From: Birdsaddle@... [mailto:Birdsaddle@...]
Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2009 9:18 PM
To: editor@...
Subject: Anatomy of a pileup

 May you never be pulling a trailer and find yourself in a position where you see a stopped vehicle in front of you, and you are not able to stop. It is an experience from which nightmares are made. I, for one, relived the wreck over and over, and was not able to try to go to sleep without seeing it happen, all over again, and to wake up suddenly, for a good two weeks.

 We have probably all had this happen, while pulling a trailer. Someone pulls in front of you, and stops. Many people have no idea that a sudden stop can risk the safety of a big truck, or a rig pulling a horse, or someone riding a motorcycle. That is why it is also so important for the driver of such a vehicle to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front, and to drop back when someone sees space and cuts in front of you. You must maintain your safe stopping distance at all times, and when pulling major weight, this distance increases greatly.

 It is also a good idea to practice a few smooth stops when you first set out on the road. And, to remember, always, to think 'stop' when you are coming upon a traffic light or an intersection, keeping one foot in the vicinity of your brake. You can also pinch your trailer brake lever, if you can remember to do this, to get out of trouble, to stop a sideslip, or just slow down. If you can remember ...

  I was pulling my gooseneck trailer, with three horses in it, which is about four tons in total trailer weight, added to the 3800 lbs. of truck. An intersection was coming up, and a car stopped suddenly in front of a small truck, and then began moving again, and then stopped. I stood on my brakes and was unable to get stopped in time. I hit the little truck and put a small dent in his tailgate. The driver of the car that stopped in front of the truck got out, assessed the bit of damage to her car, and decided to take off, because she had no insurance. Luckily, we noticed her license number.  Nice try ... Then when I was pulling to the side, I had no brakes at all, except for my emergency brake. Of course, I did not even think to try the trailer brake lever ...

  The horses were fine. Shipping boots are the thing. They saved the day, for the horses. One of the shipping boots was trodden down, and if the boot had not been on the horse's leg, the leg would have been damaged. The editor of our Malama Lio is adamant that shipping boots be put on all animal passengers, and she taught me well. Thank you, Sarah. Five minutes to put the shipping boots on can save you from a six month lay-up, and a lot of vet bills.

 My husband is a mechanic, and today we finished rebuilding the front end of my truck, putting the mechanical parts onto the truck. As we were doing some of the final adjustments, we noticed that a brake line was broken! So, if you have an older truck, even if it has very low mileage, and even if you have replaced your master cylinder and numerous other brake parts, remember to check for rust and corrosion of the brake lines!

 It is a profound relief to know that it was mechanical failure. I know I had room to stop, but I did not want to make excuses and blame my brakes. But I did stand on the brakes and say, come on, come on ... What a feeling of relief. An accident like this can put you into a profound depression.

 If you do get in a wreck, the tow truck will tow your truck with the trailer attached to it. It makes quite a caravan, a road train, if you will, but that is how it is done.

 My thanks to everyone who stopped and offered to help. People I had not even seen called me and offered their trailers and all kinds of assistance. Lucky we live Hawaii!

  Bird McIver

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