A loose trailer accident occurred recently where a Chevy pickup truck pulling a trailer lost the trailer. This caused the trailer to cross into the opposite lane hitting a Chevy pickup truck and a Dodge vehicle. The drivers of both vehicles suffered injuries, according to kmbc.com.
Another runaway trailer accident occurred causing a police officer to suffer serious injuries. A trailer came off a work truck and slammed into the officer’s cruiser, according to news4jax.com. Police reported that Officer Calvin Bell was directing traffic at the intersection of Laurel Island Parkway and Bristol Hammock when the trailer being towed by a fencing company truck came loose and struck the car’s rear passenger door.
These trailer wrecks illustrate the damage that can be inflicted when a trailer is not properly hitched to a vehicle. Our firm has tried to put a spotlight on loose trailers that quickly become runaway trailers and, essentially, “injury missiles” on our roads and highways.
In Virginia (VA), new trailer laws were recently implemented to help improve trailer safety and oversight for drivers in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, and all other areas of VA. There needs to be a national campaign to try and get a majority, if not all, states on board with new regulations to help reduce the risk of runaway trailer accidents. These are preventable accidents and the dangers could probably be reduced if more people realized the importance of properly attaching a trailer to their truck, SUV, or other vehicle.