Interesting article on trailer accidents and safety

Around 1968 my oldest brother was towing a boat southbound on US101 in Sausalito, in the right most lane. The boat trailer disconnected from the truck, snapping the safety chains. The boat and trailer went into the center divider, clearing the other three southbound lanes without hitting any cars, where upon the trailer got stuck in the barrier.

The boat became airborne and cleared three lanes of northbound traffic before encountering the front bumper of a northbound Greyhound bus in the rightmost lane.

The boat was home made, plywood skin with fiberglass. The largest piece of the boat was about two feet square.

The bumper of the bus sustained $50.00 in damage.

No one was hurt.

I do not think that a breakaway brake would have helped much for that one.

Brake away switches are am important safety feature, but it does not solve all safety problems.

Stuff will still sometimes happen.

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Rickst29,
For me, I try not to use those words "impossible" or "never" anymore....they have jumped out to bite me on occasion.

If everything is rigged up as it is supposed to be, then there should not be a problem....

An I a worrywart??

Nope, your worry is perfectly valid-- but The momentum and energy of the disconnected Trailer should be attenuating rapidly if the brakes are engaged by the breakaway switch.