Caues of Horse-Trailer Accidents on the Road

REBECCA — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:57:00 GMT

I presented two lectures at the ATA's international conference last week:

1. The Initial analysis of causality of over 800 horse trailer wrecks in the United States.

2. A report to the ATA membership with pictures and details of the first training event for all stakeholders at the Miami International airport (as exclusively reported on TheHorse.com at http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18677&src=topic).

My ongoing trailer research (which is currently being statistically treated by a PhD student for publication) has already revealed trends in the types of U.S. horse trailer wrecks, accidents, overturns, and mishaps traveling on the road--and points to some causalities for these incidents.

This information is collected from Internet mining of trailer incidents spanning 35 years, and direct data from owners who filled out an online form at www.USRIDER.org (which is still available if you have a wreck to tell us about!). Before the 1980s, few reports of this type were put through the public news cycle unless they involved large numbers of deaths of people or horses. Since the advent of digital photography and Internet, these types of incidents are far more commonly reported and photographed, pictures give us a much better idea of what actually happened and help get the data correct.

• Date, time, location, road name and type, cause of accident, where the report came from, etc.
• Number of people, horses and vehicles involved, number of the above injured or killed, types of injuries and causes, etc.
• Type of vehicle towing and type of trailer, specifics of extrication attempts, etc.
• Whether the animal had to be treated or euthanized on scene, etc.
• Was driver charged? Drugs or alcohol involved?
• As many details as possible on road conditions, extrication methods, personnel present.

I reminded the attendees that wrecks involving significant injury or death (to people or horses) probably are reported more than those that are “routine.” Also, it is hard to follow up on reports that the animals were “miraculously” alive after the incident and extrication (to see if the animals died hours or days afterwards). This may bias the results, as may failure to get complete data on each incident.

Trends of note:

TIRE BLOWOUT / LOSS OF A WHEEL
Trailer tire blowouts on two-axle trailers cause very few wrecks compared to the numbers of blowouts that occur (single-axle horse trailers should be outlawed--no chance of recovery from loss of a tire). Tire blowouts increase the chance of causing wreck when they are combined with a tow vehicle that is not appropriate (i.e. too small for the size of the trailer) or a single axle trailer. Also, two things that seem to increase the chance of a wreck is if a steering tire on the tow vehicle blows, or if two tires on one side blow simultaneously (big road hazard, or poor quality tires such as cheap two-ply tires or retreads).

“Wheel-offs” or loss of a wheel off a dual axle trailer rarely causes a wreck to the tow combination, but may affect other vehicles on the road (and kill people in vehicles hit by the loose wheel).

POORLY MAINTAINED EQUIPMENT / LACK OF MAINTENANCE
Incorrect or nonexistent vehicle and trailer maintenance--as mentioned above, contributes to the severity of the accident. This is the single most important prevention method for trailer owners. As noted by Dr. Tomas Gimenez, “The air in your tires is not eternal, nor is the grease in your bearings or the wood on the floor.”

WRONG TOW VEHICLE FOR SIZE AND WEIGHT OF TRAILER
Some wrecks occur because of the incorrect trailer size (to small for big horse), although this is a small contribution to accidents, it is a large contributor to injuries of hauled horses. Scrambling (panic by the horse) and resulting load shift is most common in the smaller trailers. If the tow vehicle size is appropriate, this won’t jackknife the trailer, but in extreme cases this can cause a wreck.

A participant asked “Do horses kicking cause a jackknife?” Currently there is no evidence that the movement of horses in transport commonly overturns the trailer. Horses scramble a lot in trailers--this is a training issue or due to panic, fear of containment, and lack of opportunity for rear-facing position which is more comfortable to many horses. It is more possible that “movement” causes an untrained driver to brake, which exacerbates any side to side vibrations into a jackknife.

INEXPERIENCED DRIVER, ERRORS
I explained that there are no training courses for horse trailer drivers available in the United States to learn how to drive a trailer. Currently anyone (16 to 90 years of age) can buy a large truck and trailer and drive it off the dealer’s lot with just a car license. I suggest a program based on the UK horse trailer licensing program (with an inspector):

• Learning to hitch/unhitch one’s own trailer;
• Drive thru an obstacle course;
• Back up with the trailer both straight and into a crooked space;
• Perform an emergency stop with a trailer; and
• drive on both highways and interstates.

Wrecks caused by inappropriate speed or response (driver error) are approximately what you would expect from a survey of car drivers in general--there are times people just do stupid things, from texting, talking on cell phone to managing kids in the vehicle. Make sure that person is not you.

SINGLE DRIVER ACCIDENTS
A very large number of single rig accidents were noted where the driver goes off road from inattention or excessive speed for conditions, loses control, sleepiness, and alcohol involved.

DRIVER FATIGUE
Suspected to cause many accidents similar to the expectations for car drivers. The propensity for “weekend warriors” to spend their weekend doing something with their horse (show, rodeo, trailride, etc.) and attempt to drive home in the dark or alone exacerbates the chances of this occurring. Other causes may include drug and alcohol use.

FAILURE TO STOP OR YIELD
When looking at trailer combinations that were sideswiped or T-boned, where another vehicle fails to yield the right of way, or runs a stop sign, this type of wreck is often terminal or horrific injuries for the driver of the other vehicle. Trailers stand up very well to this type of impact, even if it is so hard a collision that the trailer is pushed or even rolled by the impact. The horses seem to do okay in these wrecks. Failure to stop or yield by the horse trailer driver - slamming into other vehicles while going through intersections or merging is also common.

FOLLOWING DISTANCE / REAR ENDED HORSE TRAILER BY VEHICLE BEHIND / OR REAR END THE VEHICLE IN FRONT
Many drivers do not use an appropriate following distance behind other vehicles--where the trailer driver collides with a vehicle in front of them. Some wrecks due to smaller vehicles cutting in front of the rig, others due to unsafe speed for traffic and road conditions.
This type of wreck rarely kills horses, but may kill people, particularly in the vehicle ahead. If the rig jackknifes on impact or rolls over or becomes unhitched, then horses do poorly.

This is also a problem for people in vehicles following behind the rig. There are numerous accidents caused by a truck, motorcycle or car behind the trailer slamming into the rig, in these cases the animals often get severe injuries or burns, or get loose if the trailer opens up like a tuna can.

INCORRECT HITCHING OF TRAILER
This is the most common cause of single-vehicle accidents.

The myth among some horsemen that Gooseneck type trailers have enough weight in the nose of the trailer to keep it on the truck ball even if the pin is not locked is an excuse for laziness. While it is true that a correctly hitched trailer of any type will usually stay hitched unless the impact is catastrophic, it is illegal and immoral not to correctly hitch a trailer. See www.dangeroustrailers.org for just a few of the horror stories of what happens when trailers of all types come loose…

The chains of tag-a-long bumper pull trailers (in combination with the emergency brake engaging mechanism) are very important to prevent roll-away trailers when the hitch comes off the ball.

Correction of these issues starts with:
• Standardization and use of the correct ball size;
• Maintenance; and
• Checking for correct hitching (i.e., locking the hitch, tightening the nut, reciever correctly attached to the frame of the tow vehicles, appropriate lubrication of the ball)

I noted that properly hitched trailers that survive horrific impacts from trains, head on collisions, and side collisions usually never become separated from the tow ball (even if the ball is separated from the towing vehicle.)

ALCOHOL INVOLVED
Yes, they happen. It is my speculation that a social history of alcohol use (at the fox hunt, after a winning round, at the polo club, and on a trail ride with friends) surrounding horse riding probably contributes to some of these accidents. Advocating awareness of this effect may help. Other wrecks may be based on supplementary factors.

POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS
Surprisingly,this was not the top factor in trailer accidents, although it was a contributing factor to many. Perhaps drivers avoid bad weather when driving with their horses, or slow down, or try to wait it out? We don’t know enough to understand this yet.

NOT AN APPROPRIATE TRAILER
Some of the trailers in this study were not appropriate for a horse--including animals in the back of pickup trucks, open top trailers, and homemade trailers made out of plywood or dog fencing. Obviously these are not made for the safety of the animal, nor are they able to keep the animal inside the confines of the trailer.

LIGHTING AND REFLECTIVE
In this study, the little amount or non-existent reflective warnings on the sides and rear of many trailers, contributes to accidents-- especially being rear-ended by other vehicles. Many trailers have poor lighting or non-working lights. Remember that this is one of the cheapest and easiest items to fix--buy reflective tape and put it all over your trailer so that others can see it. Then fix the trailer lights, too.

RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES
• Camera in the Trailer to observe animals in transport;
• Tire Pressure Monitoring devices on tow and trailer tires;
• Maximal reflective and bright colored tape on rear and sides of trailer;
• Driver training (hitching, driving habits, stopping and turning with a large trailer);
• Working brakes, lights and good quality tires, annual inspections of these and the floor, etc.;
• Minimum of two spare tires for the trailer;
• Roadside Trailering Service or complete kit of tools and safety devices to change tires; and
• Rear-facing trailer options in manufacturing.

The Horse 911: What's Your Emergency? : research, welfare, rear-facing float

Caues of Horse-Trailer Accidents on the Road