accident.

    Case in point...last month a man "ADMITTED" He used "DUCT Tape" to secure his trailer and his actions killed a Mother of 2 and his sentence is..

    4 Months. With sentences like this people will not adjust their behaviors.

  4. Mike Bryant

    That is really a eye opening website you have , thank you for the link. It is well worth the time to look at. http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/

Comments for this article are closed.