Towbar accident

[alien]

So there i was.... i was doing my banking, coming back to my car i see this elderly gentleman loking at me and starts takling to me, so i walk over. He was complaining that his wife walked into the tow bar at the back of my vehicle. It was next to the pedestrian walkway and they turned left after my car and the wife walked into my tow bar. Whole vehicle was inside the marked spot too, from front bumper to the end of the tow bar.

Then whats even better, was he was trying to tell me that having a tow bar without protection [soft protection or brightly coloured rag] is ILLEGAL. I couldn't stop laughing inside. All of a sudden he stopped with that argument when he saw the Victoria police shirt!

Found out the wife has dementia so he wakls her on the side of the vehicles and he walks closer to the moving vehicles so that she doesn't jump out into cars. In the end i apologised to the elderly lady and he acknowldged that it was partly his fault for pushing her closer to the cars.

General comments? Especially on the it being illegal to have a tow bar that isn't covered with something soft or a coloured rag of somem sort?

[davway]

pretty sure there is a law about towbars being on cars when not in use.
so what did he expect to come of the whole complaint?

[alien]

davway, it's in VSI24 from VicRoads.

Note (4):
A towbar toungue can be a dangerous projection when a trailer is not attached. The towball may also obscure the number plate. Therefore the towbar toungue and towball may need to be removed while the vehicle is not towing a trailer.

Now, my towball doesn't obscure the number plate, but i remove it anyways. As for removing the toungue, they can dream on. I am not unbolting it everytime im not towing! That involves unbolting the whole towing structure at the back and i dont have a replacement rear bumper to put on. It's not a heavy tow bar package from Holden, i can't be expected to remove it!

LOL, no idea, considering by the fact that he said illegal and the tone of voice at the start was like he wanted compensation!

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The only regulation regarding towbars being removed is that the tongue and ball be removed if it obstructs the view of the number plate.

So by the old guys logic, mirrors, roobars/bullbars, aerials or anything else that sticks out past the vehicles bodyline be tagged or marked?

davway, it's in VSI24 from VicRoads.

Now, my towball doesn't obscure the number plate, but i remove it anyways. As for removing the toungue, they can dream on. I am not unbolting it everytime im not towing! That involves unbolting the whole towing structure at the back and i dont have a replacement rear bumper to put on. It's not a heavy tow bar package from Holden, i can't be expected to remove it!

LOL, no idea, considering by the fact that he said illegal and the tone of voice at the start was like he wanted compensation!

No, the tongue itself will have two bolts holding it on. Then you will just have a hole in the bumper that you can see the rest of the actual towbar through.

[Ado]

First things first,you have stared in other threads that you are not a cop and now you say you have a cop shirt???Please explain.
Also it should only be two bolts need to remove in order to remove the tounge.

[alien]

The only regulation regarding towbars being removed is that the tongue and ball be removed if it obstructs the view of the number plate.

So by the old guys logic, mirrors, roobars/bullbars, aerials or anything else that sticks out past the vehicles bodyline be tagged or marked?

No, the tongue itself will have two bolts holding it on. Then you will just have a hole in the bumper that you can see the rest of the actual towbar through.

Oh well, i better go remove my antenna too, just in case someone walks into it and pokes their eye out! Fat chance i'm removing it or putting bright cloth on it.

As for thw toungue, i could remove it like in the pic below, leaving a more dangerous bit of metal exposed (sharper corners). And to remove that will involve removing the whole tow bar system from the vehicle! Not happening.

First things first,you have stared in other threads that you are not a cop and now you say you have a cop shirt???Please explain.
Also it should only be two bolts need to remove in order to remove the tounge.

Wow, someone has a good memory. Yes, i'm not a cop. And i never said i was wearing the shirt, it was sitting on my front passenger seat.

As for the main part of your post, see reply above....

[Ado]

Oh well, i better go remove my antenna too, just in case someone walks into it and pokes their eye out! Fat chance i'm removing it or putting bright cloth on it.

As for thw toungue, i could remove it like in the pic below, leaving a more dangerous bit of metal exposed (sharper corners). And to remove that will involve removing the whole tow bar system from the vehicle! Not happening.




Wow, someone has a good memory. Yes, i'm not a cop. And i never said i was wearing the shirt, it was sitting on my front passenger seat.

As for the main part of your post, see reply above....

I never said you were wearing it either.

[alien]

I was just making sure you and others didn't get confused.

[CANYONERO]

i hate the look of towbars and i hardly use my car for towing, if your going to leave it permanently i would whack a rubber cover on it, never know, could save your own shin one day! having said that my falcon has a towbar and i havent put a rubber pad on it... on my to do list lol there like under $5 and towbars look dog ugly anyways so i dont think people can argue that it looks uglier!

thanks for reminding me *off to supercheap tomorrow*

[Grennan]

So what the hell are you talking about then? Could be a family members shirt, girlfriends shirt etc just happens to be sitting in his car.

[me&myVZ]

I remove the tongue section of my towbar and it sits flush with my bumper main reason so it dosen't rust.

[alien]

DVSV8, i dont reckon they make a vehicle look ugly all that much, i can see their logical use as more than just for towing. E.g. the second day i had my car in Victoria someone thought a green light meant i would move straight away instead of waiting for the other cars in front. She hit me, no damage to my vehicle, tow bar did all the damage to hers and protected mine. Probably the only reason i keep it on all the time. Just in case. Oh, and i do a bit of towing. As for that rubber, why waste $5 (when they can be stolen anyways)? I know it's there, i've NEVER shinned myself and i wont, even when half asleep i dont walk into it.

I would've liked my vehicle to have the heavier tow bar packages for looks (with the square design), but then you loose protection.

[Ado]

So what the hell are you talking about then? Could be a family members shirt, girlfriends shirt etc just happens to be sitting in his car.

Who the hell was talking to you wozzle

[Grennan]

You posted on a public forum, If you didnt want members of this forum commenting on what you say then say it in a private message.

[Ado]

You posted on a public forum, If you didnt want members of this forum commenting on what you say then say it in a private message.

PM sent.....

[andyman]

if its fitted from holden like that it cant be illegal


thats why i love the H/D kit on my car, an R clip and pin and the hitch pulls straight out

[alien]

Yea, i'd love the H/D kit for looks, but i dont exactly want to pay the asking price.... even at trade price from Holden!

[andyman]

Yea, i'd love the H/D kit for looks, but i dont exactly want to pay the asking price.... even at trade price from Holden!

yeah they are a bit more exxy but, it does come with alot of extra things, like air shocks, extra heatshilds, hitch etc etc,

i didnt pay for it, the fleet guys at work did lol, but it sure comes in handy

[Pete SS]

I've got the type of tow bar that locks in with a pin and R clip. Are these the heavy duty ones then? (It was on when I bought it)

What are load limits compared to a standard one?

[andyman]

I've got the type of tow bar that locks in with a pin and R clip. Are these the heavy duty ones then? (It was on when I bought it)

What are load limits compared to a standard one?

the h/d kits are rated to 2100kg braked,

there was a square hitch 1600kg kit too though, but there will be a sticker on the inside of the drivers door jam, and on the towbar ontop of where the hitch slides in,

in saying that though, i wouldnt go towing something heavier than the car anyway, unless it was slow and around town, not over 80km/h

[scorp]

So what the hell are you talking about then? Could be a family members shirt, girlfriends shirt etc just happens to be sitting in his car.

I believe i read in another thread alien saying he uses it as a car damage/theft detterent, im just interested to know how he got it.

[Calaber]

the h/d kits are rated to 2100kg braked,

there was a square hitch 1600kg kit too though, but there will be a sticker on the inside of the drivers door jam, and on the towbar ontop of where the hitch slides in,

in saying that though, i wouldnt go towing something heavier than the car anyway, unless it was slow and around town, not over 80km/h

There are a few points raised in this thread so far.

In relation to the OP, the legality of leaving the tow bar tongue attached to the car is not an issue. It was legal and the old bloke was pissed because his mussus whacked her shin. As people age, they become less tolerant, so in his mind, you were at fault, not his wife. The elderly seem to think that everything they don't like is wrong in some way.

As for protection against this sort of thing happening to the elderly or anybody else, then yes, removal of the tongue, or installation of a shin-guard are practical steps that can be taken. I remove my tow bar tongue when it's not in use, because of the danger to my legs and others, but also to give me a bit more room in the garage when the car's in there and to enable the auto door to be closed. (Tolerances are a bit tight with the bench taking up a few feet of the garage depth across the front of the car).

Knocking off the shin guard is a bit difficult - they should be firmly trapped between the tow ball and the tongue, so helping yourself to somebody else's wouldn't be a simple matter.

In NSW, as far as I am aware, it's illegal for the towed weight to exceed the weight of the towing vehicle. I've often wondered how anybody can legally use Holden's 2100kg towing set up here.

And finally, in NSW it's illegal to be in possession of any item of Police uniform if you are not a Police Officer and I'm certain that this law applies across all States, so I'll assume that the OP is on the right side of the law and has a member of his family who is a serving officer.

[HoldrodeoLT]

My tow bar tounge has a key hole on the pin, maybe i should go back to the dude i bought it off and see if i can get it.. because my dog keeps runing head first into it, he just bounces off it and doesnt feel anything, but im sure it's killing some brain cells :P

[ScoHar]

I've got one of those shin guards, and apart from saving shin skin they don't do much, still plenty of bruises from my towbar. You'd think i'd know its there by now.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Taken from the NSW RTA website.

The loaded mass of the trailer must not exceed the lesser of:

Rated capacity of the towbar and tow coupling.
Maximum towing capacity of the vehicle.
Maximum carrying capacity of the trailer.
Maximum rated carrying capacity of the tyres.

If the vehicle manufacturer has not specified the maximum towing mass, the maximum towing mass is:

One and a half times the unladen mass of the towing vehicle, provided that the trailer is fitted with brakes which are connected and in working order, or
The unladen mass of the towing vehicle if the trailer does not require brakes. Vehicles with a manufacturer’s gross combination mass (GCM) more than 4.5 tonne may tow in accordance with the above requirements.The GCM is the gross combination mass of the car and loaded trailer.