Towing laws

dubdub07 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
"I am fully aware of the risks and the increased braking distances"

Such a decision, Bill, is yours to make about you but you've made it for me too...to be more likely to hit my rear end when I've made an emergency stop and you can't stop in time. Ask any fender-bender attorney about your decision being reckless.

I would have to hit you first. The brake buddy is nice, but it does not do as much as everyone thinks. And the risks are small. I love stirring it up with my honesty. You would think I am an RVer gone rogue.

Bill

Once again, I feel obliged to point out the Reaction Time Distance (that distance you will travel, at 65 MPH, between the time when you realize you must stop and the time when your foot actually hits the brake pedal) AND the actual stopping distance (that distance your vehicle will travel between brake application and full stop. the faster you are traveling, the longer that distance is.) Add the two together, and that is how far your vehicle will travel after you realize "OH, LORDY, I better STOP, NOW!" and a full stop is achieved.
I have had those "STOP, NOW!" situations more than once.
A 2 point buck 4 point in Eastern count) jumped in front of my 1966 Barracuda on a two lane road at 60+ MPH. My foot didn't even hit the brake pedal when the car hit him. If I had been driving a Class A, towing a Jeep, with the best towed braking system money can buy, it would have made no difference.
I have had similar cases involving dogs and chickens.
In a true emergency situation, the towed braking system probably will make no difference at all. In a breakaway, however, it MAY help, depending on how the breakaway actuator is set up. It is entirely possible the breakaway brakes could tear the vehicle away from the towing unit, making the problems worse! The thought of my towed vehicle locking the brakes and coming to a screeching halt on a busy freeway in the midst of 80 MPH traffic is actually frightening!