Let’s Make America’s Roadways Safer One Trailer at a Time!
The mission of Trailer Safety Week is to improve the safety of our nation’s roadways by raising trailer safety awareness through education of end-users, dealers and manufacturers on safe trailering practices. Although trailer safety is important to focus on 365 days a year, Trailer Safety Week officially takes place June 4-10, 2023.
While millions of trailers are used by businesses, municipalities, and individuals every day, it is crucial to ensure that trailers are being towed safely for the sake of everyone on the roads. Consumer end-users are particularly undereducated on the proper use of trailers. To keep America’s highways safe, here are eight helpful tips from Security Specialists designed to help you and others stay safe when towing a trailer.
- Practice Driving with a Trailer – Do not underestimate the difficulty of driving with a trailer. You should practice pulling in and out of your driveway and navigating quiet back roads before attempting to drive in heavy traffic.
- Know Your Weight Limit – Always consult your owner’s manual for information about how much weight your vehicle can successfully haul. Make sure not to overload your vehicle. Doing so can cause difficult handling, making it more likely that you’ll to be involved in a wreck.
- Make Sure You’re Properly Connected Before You Hit the Road – Learn how to properly attach a trailer before you start towing one. Also check that your safety chains, lights, and license plate are securely fastened.
- Keep Your Distance – Always be sure to keep a greater distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you when you’re hauling a trailer. The extra weight behind your car or truck will make it more difficult to slow down or stop.
- Learn to Put it in Reverse Gear – Sounds silly but driving in reverse while pulling a trailer is a skill that takes quite a bit of practice to acquire. Turn too sharply and the trailer will jackknife or turn extremely in one direction. Expect to make several adjustments the first couple of times you attempt to drive in reverse while towing a trailer.
- Take Wider Turns – When you are towing a trailer your vehicle is now close to double its regular length, so you will have to take turns significantly wider than normal to avoid hitting curbs, other cars, or running off of the road.
- Slow It Down – For heaven’s sake, please slow down when pulling a trailer. When on a highway or interstate, use the right lane as acceleration will take significantly longer with a trailer. Try to drive a little below the speed limit for safety.
- Park It – It is not a bad idea to practice parking with a trailer before you start your journey. Parking while towing a trailer may be difficult. Small parking lots may be almost impossible to use when pulling a large trailer. It is often advisable to park in a remote part of a parking lot with few surrounding vehicles.
