Towbar accident

[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

 

[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.

 

[Calaber]

Well, that clarifies the NSW situation, at least, and my perception was incorrect at least inasmuch as trailers fitted with brakes.

Some years ago, I was a passenger in a car rear ended by a Datsun 180B, towing a timber surf-boat (the type that has a rowing crew of about ten) in wet weather. He tried to stop and the boat just shoved him down the road like a feather into the rear of my mate's car.

I reckon the towed mass would have been well over the weight of the car, and the trailer had no brakes.

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Classic example of why the regulations are there.

 

[Calaber]

I thought it was a classic example of your typical Datsun driver.

 

[hovo]

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.

No wonder it was sitting on the seat in that case.:yeah:

 

[revv_head]

Wait, Alien. You're a cop yet you don't wear your P plates?