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Trailer towing bill to be drafted

WFRV News

Story Created: May 13, 2010 at 9:14 AM CDT

Story Updated: May 13, 2010 at 9:15 AM CDT

GREEN BAY (WFRV) - A recent accident in our area has lawmakers calling for tougher regulations on towing trailers.

You may remember 19 year old, Whitney Rodder from Kiel died last month when a trailer from a pick-up truck came loose and hit her car.

Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay says he has found the State can do more to make sure these type of accidents don't happen.

He hopes to draft a bill by January that will make towing regulations stiffer.

Death is a warning about towing trailer

Editorial: Death is a warning about towing trailer

May 17, 2010

The death of 19-year-old college student Whitney Radder on U.S. 41 last month should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who has ever pulled or plans to pull a trailer.

What killed Radder was a trailer that unhinged from a pickup and crashed into her car. The truck driver was cited for towing with improper safety chains and having couplings, or hitches, that failed to meet standards. The latter is a common citation in more than 50 percent of accidents of this sort, which are more common than you might think.

Between 1975 and 2008, Wisconsin reported 377 deaths and more than 11,000 injuries associated with passenger cars towing trailers.

Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, wants to draft a bill that would call for tighter trailer regulations. While well-intentioned, it's unlikely that tighter regulations or higher fines would make a difference in the habits of drivers.

Education is the key here, even for people who have pulled trailers for years.

How many of us who haul a trailer have received any kind of training on the safe and proper way to hook them on? Obviously, no one wants a trailer to come loose, but no one thinks it can happen to him.

Wisconsin doesn't require training for hauling basic trailers, but common sense says that drivers need to know what they're doing.

Anyone who has a trailer needs to take the time to ensure that everything is in proper working order — from couplings to taillights — and that the trailer is adequately and securely attached to the vehicle.

Such precautions, which can be easily overlooked, may save a life.

Death is a warning about towing trailer

Editorial: Death is a warning about towing trailer

May 17, 2010

The death of 19-year-old college student Whitney Radder on U.S. 41 last month should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who has ever pulled or plans to pull a trailer.

What killed Radder was a trailer that unhinged from a pickup and crashed into her car. The truck driver was cited for towing with improper safety chains and having couplings, or hitches, that failed to meet standards. The latter is a common citation in more than 50 percent of accidents of this sort, which are more common than you might think.

Between 1975 and 2008, Wisconsin reported 377 deaths and more than 11,000 injuries associated with passenger cars towing trailers.

Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, wants to draft a bill that would call for tighter trailer regulations. While well-intentioned, it's unlikely that tighter regulations or higher fines would make a difference in the habits of drivers.

Education is the key here, even for people who have pulled trailers for years.

How many of us who haul a trailer have received any kind of training on the safe and proper way to hook them on? Obviously, no one wants a trailer to come loose, but no one thinks it can happen to him.

Wisconsin doesn't require training for hauling basic trailers, but common sense says that drivers need to know what they're doing.

Anyone who has a trailer needs to take the time to ensure that everything is in proper working order — from couplings to taillights — and that the trailer is adequately and securely attached to the vehicle.

Such precautions, which can be easily overlooked, may save a life.

Trailer broke loose from the vehicle

By Paul Rolly

Tribune Columnist

Updated: 05/15/2010 07:34:57 PM MDT

» John C. Crosby was towing the University of Utah's Army ROTC trailer on I-15 when the trailer broke loose from the vehicle and took him for a wild, short ride. Thankfully, the safety chains held in place. He came to a stop in the right lane, then called his boss and asked that he send someone with another pin to secure the hitch. About that time, two men had stopped behind him and asked what they could do to help. When he told them what the problem was, one of the men went to his truck and brought back a pin. He and his companion lifted the trailer back into the receiver, secured the pin and Crosby was on his way. As he was leaving, he noticed a Salt Lake County Sheriff sticker on his savior's rear window.

Runaway trailer unhinges chaos

John Farmer | 24th May 2010

A RUNAWAY trailer sparked a series of incidents at the bottom of the Toowoomba Range last night.

The trailer was being towed by a Toyota Land Cruiser when it became unhinged at the bottom of the Range in the eastward-bound lanes about 7.25pm.

It came to a stop in the outside lane before three vehicles collided with it.

A Hyundai Excel Sprint, the first vehicle to collide with the trailer, and a Nissan Maxima sedan sustained the worst of the damage.

None of the occupants of the vehicles were injured. The eastward-bound lanes were closed for about 25 minutes as emergency crews cleared the scene.

Trailer dislodges on I-40

Traffic affected

Updated: Friday, 28 May 2010, 3:10 PM MDT
Published : Friday, 28 May 2010, 3:10 PM MDT

• Web Producer: Devon Armijo

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Interstate 40 near Rio Grande was severely congested after a camper separated from the truck hauling it on Friday afternoon.

A Ford truck carrying a trailer was traveling in the eastbound lanes of I-40 when the truck suffered a blowout.

The camper was then dislodged and made its way into the westbound lanes.

A few other vehicles were damaged by the runaway trailer.

Traffic was severely congested in both lanes while police cleaned up and investigated the crash.

Detached U-Haul Trailer Strikes, Kills Pittsburgh Artist

Family, Friends Mourn Wood Sculptor

Posted: 9:39 pm EDT May 13, 2010Updated: 4:40 pm EDT May 14, 2010

PITTSBURGH -- Police in Pittsburgh said a trailer came loose from a passing pickup truck and struck an artist who was carving a wooden sculpture in the city's Larimer neighborhood.Authorities said John Metzler, 46, was using a chainsaw and wearing heavy ear protection when the small U-Haul trailer broke free from the passing truck along Washington Boulevard.Police said the truck hit a divot in the road and the trailer detached, hitting Metzler as he carved the sculpture Thursday night at his Urban Tree Forge studio in the East Liberty neighborhood.Metzler was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, where he later died from his injuries.Police questioned the driver, but did not file charges.

They are still investigating the cause of the accident and are trying to determine if the trailer was properly attached to the truck.Metzler’s father, Fred Metzler, said his son started Urban Tree Forge two years ago.“It was his life,” Fred Metzler said Friday. “He loved nature. He loved trees. He loved just being. He loved life and, I guess, most of all, he loved his friends.”On Friday, friends and co-workers gathered at the workshop to pay tribute to John Metzler. They placed flowers in front of the workshop and hung a T-shirt by the front door.

“We have employees and he had a lot of friends and a lot of customers that were in the midst of dealing with him," Fred Metzler said.“He was a personal friend,” said Jim Fowkes. “He was a real great guy, always there when you needed him.”