Keeping Sydney Safe: Why You Need to Know Your Towbar’s Rating

Author: Bob Newman  Date Posted:2 December 2013 

 

 

Hitching up a trailer to your car for a weekend away isn’t as simple as just getting the job done.

If you want to protect not only those around you but the rest of the general public you need to understand towbar and their ratings.

Towbar-related accidents happen all the time in Sydney and the rest of Australia because people don’t pay attention to towbar ratings.

Earlier this year a family were lucky to survive when the boat that they were towing came crashing down onto the roof of their car. How could such a thing happen, you ask. Put simply the towbar they were using didn’t have a strong enough rating to tow the heavy boat. As the family drove along the highway they went down a hill and the driver lost control of the car. The towbar buckled from the weight of the boat causing the car to smash into a nearby embankment. It was then that the boat trailer jack-knifed and the boat landed on the roof of the car, causing particular damage to the rear of the vehicle. If the two young children in the back seat hadn’t been so small they wouldn’t have escaped without injury, or possibly even survived the crash. This family was lucky escaping such a dangerous situation with minor injuries, but not everyone is.

A few years ago in WA a woman went to the aid of another car stuck in sand dunes along a beach. To help get them out she attempted to tow their car with hers. As she reversed, pulling the other car with her, the towball she using snapped and flew through the front passenger window before hitting in the throat. You can only imagine the strength and speed that towball would have had as it flew through the air and hit the woman. Unfortunately the woman died shortly after being taken to hospital.

Towing anything is a serious business and should be treated so. For more information on towbars check out What Sydney Needs to Know About Towbars.

 

This blog was posted in Towbars and tagged in TowbarTowbars

 

 


Leave a comment

Comments have to be approved before showing up