Stopped by VOSA

[Stubby]

50 minutes ago, oldwoodcutter said:

The trailer brakes came on alright but didn't stop it skidding across the road onto the verge. It was a tandem axle and doing I suppose 50mph the forward momentum alone had to take it somewhere.
Wasn't like it tried to overtake me.

Oh . Ok . Yes all that energy has to go somewhere . I did not think it would stop dead .  Did you have to reset the brake actuator afterwards ?

[richy_B]

The law just says "main base".

Is it a 100km drive from base or a 100km radius around the base?

[Big J]

27 minutes ago, devon TWiG said:

The rules are imposed upon commercial operators to ensure  that one company does not gain a commercial advantage over another in a competitive market eg overloading , excessive hours etc , for caravans etc this is not a problem generally  , and although VOSA do not concern themselves too much with caravans etc if / when something happens the insurers will look very hard indeed to avoid paying out !!

I hadn't considered that angle.

 

VOSA profess that it's about safety, but their concerns only seem to extend to professional users, rather than those occasional private users that seem to me to be the largest risk. Caravans and horseboxes are the worst culprits in my opinion. 

[roseyweb]

They do carvan stops on the m5 

i can't imagine them impounding a carvan though 

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Gary Prentice said:

Had an unbraked Vermeer chipper with an ever so slightly worn ball on the vehicle. Going downhill when it bounced off and chased us! Thankfully the driver was observant and managed to bring everything safely to a standstill.

 

 

Unbraked trailers are supposed to have a safety chain, or were unless it has changed. Braked trailers have the breakaway cable and should not also be chained to the vehicle.

[Gary Prentice]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

Unbraked trailers are supposed to have a safety chain, or were unless it has changed. Braked trailers have the breakaway cable and should not also be chained to the vehicle.

Things were a little bit different fifteen or twenty years back. 

[Khriss]

14 hours ago, oldwoodcutter said:

I forgot to check a trailer was properly on my ballhitch after a new member of staff had dropped it on.
Few miles up the road , right outside the back gate of raf marham, the trailer came off, the brake cable did work and then broke, and as someone said above, the trailer went across the road and ploughed into the verge.
Gave the soldiers on the guardroom gate something to look at anyroad.

Exactly that Old, no way it can possibly bring a moving trailer safely to rest. Thank god no-one was injured , k

[Khriss]

15 hours ago, josharb87 said:

Gonna stop a lot quicker with the brakes on though isn't it! 

 

What do you mean about the shopping trolly?!

Josh, castor angle of wheels means vehicle will continue on the line that it's pushed ( makes a car easier to steer and is why you can ride a bike with no hands ) but trailers do not have this. K ( yup it Will Stop quicker with brakes on - just what it stops into is the bother ;P )

[Stubby]

Also if there is any slight imbalance in the braking force between the left and the right wheel it will turn to side of the harder force .

[openspaceman]

10 hours ago, Gary Prentice said:

Things were a little bit different fifteen or twenty years back. 

yes but I don't think the requirement was different then, in fact a chain may be used instead of a breakaway cable on braked trailers up to 1500kg but I don't know why this is allowed.

 

I've never tried to see how well the trailer brakes work dynamically but, as Stubby says, if they are adjusted properly they should pull up in a straight line and the gas strut should apply enough force to apply the brakes  to 80% of the mass of the vehicle. So a 1 tonne trailer should be slowing by a force of 800kg if the grip of the tyres allow. Given force time distance equals 1/2mv^2 the required stopping distance can be calculated. IME trailer brakes tend to be not well serviced.