Chipper hit van kills 3

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Back when I still had no idea what I was doing (not that I do now), I didn't realize that you could close the latch on a ball hitch without it actually attaching, if it was too high. I went over a bump and my Bandit 65 fell off the hitch. The chains did their job! I was even able to pull over and sort of drag it onto the shoulder. Had a hell of a time getting it off the ground.
 
Just 2 quick tips

1.If you hooking up a trailer and putting skid loader , backhoes , mini excavators make sure everyone is standing clear of the trailer, if it is not hooked up right it will pop up fast ,so always stand clear. 2 . if are not putting on equipment on trailer or hauling a chipper after hooking it jack the trailer back up and make sure truck back end is lifting up . This take a little time but it is worth it for the safety of knowing that the trailer is hooked up right .
 
sorry to hear about this accident. im going to triple check all the trailer,chipper hook ups. hope the business owner had insurance. terrible loss for the family . all could have been prevented with maintanance, and taking 2 minutes out the day to make sure everything is hooked up properly.
 
1.If you hooking up a trailer and putting skid loader , backhoes , mini excavators make sure everyone is standing clear of the trailer, if it is not hooked up right it will pop up fast ,so always stand clear. 2 . if are not putting on equipment on trailer or hauling a chipper after hooking it jack the trailer back up and make sure truck back end is lifting up . This take a little time but it is worth it for the safety of knowing that the trailer is hooked up right .

amen

many years ago when i farmed, i was loading my 9000lb tractor onto my 10000lb goose neck trailer that i had hitched for the umphteenth time. when rear tractor wheels were bout half way up the ramps, the trailer reared up and shot forward bout 4 feet til the hitch landed at the back glass.
ok, i guess i forgot to latch the latch. so i backed the tractor down then positively reconnected the trailer, and proceeded to load again.
wham. did it again. the ball had become worn enough that the latch (it was like a big thick washer that slid sideways) would not contain it when pulled hard upwards. beat the hello out of the rear of the truck.

lesson learned: cant be too careful!!!!
 
Very Very Tragic,Firstly my prayers for the innocent family victims,and for the survivors,what a cross to carry for the rest of your days.
 
The paper today said he got something like eight years for involuntary manslaughter. Sad about the deaths, sad for the guy. But for the grace of God there go I.
 
That's one of the worst stories I have read. Check you Equipment. At least the guy didn't make they go to trial. 8 yrs for 3 lives does not seem like enough especially if the guy was on drugs. I will say a prayer for all of them.
 
Some words on chains:
Look at those chains in message 2.
The purpose of chains is to keep the trailer under control when it breaks loose, not just restrain it by brute force. When the trailer gets off the hitch, it wants to swerve off track. The more it swerves, the more force will be required to straighten it and the more violently it will try to swerve in the other direction when it's jerked by the chain. Chains that are crossed will tighten more quickly when the swerve starts. Same for length. The less slack the sooner a correction will be applied.

If the chains in the picture were connected just behind the hitch, and crossed, they would hold the tongue off the ground and the trailer would not swing wildly or turn over. An orderly stop could be made.

I'm not impressed by the eyes on the truck, either. They would be fine with properly rigged chains, but the way things are rigged there would be violent swerving and maybe enough force to break them loose.

Lots of people, including me sometimes, consider the chains just for looks.
My worst scare came in my yard, at less than walking speed. I was moving a 16' tandem across the yard to pick up some firewood. I forgot to snap the latch and the trailer bounced off the ball. Being tandem, it rolled majestically across the yard before fetching up against a tree.

The scary part was that it passed within 6' of a three year old grand kid! It's very low, so the tail would have mashed her up and not gone over, even if the tires did not.

I think of this incident nearly every time I hitch up now!
 
This kind of accident happens all the time

Please go to www.dangeroustrailers.com for more on this problem.

and then go to these links, in the past 4 years over 1,800 people have
been killed and over 100,000 injuries due to these trailers.


Go to www.dangeroustrailers.com
and go here to see more viedo:
http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_216222237.html
and more video:
http://www.kfmb.com/story.php?id=75245
and more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN_FZGSHukE
and yet even more:
http://www.click2houston.com/news/10291211/detail.html
Trailer hazards start crusade

Wed, Feb 21, 2007
By EMILY STRANGERThe Brunswick News
Ron Melancon considers himself a simple man. "I'm just a nobody who works in a department store," he said.But this nobody from Richmond, Va., has already changed one state law and is campaigning to change laws in the other 49 states.
It's a crusade that started five years ago, when Melancon, 43, was returning home from a library with his 5-year-old son. He rear-ended a utility trailer being pulled by a pick up truck in front of him.He didn't even see it coming. Literally."I kept asking myself why didn't I pick up on the trailer, when it occurred to me that the trailer had a design flaw," he said. "The trailer was a see-through trailer, and it had nothing on or in it to give it some depth."The trailer had no brake lights or reflective tape, either. Melancon had looked right through it, seeing only the truck pulling it.When Melancon went to court over the incident in 2003, he pleaded not guilty to avoid conviction for causing an accident by following too closely.

He told the judge that the trailer was unsafe and hard to see. The judge dismissed Melancon's ticket, but required him to go to driving school.From that day forward, Melancon has been leading a campaign against utility trailers that has already changed legislation in his state of Virginia. Now, his focus is on a national level."I discovered that these trailers are out there causing problems in places across the country," he said.

Glynn County is one of the places that caught Melancon's eye.On Jan. 17, a homemade trailer broke away from a pick up truck and crossed the center line of the F.J. Torras Causeway, striking a black Chevrolet S-10 Blazer driven by Karen Simpson. Simpson, 48, an employee at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, was thrown from her vehicle and killed.The driver of the truck, Joel Dixon, 23, has charges against him pending.Simpson's death is one of 1,000 deaths related to allegedly unsafe trailers in the United States, Melancon said."Most of the trailers you see on the road don't have taillights, or - if they do - the lights aren't working correctly," he said. "Also, many trailer owners don't even know the proper way to hitch them to their vehicles."

Melancon has spent over $20,000 the past three years on a lobbyist and on published materials. He has 50 books that he plans to send to senators across the country. Each book is filled with news clippings detailing fatal accidents in every state.He has also posted video footage of fatal wrecks on YouTube.com for all the world to see.And he keeps a camera in his car at all times to take pictures of unsafe trailers on the road. He now has over 2,000 photographs in stock.Glynn County Police Capt. Jim Kelly said all trailers are inspected in Georgia when the owners get them titled."The inspectors look to see that the trailer has a VIN (vehicle identification number) plate, safety chains (to secure a trailer to a towing vehicle if a trailer hitch fails), and working brake lights and turn signals," he said.The trailer that hit Simpson's vehicle on the F.J. Torras Causeway had safety chains, but they weren't attached, Kelly said."Also, the truck had an undersize ball for the trailer it was pulling," he said. "The truck's ball was 1 7/8-inches, and the trailer was made to pull a 2-inch ball." Simpson's death does not stand alone in the state.

The most recent statistics compiled by the Georgia Department of Transportation's Safety Unit show that there were 3,089 automobile accidents involving trailers in 2005.Of these crashes, there were 1,357 injuries and 13 fatalities.Melancon said he believes that the majority of these wrecks could have been prevented had the trailers been required by law to adhere to mandatory safety guidelines.
 
The man pled guilty!!!!

See what happens when you don't know how to tow a vehicle??
Go to www.dangeroustrailers.com for more.

One person is killed every day because people don't take the time to properly hich a trailer.



Please go to www.dangeroustrailers.com for more on this problem.



HERE IS ANOTHER STORY AS A FOLLOW UP TO THE STORY ABOVE.
By Jason Cato
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

A Pine man Monday pleaded guilty to three counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of a Cranberry man and two of his triplets who were killed last year after a three-ton wood chipper slammed into their minivan.

Bradley Demitras, 35, admitted he failed to properly secure the wood chipper to his dump truck April 13, when the tow broke free and collided with the minivan on Route 8 in Richland. The impact killed Eugene Spencer Morrison, 37, and his triplets, Garret and Alaina, both 4. The third triplet, Ethan, survived serious injuries.

"While no guilty plea or conviction could ever relieve our pain or satisfy our anger, the plea agreement ... assures that Mr. Demitras takes full responsibility for the deaths of our loved ones and the injuries to Ethan, while sparing our family the nightmare of reliving the details of that horrific day through a public trial," Morrison's wife, Nicole, said in a prepared statement.

Morrison sat with about a dozen friends and relatives in the courtroom of Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lester Nauhaus yesterday.

What was expected to be a weeklong trial ended quickly with Demitras' guilty plea.

Demitras told investigators he had taken two stolen Percocet pills and had a beer at Cole's Tavern the day of the accident, said Assistant District Attorney Stephie Kapourales. Demitras also told investigators he was hung over after taking oxycodone and drinking a half-bottle of bourbon the night before the accident, Kapourales said.

Toxicology reports showed no signs of alcohol or controlled substances in Demitras' blood, although a urine test did reveal traces of the oxycodone, Kapourales said.

Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said his client is remorseful, but was adamant that drugs and alcohol did not play a part in the accident. The toxicology reports proved his client lied to investigators about taking the painkillers, Thomassey said.

"The most important aspect to this case is that drugs and alcohol had nothing to do with it," Thomassey said. "This was a horrible, horrendous accident that could happen any time."

More training is needed for drivers hauling heavy equipment on Pennsylvania roads, Thomassey said.

Nicole Morrison agreed.

"Now, we must focus our attention on the task force that has been created to increase safety stops and enforcement of the motor vehicle laws that, if followed, would have prevented the loss of life my family has suffered," she said in her statement. "If we are vigilant in the cause, our family's loss will not be in vain."

Evidence in the case, Kapourales said, would have shown Demitras was traveling about 70 mph in a 45-mph zone. The minivan was traveling below the speed limit.

Demitras told investigators he felt a jerk and heard a pop, then looked in the rearview mirror to see the wood chipper careening sideways down the road. The 6,050-pound tow slammed into the minivan less than two seconds after disconnecting, scattering debris more than 100 feet away, Kapourales said.

Demitras, who also pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and several motor vehicle violations, faces more than 17 years in prison when he is sentenced May 22. Until then, he will remain under house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Jason Cato can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7840.
 
First of all, most chippers are too heavy for chains to hold them. Chippers over a certain weight should have brakes. Also breakaway brakes. The chipper in question was found to be stolen from the Knickerbocker company located along the Parkway West. We have a responsibility to maintain our equipment and be vigilant when we travel with it. This unfortunate accident is the result of not being responsible. Think it always happens to the other guy? Think again.

if your chains can't hold your trailer,,,you need bigger chains,,,if there is no reason for a trailer,,, chipper,,, or any thing else your towing to part from the tow vehicle,,, if your hitch fails....

crossing chains under the tongue is a must,,, keeps it off the ground,,, no cartwheeling....tongue burying into the blacktop!!!!!!

not a big fan of break away brakes!!!!!!!! i'd rather have the trailer slam into the truck,, when i'm slowing down,,, than have an unexpected brake application....

plus,, do break away brake really work??? i've never tested one!!!!!

tested truck brakes a lot of times!!!!!

dropped a chipper with crossed chains..... no problem....
 
Wow, terribly sad. I learned about this particular accident during one of my tailgate safety breifings. I bought brand new chains that very afternoon. I drive like an old lady now. Be carefull guys.
 
In addition to chains how about adding reflector tape

Dear Woodweasel:

In addition to the chains how about adding REFLECTOR TAPE??
I was able to get a law passed in Virginia that you need 8.33 feet of reflector
tape on the back of these utility trailers.

Is your life worth more than $15.00??

These trailers are black and most of the time the lights fail because the
wiring harness is broken or the owner fails to maintain them. In addition
they all weight under 3,000 pounds that is why they all weigh 2,998.

If the trailer is over 3,000 then federal law requires breaks and then they need
to get inspected. IN ADDIITON MOST STATES ALLOW YOU TO BUILD YOUR OWN
AND YOU DON'T NEED TO GET IT INSPECTED.

That is why you see pick up beds with hitches.
 
More on Reflector Tape

Dear Members:

Last year a local utility manufacturing company did not want to spend $15.00 per trailer to add the required reflector tape and so they lobbied againt me.

They convinced 98 Delegates to do such but I was able to defeat the measure in the Senate. I work in a Department Store I can understand you would be upset if I worked Selling the Tape. I used my own funds to BENEFIT EVERYBODY.

Go to www.dangeroustrailers.com click on Delegate Pollard's Betryal and look at the Pictures,,, Anybody can see that using the same tape that they have on Tractor Trailes WORKS!!!!!!!

Also most of these Trailers are in violation of FMVSS108 Look it up! Google it.

You will find the lights are not placed on the rear and are placed to low to the ground on the trailer. I BELIEVE WE PREVENT SOMEONE FROM HITTING YOU BECAUSE THEY SEE YOU THEN EVERYBODY BENIFITS.

WHY DO PEOPLE WHO RUN AT NIGHT WEAR A REFLECTOR VEST??? THEY WHY PAINT A TRAILER BLACK??? AND WITHOUT REFLECTORS??
 
Most landscape trailers are usually 6'2 wide and exempt from most of the regulations for larger trailers. I love reflective C2 tape myself. But because some jackass smashes into a trailer its now always the trailer's fault. Wild trailers running amok is a whole 'nother story. If there's an unlighted anything in the roadway and you crash into it, be it tree, dishwasher, trailer, bulldozer, one has to think that you may have been driving faster than you could see, not leaving a safety margin, children are not usually reflective on their own either.

When you read trailer crashes into car, driver ejected and killed, that sounds like there were two accidents waiting to happen and one caused the other.

Electric brake backup systems are the cat's tail they work but require a couple things, brakes properly adjusted and a good battery, either disposable 12v lantern or rechargable with a bleed circuit from the parking lights. They're painless to test and can be a good safety device, capable of providing enough energy to lock the trailer wheels.

Why paint a trailer black? it hides rust and dirt and is cheap. Paint a trailer silver gray and see how many crashes you get on an overcast day. I don't think we need more laws, maybe more education and common sense. How about encourage the folks that sell hitches give away a free safety brochure?
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/equipment/towing/towing.pdf


I used to work for a farm, often we'd be pulling triple live axle hay trailers behind a tractor, no lights and nothing beyond the SMV triangle, usually always daylight and never a crash. Live axle trailers on a pin hitch sure do sway and snake a lot! very scary!

-Jason
 
More than 50 percent of these trailers have failing lights

I now have over 2,000 pictures and I have proof that over 50 per cent of these
Utility trailers have non working tailights.

The problem is the gate blocks the working lights on the pick up pulling it.

My accident happened under 5 miles an hour and my air bag did not deploy. My bumper was the only thing that needed to be replaced.

YOU KNOW THE FACTS!!!! If 50 per cent of all smoke detector's failed what would be happening??? If anything you bought failed 50 per cent of the time what would you do??

The owner of the Trailer has a responsibility to make sure the lights are in working order... Oh by the way the book you were referring to has not been updated in over 8 years.

Has most people read the manual from the VCR??? Because if you have then people would know how to program the Clock. Most people never read the manual front to back.
 
Ron, I'm glad that your accident was minor, what were all the factors? time of day? weather? anything else going on? did the truck/trailer panic stop? I'd also be willing, to go out on a limb, even bet a full dozen of Dunkin's finest donuts that if you did a walkabout in the united states, you'll find 80% of the smoke detectors over three years old are dead, not to mention all the 10+ year old ones that just died quietly of old age.

I agree, every driver has the responsibility to make sure that all the equipment is in good repair. Safety is a shared responsibility as well, have you ever given a honk and a wave to let someone know their tail lights are out? I ride a bike a lot and I try, at least twice a week to let someone know about bad tail lights, I'll see cars (mostly) with lamps out, the record being 4 burned out brake lights and five out of six 3rd brake lamp bulbs burned out, 1 6cp lamp for stop indicator.

My trailers are backed up near a wall, I can do a defacto check from the cab and only if going on a longer trip, will take the time to do a full walk around, but I did double up the brake lights to be redundant. I think everyone would agree, an accident isn't one thing, its usually three or more factors that share similar timing.

Indeed the date on that pamphlet is 8 years old, what's changed about trailer safety in 8 years that makes that data no longer valid?


-Jason
 

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