By Caleb Hutton
A Ferndale couple on the way to a dog show in Shelton lost control of a travel trailer Thursday afternoon, Sept. 20, on Interstate 5 near Bow Hill Road.
Below, I plagiarized a media release sent out by Washington State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary, editing only for style and clarity:
At 12:09 p.m., Washington State Patrol troopers responded to southbound Interstate 5, about a mile south of Bow Hill Road, for a rolled over travel trailer that was pulled by a full-size van.
The man and woman from Ferndale. They were southbound on I-5 and had just passed the Bow Hill truck scale when the 59-year-old woman moved over to the left for traffic entering the freeway.
Just after that, she said, the trailer began to oscillate beyond her control and the trailer flipped onto its side. She said her husband and two Great Dane dogs were on the way to Shelton for a dog show. Nobody was injured. The dogs, who were in the van, were not injured either.
Both lanes were blocked for more than a half an hour.
No drugs or alcohol involved. A decision to cite the driver has not yet been made. Both lanes are now open as of 1:24 p.m.
Photos courtesy of state patrol.
That is why trailers are equipped with brakes which can be actuated independently of the towing vehicles brakes! Use the brake controller to make the trailer pull back into the trail position where it belongs! Otherwise this type of accident usually is the result. Glad that nothing more than the drivers pride was injured!
that’s why you install sway control pistons
Wake up…every trailer that is used has never been built to a universal standard. This person was towing a trailer with a van that has and will never be able to tow this camper.
They are in violation of every safety standard and nobody cares but www.dangeroustrailers.org This accident not only endangered them…but also the people who are behind…AND OUR BRAVE OFFICERS AND EMT AND FIREMAN WHO WERE ON THE SCENE. This type of accidents should not happen if we simply used our recommendations and had standards.
The only individuals I know of that install sway controls and wouldn’t be caught dead without dual axels are the individuals hauling a horse. It’s standard for them. I’ve seen horses saved because of these precautions on horse trailers. I wish it were standard on dog trailers, too. I value my Belgian Malinois greatly. If I ever purchase a dog trailer you can bet I’ll take all precations to make sure he’s never injured. I applaud your officers, emt’s and firemen (and I know a few down at Bangcor) for their bravery. And I agree wholeheartedly that the vehicle was ill equiped to haul this trailer – and a miracle that there wasn’t more injuries. Thank them for me, please.
What is not shown in any of the pictures is the left front tire on the van, which blew out and caused the accident.
Before you judge a situation based solely on information in a ‘news’ article…you might want to be sure of your information. Other pictures of this accident clearly show anti sway and weight distribution equipment. It is believed that the front tire blew out on the van causing the accident. This is more than just ‘using a brake controller’, etc. When you assume things…you know what they say!
Dana, the dogs weren’t in the trailer and it is not a dog trailer it is a travel trailer.
Before people ASSume thing they should get the facts. I know these people very well. I can guarantee that all precautions were made ( sway bars, load stablizers, brake controllers,ect). These people travel thousands of miles a year pulling this trailer. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING………… I can also guarantee you there were NO DOGS IN THE TRAILER……………..
Okay first of all when is a cargo van deemed unable to tow a trailer?? Growing up my parents had a van conversion that towed a 30 foot trailer. Had it for almost 20 years, and NEVER had an issue towing. And to have the nerve to say the crash was their fault due to ignorance/inability is not only pure fiction but slanderous. And really where in the article did it say the trailer was a “dog trailer” i mean really, learn to read before you speak. Its a travel trailer where they stay when they’re away from home. No smart person would put animals in a trailer while on the road, get a brain.
One marvels at statements about “safety violations” and “ill-equiped” when neither the article nor the photos supply any details to support those assumptions. (What the photos do show is obviously a 1-ton full size van with extended wheelbase –making it even more stable as a tow vehicle than most others).
To “Ron” – This isn’t a horse or utility trailer. It is a TRAVEL trailer, which IS built to Federal standards;
To “Dana” – I’m sure you do care for your Mals – and so you would hardly transport them in a “dog trailer” – if there is such a thing! One cannot watch a dog for stress, illlness, heat, chewing, etc., if you banish them to a trailer. The article specfied that the dogs were in the van (with their human family, where they belonged)!