Activist Shines Spotlight on Tragedies Caused by Runaway Trailers
I came across this interesting column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that talks about an issue that has been of great concern to me – runaway trailer accidents. Runaway trailers usually occur as a result of not being properly secured to a vehicle and can cause catastrophic accidents with serious injuries or deaths.
This news report is about an activist, Ron Melancon from Glen Allen, Virginia, who has taken it upon himself to document accidents involving passenger vehicles that tow trailers. A 43-year-old retail sales manager, Melancon is working to get national safety standards in place to prevent these tragic accidents from happening. Most recently in Pennsylvania, 36-year-old Michelle Kott was killed on a local highway when a trailer came loose from a truck and crashed into the car she was driving. In fact, this tragedy was similar to a horrific April 2006 accident in Richland, Pennsylvania, where a wood chipper detached from a truck and slammed into a minivan killing 37-year-old Spencer Morrison and two of his 4-year-old triplets.
California is no stranger to these tragic runaway trailer accidents. Statistics on these accidents are not readily available because the government does not keep track of these incidents very well. However, a recent Los Angeles Times investigation identified 540 runaway trailer accidents from news reports and court files between 2000 and 2007. These accidents resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of injuries and at least 164 deaths. It is very likely that there were many more runaway trailer accidents, injuries and deaths that were not reported by news sources.
Ron Melancon says these are by no means “freak accidents.” His informative Web site Dangerous Trailers keeps a running tally of such accidents.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 64,275 such accidents causing 425 deaths and 16,482 injuries in 2005. According to Melancon’s count, between 2003 and 2007, 2000 people have been killed and 120,000 injured in accidents involving passenger vehicles towing trailers.
Melancon says he became involved in this cause after rear-ending a small trailer at night in 2003 because the rear of the trailer did not have reflective material. He simply couldn’t see it in the dark. It was a minor accident, but it motivated Melancon to successfully lobby Virginia legislators in 2004 to pass a law requiring these trailers to be fitted with either two reflectors or 100 square inches of reflective material.
The safety standards for large trailers vary from state to state. No standards even exist for smaller trailers, which are most often involved in these catastrophic incidents, Melancon says. He applauds the efforts of local safety groups that organize one-day safety seminars providing driver training in securely connecting trailers to vehicles and properly attaching safety chains. I agree with Melancon that such training should be made mandatory before people are even allowed to attach a trailer to their vehicles.
Here’s a million-dollar question from Melancon: “Why do people have to keep dying before we act?”
That’s right. Why do our federal authorities wait until thousands die before they take action to pass a safety regulation or improve safety standards? I stand behind Ron Melancon and offer my support to his efforts to make this country’s roadways safer and better for all of us.
Comments
Dear Mr. Bisnar:
When I get down because of the total lack of government action, compassion and regulation it's people like yourself who take time to write and express your feelings that keeps me going. Its been almost 6 years with my family going to deep debt to make a difference. While other people were buying sub prime homes, big televisions and going on vacations I was trying to make a difference. If more people would just get involved them maybe our Country would not be in this mess.
Article Just Published..
Man Calls for Stricter Trailer Laws
The Brunswick News
Dec. 26--Ron Melancon can't believe it.
The 44-year-old Richmond, Va., crusader says the number of accidents and deaths caused by trailers that are unsafe or which are improperly secured to vehicles screams for attention, yet only one state is toughening the law to combat the problem -- his own, Virginia.
Georgia is not immune, and that includes Glynn County, where a runaway trailer claimed a life almost a year ago.
Just look at the nationwide figures since 2003, Melancon will tell anyone who will listen. The data was compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
--Number of persons killed: 2,239
--Number of persons injured: 122,500
--Number of vehicles, trailers and other property damaged: 342,000
"We have people dying in Idaho because of trailers," he said. "We got people dying in Las Vegas. Can we connect the dots?"
Just this past week, a speedboat broke loose from the hitch of a pickup truck while being towed and landed on top of another vehicle in Albany. Fortunately, none of the three persons in the car was hurt.
A woman in Glynn County wasn't so lucky. In January 2007, a homemade trailer became unattached from a pickup truck on the F.J. Torras Causeway. The trailer crossed the centerline. striking the vehicle driven by Karen Simpson. The 48-year-old was killed.
Melancon, who dove into a crusade for stronger trailer laws after slamming into one himself earlier this decade, said he can't believe Georgia and other states are ignoring what is a well-publicized danger to all motorists.
Among other things, states should mandate a safety course for anyone who uses trailers and adopt uniform design standards. While there is a standard for trailer hitches, there is no standard for trailers, he said.
"Every county has different standards," he said. Every state has different laws. We should have a definition for what a trailer is.
"We have 80 people killed in Ford Pintos and what happens? Ford recalls the cars (built prior to 1976). Seven astronauts die in the space shuttle Challenger and suddenly all the other shuttles are grounded. We have 2,239 people killed by trailers, and we do nothing. Can someone explain that to me?"
He said it was an uphill struggle just convincing Virginia to pass a law requiring reflector tape on trailers.
"With lawsuits and damages, we'll are paying for this," he said. "We should not have to sue in this country to force states to use common sense."
Right now, Melancon is writing and speaking to anyone and everyone who will listen, especially those in the upper layer of government. So far, it's been like trying to go up against a 200 mph headwind.
"I've sent emails to governors," he said. "I'm trying to get Congress involved, too."
There's no headway there, either, but don't count on him quitting anytime soon.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I will continue to monitor this. I can't give up. If I do then my son will (think) this country doesn't care anymore."
Breakout:
Check out Ron Melancon's trailer safety site at wwwdangerous.trailors.org
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Posted by: Ron Melancon | December 27, 2008 5:47 AM
Here Is An Editoral that sums it up.
Editoral by the Brunswick News...
Ensuring proper trailer connections saves lives
12/27/2008
Ron Melancon makes a profoundly valid point. If devices that don't threaten public safety are regulated in this country, then why shouldn't something that claims hundreds of lives annually fall under greater scrutiny and control?
There is no reason why it shouldn't, but, much to Melancon's dismay, communities and states have done little to nothing to step up enforcement of the thousands of trailers that are hitched to vehicles on any given day across this land and on any given road, street or highway.
The statistics, as Melancon is quick to underscore for the visually impaired, speak for themselves.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, improperly towed or built trailers are an extreme danger and nuisance in this country.
Since 2003 alone, trailers - or some part or parts of them - have broken loose from moving vehicles, killing 2,239 citizens. That is 2,239 lives, including a life in Glynn County about a year ago on the F.J. Torras Causeway.
The number of injuries they've inflicted on Georgians and other Americans is equally disquieting. In just the past five years, 122,500 individuals have sustained minor or major injuries.
Then there's the property damage, of course.
An estimated 342,000 vehicles, trailers and other property that includes fences, shrubbery and structures have received light-to-severe or total damage from the tip of Washington State to the bottom of Florida by runaway trailers or jettisoned, hurtling parts from poorly hitched or constructed trailers.
If nothing else, the nation or state ought to require some standards on their design and development.
Laws that require additional safety devices such as chains that reinforce, if not indeed ensure, the attachment of a trailer to a vehicle ought to be enforced every day in every community, including Brunswick and the Golden Isles.
Motorists should observe whether a passing trailer is chained to the bumper or another part of the vehicle and call police when they see that it is not. They might save a life or spare someone from needless injury.
State lawmakers ought to look into this and determine whether the industry - as well as act of trailer towing itself - is in need of a shake-up, in need of additional safety devices and checks and higher fines for those who fail to do either. The number of deaths since 2003 - 2,239 - says it does.
Posted by: Ron Melancon | December 28, 2008 12:51 PM