A runaway caravan mounted the pavement and ended up in trees when it broke from the car towing it along a main road in Telford, the Shropshire Star reports.
The caravan became detached from a Silver Mitsubishi on the junction of Holyhead Road and Beverley Road just before 3.30pm yesterday. No-one was injured when the caravan left the road and mounted the pavement in front of a bus stop at Shepherd’s junction.
The caravan came to a stop when it hit the trees on the embankment of the Mauchak restaurant car park, in front of a six-foot drop.
West Mercia Police spokesman Toby Shergold said: “It appears the tow bar came loose and the caravan, travelling at quite a slow speed, hit a tree. There was a six-foot drop on the other side so it could have been a lot worse."
"It was a non-reported road traffic incident, which means no one was injured. The caravan was to be pulled out at the owner’s own cost.”
May have been a "ball and pin" type towball with the breakaway cable taken round the pin, and hence ineffective if the towball jumped out of its housing?
Suprising if it was a detachable that came off, I thought they were failsafe? If it was the detachable bit that came off & assuming breakaway cable was looped around below ball it does rather prove that breakaway cable should be secured onto a separate loop as is often suggested.
I work on a farm ,do a lot of towing with big loads. check check check all the time especially if someone else have coupled up you can never be to sure.
It would be nice to know exactly what parted from where, before making assumptions. I have seen a hitch part, but only because it was not fully engaged onto the towball by the owner/driver before pulling away.
As has been said, a seperate loop for the breakaway cable is a must.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Runaway caravan crashes into trees
