U-Haul's practices raise the risk of accidents on the road

gpsman wrote:
> On Jun 25, 1:03 pm, (Brent P)
> wrote:
>
>>In article >, John A. Weeks III wrote:
>>
>>
>>>In article >,
>>> (Brent P) wrote:
>>
>>>>In article . com>, gpsman
>>>>wrote:
>>
>>>>>What very few have seen is a slower vehicle "run over" by faster
>>>>>traffic, trailer or no.
>>
>>>>If someone driving 45mph would need to so much as tap the brakes, he
>>>>would get run over the by the semi drafting him 3 feet off his rear
>>>>bumper.
>>
>>>That is BS.
>>
>>I'll take you for a ride through I-294's work zone.
>
>
> No need, just post a news report of a semi rear-ending any -moving-
> vehicle, on any freeway, anywhere, anytime. Of course it occurs, but
> it is exceedingly rare.
>
>
>>>You need to be in control of your own vehicle,
>>>and let the other people drive their own vehicles.
>>
>>Doesn't change the fact there's a semi riding one's rear bumper.
>
>
> Which is irrelevant to operating one's own vehicle and letting other
> drivers operate theirs. As they say in trucking; you drive your rig,
> and I'll drive mine.
>
>
>>> Speeding
>>>up out of your fear of your lack of ability to handle a traffic
>>>situation is about the worst possible thing you can do at that
>>>time. If you cannot handle a vehicle the way it is supposed
>>>to be driven, then get off of the road.
>>
>>Wether I can 'handle it' or not is not relevant. The fact of the matter
>>is that the situation does occur. BTW, the way to handle it, the only way
>>to get the semi off one's ass and not be replaced by another or a more
>>dangerous situation.... (ie doing 45mph in the left or middle lanes) is
>>to well, go faster. Slowing to 35 doesn't give a trucker a hint... too
>>dumb I guess.
>
>
> <spit take> Why not move right, you ****ing moron?
>

It's illegal to drive on the shoulder.

> Almost every post I make reveals that I shouldn't be allowed to drive a
> golf cart, a golf ball, a bicycle, or a nail, much less a motorized
> vehicle.
> -----

Fixed that for you.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Jun 24, 2:52 pm, wrote:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...-na-haul24jun2...
>
> >From the Los Angeles Times
>
> DANGER IN TOW
> Driving with rented risks
> U-Haul International is the nation's largest provider of rental
> trailers. A Times investigation finds the company's practices raise
> the risk of accidents on the road.
> By Alan C. Miller and Myron Levin, Times Staff Writers
> June 24, 2007
>
> Marissa Sternberg sits in her wheelchair, barely able to move or
> speak. Caregivers are always at her side. Progress is measured in tiny
> steps: an unclenched fist, a look of recognition, a smile for her
> father.
>
> Nearly four years ago, Sternberg was a high-spirited 19-year-old bound
> for veterinary school in Denver. She rented a U-Haul trailer to move
> her belongings, hitched it to her Toyota Land Cruiser and hit the road
> with her two dogs and a friend.
>
> That evening, as the Land Cruiser descended a hill in the Chihuahuan
> Desert of New Mexico, the trailer began to swing from side to side,
> pushing the SUV as if trying to muscle it off the road.
>
> "I knew something bad was going to happen," recalled Corina Maya
> Hollander, who was taking a turn behind the wheel. "We both knew."
>
> The Land Cruiser flipped and bounced along Interstate 25. The trailer
> broke free and careened off the road. Hollander crawled from the
> wreckage, her head throbbing.
>
> Sternberg, who had been thrown from the SUV, lay sprawled on the
> highway, unable to move.
>
> "Where are my dogs?" she screamed. "Somebody go find my dogs!"
>
> Sternberg fell victim to a peril long familiar to U-Haul
> International: "trailer sway," a leading cause of severe towing
> accidents.
>
> Traveling downhill or shaken by a sharp turn or a gust of wind, a
> trailer can begin swinging so violently that only the most experienced
> - or fortunate - drivers can regain control and avoid catastrophe.
>
> U-Haul, the nation's largest provider of rental trailers, says it is
> "highly conservative" about safety. But a yearlong Times
> investigation, which included more than 200 interviews and a review of
> thousands of pages of court records, police reports, consumer
> complaints and other documents, found that company practices have
> heightened the risk of towing accidents.
>
> The safest way to tow is with a vehicle that weighs much more than the
> trailer. A leading trailer expert and U-Haul consultant has likened
> this principle to "motherhood and apple pie."
>
> Yet U-Haul allows customers to pull trailers as heavy as or heavier
> than their own vehicles.
>
> It often allows trailers to stay on the road for months without a
> thorough safety inspection, in violation of its own policies.
>
> Bad brakes have been a recurring problem with its large trailers. The
> one Sternberg rented lacked working brakes.
>
> Its midsize trailers have no brakes at all, a policy that conflicts
> with the laws of at least 14 states.
>
> It relaxed a key safety rule as it pushed to increase rentals of one
> type of trailer, used to haul vehicles, and then failed to enforce
> even the weakened standard. Customers were killed or maimed in ensuing
> crashes that might have been avoided.
>
> The company's approach to mitigating the risks of towing relies
> heavily on customers, many of them novices, some as young as 18. They
> are expected to grasp and carry out detailed instructions for loading
> and towing trailers, and to respond coolly in a crisis.
>
> But many renters never see those instructions - distribution of U-
> Haul's user guide is spotty.
>
> To those who receive and read it, the guide offers this advice for
> coping with a swinging trailer: Stay off the car's brakes and hold the
> wheel straight. Many drivers will reflexively do the opposite, which
> can make the swaying worse.
>
> Yet when accidents occur, U-Haul almost always blames the customer.
>
> Proper loading of the trailer is crucial in preventing sway. U-Haul
> tells customers to put 60% of the weight in the front half and
> suggests a three-step process to check that the load is balanced
> correctly.
>
> But the company has declined to offer an inexpensive, portable scale
> that would help renters get it right.
>
> U-Haul vigorously defends its safety record. Executives say that the
> company diligently maintains its fleet of more than 200,000 trucks and
> trailers, and that decades of testing, experience and engineering
> advances have steadily reduced its accident rates.
>
> "Our equipment is suited for your son and daughter," said Edward J.
> "Joe" Shoen, chairman of U-Haul and its parent company, Amerco. "On a
> scale of 1 to 10, I'd say U-Haul is rated 10 in safety."
>
> It is unknown how many U-Haul customers have crashed because of
> trailer sway. No government agency keeps track of such accidents, and
> U-Haul declined to provide a comprehensive count or year-by-year
> figures.
>
> But statistical snapshots the company has produced in civil litigation
> hint at the scope of the problem and show that it has persisted for
> decades.
>
> In a lawsuit stemming from the Sternberg crash, U-Haul listed 173
> reported sway-related accidents from 1993 to 2003 involving a single
> trailer model.
>
> In a case from the 1970s, the company disclosed 1,173 such crashes
> involving all trailer types during a 3 1/2-year period.
>
> In other cases, it has listed up to 650 reported sway-related wrecks
> from about 1990 to 2002 involving two-wheeled trailers called tow
> dollies.
>
> Still, U-Haul says statistics indicate that drivers towing its
> trailers are less likely to crash than are other motorists. This is
> so, U-Haul says, because people drive more cautiously when moving
> their families and belongings.
>
> The claim has not been independently verified and is viewed
> skeptically by some outside experts.
>
> Shoen said sway-related accidents almost always result from customer
> mistakes, primarily failing to load the trailer properly and exceeding
> U-Haul's recommended top speed of 45 mph. The company said both errors
> contributed to the Sternberg crash.
>
> "U-Haul customers drive the equivalent of to the moon and back over 10
> times a day," Shoen said in a recent conference call with investors,
> "and, regrettably, accidents occur."
>
> TRAILER SWAY
>
> U-haul international inc., founded in 1945, is the leader of the do-it-
> yourself moving industry. It sends millions of Americans out on the
> road annually in its signature orange-and-white trucks and trailers.
>
> The Phoenix-based company, built on low cost and convenience, has
> about 1,450 company-owned centers and 14,500 independent dealers. It
> took in about $1.5 billion from equipment rentals last year.
>
> Many U-Haul customers are college students, weekend movers and others
> who have never hauled a trailer before.
>
> It is not unusual for a trailer to swing slightly. This normally poses
> little or no threat.
>
> Accidents often happen when a driver gains speed going downhill. The
> trailer whips from side to side more and more powerfully and finally
> takes control of the tow vehicle - a situation known as "the tail
> wagging the dog."
>
> Peter Keith, a Canadian safety expert, described the danger in a 1984
> report for transportation officials in British Columbia.
>
> "When the trailer suddenly starts [to] swing violently, the driver can
> often be caught unawares and is further faced with a very dangerous
> situation which requires considerable skill and presence of mind to
> resolve," Keith wrote. "Probably only a small minority of drivers are
> in practice capable of bringing the vehicle combination back under
> control."
>
> The weight of the tow vehicle relative to the trailer is a crucial
> factor. The heavier the tow vehicle, the easier it is to control the
> combination.
>
> Richard H. Klein, an authority on trailer dynamics who has served as
> an expert witness for U-Haul, underscored the point during one court
> appearance. He was asked if he'd rather be driving "a larger tow
> vehicle than a smaller one" if a trailer began to swing.
>
> "Yes," he replied. "That's like motherhood and apple pie."
>
> In keeping with this tenet, other major companies do not allow
> customers to pull rental equipment with passenger vehicles. Penske
> Truck Leasing and Budget Truck Rental compete with U-Haul in renting
> two types of tow equipment: tow dollies and auto transports.
>
> But Penske and Budget provide equipment only to customers who rent
> large trucks to pull the load. They say safety is the reason.
>
> Penske's trucks are "engineered to pull these types of loads," said
> spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson. The company has "no way to make sure
> other vehicles would have the same adequate towing capabilities," he
> said.
>
> U-Haul allows customers to tow its trailers, tow dollies and other
> equipment with passenger vehicles as well as with the company's large
> trucks. Most renters use SUVs or pickups, which have a high center of
> gravity and are prone to rollovers.
>
> Moreover, customers are permitted to pull trailers that weigh as much
> as or more than their own vehicles.
>
> Under U-Haul rules, the company's largest trailers, which are equipped
> with brakes, can outweigh the customer's vehicle by up to 25% when
> fully loaded. Smaller units, which do not have brakes, can weigh as
> much as the tow vehicle.
>
> U-Haul says extensive research at an Arizona test track and other
> sites has shown that its weight rules are safe, provided customers use
> its equipment as instructed.
>
> But the rules conflict with the safety recommendations of some auto
> manufacturers.
>
> Ford Motor Co., for example, advises owners of the 2007 Crown
> Victoria, which weighs about 4,100 pounds, to tow no more than 1,500
> pounds. Owners of the lighter Mustang are advised not to pull a
> trailer weighing more than 1,000 pounds.
>
> U-Haul will allow a Crown Victoria to tow a trailer weighing up to
> 4,400 pounds and a Mustang to pull up to 2,500 pounds.
>
> (U-Haul has banned towing with Ford Explorers since late 2003. Shoen
> said the SUV was not unsafe but had become "a magnet for attorneys.")
>
> Honda Motor Co. says its vehicles should not pull trailers that weigh
> more than 1,000 pounds unless the trailers have brakes. General Motors
> offers the same advice for many of ...
>
> read more »

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...e_uhaul_061021

U Haul trucks are literally an accident waiting to happen. There have
been numerous stories on this over the years and yet they are still in
business and their record barely improves.

I would not rent, or let a friend rent a U Haul truck.

James

Would it not be up to the renter to complain about the condition of the
rented unit?

Let's say that on Thursday night, you always go to Ali's Pizzeria.... let's
say that the pizza is always ****ty.... let's say you fail to mention it
(too many Ceasars waitng for the ****ty pizza)... is the pizza going to get
any better?

It is up to the consumer to say "this doesn't feel right". If the consumer
isn't smart enough to realize that "this doesn't feel right"... what will
happen?

Driving and towing are not things that we are born with.. these are both
learned and require the common sense to know that we have stuff to learn....

I, for one, am tired of picking up after people that either can't or refuse
to use common sense....

Like trimming posts....

On Jun 24, 2:52 pm, wrote:
> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...-na-haul24jun2...
>
> >From the Los Angeles Times
>
> DANGER IN TOW
> Driving with rented risks
> U-Haul International is the nation's largest provider of rental
> trailers. A Times investigation finds the company's practices raise
> the risk of accidents on the road.
> By Alan C. Miller and Myron Levin, Times Staff Writers
> June 24, 2007
>
> Marissa Sternberg sits in her wheelchair, barely able to move or
> speak. Caregivers are always at her side. Progress is measured in tiny
> steps: an unclenched fist, a look of recognition, a smile for her
> father.
>
> Nearly four years ago, Sternberg was a high-spirited 19-year-old bound
> for veterinary school in Denver. She rented a U-Haul trailer to move
> her belongings, hitched it to her Toyota Land Cruiser and hit the road
> with her two dogs and a friend.
>
> That evening, as the Land Cruiser descended a hill in the Chihuahuan
> Desert of New Mexico, the trailer began to swing from side to side,
> pushing the SUV as if trying to muscle it off the road.
>
> "I knew something bad was going to happen," recalled Corina Maya
> Hollander, who was taking a turn behind the wheel. "We both knew."
>
> The Land Cruiser flipped and bounced along Interstate 25. The trailer
> broke free and careened off the road. Hollander crawled from the
> wreckage, her head throbbing.
>
> Sternberg, who had been thrown from the SUV, lay sprawled on the
> highway, unable to move.
>
> "Where are my dogs?" she screamed. "Somebody go find my dogs!"
>
> Sternberg fell victim to a peril long familiar to U-Haul
> International: "trailer sway," a leading cause of severe towing
> accidents.
>
> Traveling downhill or shaken by a sharp turn or a gust of wind, a
> trailer can begin swinging so violently that only the most experienced
> - or fortunate - drivers can regain control and avoid catastrophe.
>
> U-Haul, the nation's largest provider of rental trailers, says it is
> "highly conservative" about safety. But a yearlong Times
> investigation, which included more than 200 interviews and a review of
> thousands of pages of court records, police reports, consumer
> complaints and other documents, found that company practices have
> heightened the risk of towing accidents.
>
> The safest way to tow is with a vehicle that weighs much more than the
> trailer. A leading trailer expert and U-Haul consultant has likened
> this principle to "motherhood and apple pie."
>
> Yet U-Haul allows customers to pull trailers as heavy as or heavier
> than their own vehicles.
>
> It often allows trailers to stay on the road for months without a
> thorough safety inspection, in violation of its own policies.
>
> Bad brakes have been a recurring problem with its large trailers. The
> one Sternberg rented lacked working brakes.
>
> Its midsize trailers have no brakes at all, a policy that conflicts
> with the laws of at least 14 states.
>
> It relaxed a key safety rule as it pushed to increase rentals of one
> type of trailer, used to haul vehicles, and then failed to enforce
> even the weakened standard. Customers were killed or maimed in ensuing
> crashes that might have been avoided.
>
> The company's approach to mitigating the risks of towing relies
> heavily on customers, many of them novices, some as young as 18. They
> are expected to grasp and carry out detailed instructions for loading
> and towing trailers, and to respond coolly in a crisis.
>
> But many renters never see those instructions - distribution of U-
> Haul's user guide is spotty.
>
> To those who receive and read it, the guide offers this advice for
> coping with a swinging trailer: Stay off the car's brakes and hold the
> wheel straight. Many drivers will reflexively do the opposite, which
> can make the swaying worse.
>
> Yet when accidents occur, U-Haul almost always blames the customer.
>
> Proper loading of the trailer is crucial in preventing sway. U-Haul
> tells customers to put 60% of the weight in the front half and
> suggests a three-step process to check that the load is balanced
> correctly.
>
> But the company has declined to offer an inexpensive, portable scale
> that would help renters get it right.
>
> U-Haul vigorously defends its safety record. Executives say that the
> company diligently maintains its fleet of more than 200,000 trucks and
> trailers, and that decades of testing, experience and engineering
> advances have steadily reduced its accident rates.
>
> "Our equipment is suited for your son and daughter," said Edward J.
> "Joe" Shoen, chairman of U-Haul and its parent company, Amerco. "On a
> scale of 1 to 10, I'd say U-Haul is rated 10 in safety."
>
> It is unknown how many U-Haul customers have crashed because of
> trailer sway. No government agency keeps track of such accidents, and
> U-Haul declined to provide a comprehensive count or year-by-year
> figures.
>
> But statistical snapshots the company has produced in civil litigation
> hint at the scope of the problem and show that it has persisted for
> decades.
>
> In a lawsuit stemming from the Sternberg crash, U-Haul listed 173
> reported sway-related accidents from 1993 to 2003 involving a single
> trailer model.
>
> In a case from the 1970s, the company disclosed 1,173 such crashes
> involving all trailer types during a 3 1/2-year period.
>
> In other cases, it has listed up to 650 reported sway-related wrecks
> from about 1990 to 2002 involving two-wheeled trailers called tow
> dollies.
>
> Still, U-Haul says statistics indicate that drivers towing its
> trailers are less likely to crash than are other motorists. This is
> so, U-Haul says, because people drive more cautiously when moving
> their families and belongings.
>
> The claim has not been independently verified and is viewed
> skeptically by some outside experts.
>
> Shoen said sway-related accidents almost always result from customer
> mistakes, primarily failing to load the trailer properly and exceeding
> U-Haul's recommended top speed of 45 mph. The company said both errors
> contributed to the Sternberg crash.
>
> "U-Haul customers drive the equivalent of to the moon and back over 10
> times a day," Shoen said in a recent conference call with investors,
> "and, regrettably, accidents occur."
>
> TRAILER SWAY
>
> U-haul international inc., founded in 1945, is the leader of the do-it-
> yourself moving industry. It sends millions of Americans out on the
> road annually in its signature orange-and-white trucks and trailers.
>
> The Phoenix-based company, built on low cost and convenience, has
> about 1,450 company-owned centers and 14,500 independent dealers. It
> took in about $1.5 billion from equipment rentals last year.
>
> Many U-Haul customers are college students, weekend movers and others
> who have never hauled a trailer before.
>
> It is not unusual for a trailer to swing slightly. This normally poses
> little or no threat.
>
> Accidents often happen when a driver gains speed going downhill. The
> trailer whips from side to side more and more powerfully and finally
> takes control of the tow vehicle - a situation known as "the tail
> wagging the dog."
>
> Peter Keith, a Canadian safety expert, described the danger in a 1984
> report for transportation officials in British Columbia.
>
> "When the trailer suddenly starts [to] swing violently, the driver can
> often be caught unawares and is further faced with a very dangerous
> situation which requires considerable skill and presence of mind to
> resolve," Keith wrote. "Probably only a small minority of drivers are
> in practice capable of bringing the vehicle combination back under
> control."
>
> The weight of the tow vehicle relative to the trailer is a crucial
> factor. The heavier the tow vehicle, the easier it is to control the
> combination.
>
> Richard H. Klein, an authority on trailer dynamics who has served as
> an expert witness for U-Haul, underscored the point during one court
> appearance. He was asked if he'd rather be driving "a larger tow
> vehicle than a smaller one" if a trailer began to swing.
>
> "Yes," he replied. "That's like motherhood and apple pie."
>
> In keeping with this tenet, other major companies do not allow
> customers to pull rental equipment with passenger vehicles. Penske
> Truck Leasing and Budget Truck Rental compete with U-Haul in renting
> two types of tow equipment: tow dollies and auto transports.
>
> But Penske and Budget provide equipment only to customers who rent
> large trucks to pull the load. They say safety is the reason.
>
> Penske's trucks are "engineered to pull these types of loads," said
> spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson. The company has "no way to make sure
> other vehicles would have the same adequate towing capabilities," he
> said.
>
> U-Haul allows customers to tow its trailers, tow dollies and other
> equipment with passenger vehicles as well as with the company's large
> trucks. Most renters use SUVs or pickups, which have a high center of
> gravity and are prone to rollovers.
>
> Moreover, customers are permitted to pull trailers that weigh as much
> as or more than their own vehicles.
>
> Under U-Haul rules, the company's largest trailers, which are equipped
> with brakes, can outweigh the customer's vehicle by up to 25% when
> fully loaded. Smaller units, which do not have brakes, can weigh as
> much as the tow vehicle.
>
> U-Haul says extensive research at an Arizona test track and other
> sites has shown that its weight rules are safe, provided customers use
> its equipment as instructed.
>
> But the rules conflict with the safety recommendations of some auto
> manufacturers.
>
> Ford Motor Co., for example, advises owners of the 2007 Crown
> Victoria, which weighs about 4,100 pounds, to tow no more than 1,500
> pounds. Owners of the lighter Mustang are advised not to pull a
> trailer weighing more than 1,000 pounds.
>
> U-Haul will allow a Crown Victoria to tow a trailer weighing up to
> 4,400 pounds and a Mustang to pull up to 2,500 pounds.
>
> (U-Haul has banned towing with Ford Explorers since late 2003. Shoen
> said the SUV was not unsafe but had become "a magnet for attorneys.")
>
> Honda Motor Co. says its vehicles should not pull trailers that weigh
> more than 1,000 pounds unless the trailers have brakes. General Motors
> offers the same advice for many of ...
>
> read more »

IF she had been going the speed limit that is plastered all over U
Haul trailers and on the highway she would not have had that problem.
I'll bet she was hitting 70mph plus on the downhill.

On Jun 26, 11:53 pm, "Jim Warman" > wrote:
> Would it not be up to the renter to complain about the condition of the
> rented unit?
>
> Let's say that on Thursday night, you always go to Ali's Pizzeria.... let's
> say that the pizza is always ****ty.... let's say you fail to mention it
> (too many Ceasars waitng for the ****ty pizza)... is the pizza going to get
> any better?
>
> It is up to the consumer to say "this doesn't feel right". If the consumer
> isn't smart enough to realize that "this doesn't feel right"... what will
> happen?
>
> Driving and towing are not things that we are born with.. these are both
> learned and require the common sense to know that we have stuff to learn....
>
> I, for one, am tired of picking up after people that either can't or refuse
> to use common sense....
>
> Like trimming posts....

Problem is, most consumers aren't savvy enough to evaluate a trailer.
And the truth is, even a ****ty U-Haul trailer can be safely towed
under most conditions by a proper tow vehicle at speeds well over 45
MPH.

The easy solution is to just not rent from U-Haul, but I'm not aware
of a rental company that I've had any better experiences with.

nate

On Jun 26, 11:53 pm, "Jim Warman" > wrote:
> Would it not be up to the renter to complain about the condition of the
> rented unit?
>
> Let's say that on Thursday night, you always go to Ali's Pizzeria.... let's
> say that the pizza is always ****ty.... let's say you fail to mention it
> (too many Ceasars waitng for the ****ty pizza)... is the pizza going to get
> any better?
>
> It is up to the consumer to say "this doesn't feel right". If the consumer
> isn't smart enough to realize that "this doesn't feel right"... what will
> happen?
>
> Driving and towing are not things that we are born with.. these are both
> learned and require the common sense to know that we have stuff to learn....
>
> I, for one, am tired of picking up after people that either can't or refuse
> to use common sense....
>
> Like trimming posts....

Driving and Pizza are hardly the same.

For one thing, if you eat a bad pizza, it will affect the pizza eater.

Have your brakes fail on your U haul truck on the highway and you
could not only injure yourself but others.

And most people don't have the training to inspect little things like
brakes, especially when a good inspection requires taking the wheels
off.

There is a principle in commercial law thats states that if you offer
goods or services they must be fit for the use intended.

If U Hauls rented in Ontario had to be licenced, and safetied/
certified in Ontario, they would be out of business. But since their
head office is in Arizona, their plates come from there too.

As to trimming, Google shows it already trimmed, my error. But feel
free to heap on gratuitous insults if it makes you feel better.

James

John S. wrote:

> On Jun 24, 2:52 pm, wrote:
>
>>http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...-na-haul24jun2...
>>
>>>From the Los Angeles Times
>>
>>DANGER IN TOW
>>Driving with rented risks
>>U-Haul International is the nation's largest provider of rental
>>trailers. A Times investigation finds the company's practices raise
>>the risk of accidents on the road.
>>By Alan C. Miller and Myron Levin, Times Staff Writers
>>June 24, 2007
>>
>>Marissa Sternberg sits in her wheelchair, barely able to move or
>>speak. Caregivers are always at her side. Progress is measured in tiny
>>steps: an unclenched fist, a look of recognition, a smile for her
>>father.
>>
>>Nearly four years ago, Sternberg was a high-spirited 19-year-old bound
>>for veterinary school in Denver. She rented a U-Haul trailer to move
>>her belongings, hitched it to her Toyota Land Cruiser and hit the road
>>with her two dogs and a friend.
>>
>>That evening, as the Land Cruiser descended a hill in the Chihuahuan
>>Desert of New Mexico, the trailer began to swing from side to side,
>>pushing the SUV as if trying to muscle it off the road.
>>
>>"I knew something bad was going to happen," recalled Corina Maya
>>Hollander, who was taking a turn behind the wheel. "We both knew."
>>
>>The Land Cruiser flipped and bounced along Interstate 25. The trailer
>>broke free and careened off the road. Hollander crawled from the
>>wreckage, her head throbbing.
>>
>>Sternberg, who had been thrown from the SUV, lay sprawled on the
>>highway, unable to move.
>>
>>"Where are my dogs?" she screamed. "Somebody go find my dogs!"
>>
>>Sternberg fell victim to a peril long familiar to U-Haul
>>International: "trailer sway," a leading cause of severe towing
>>accidents.
>>
>>Traveling downhill or shaken by a sharp turn or a gust of wind, a
>>trailer can begin swinging so violently that only the most experienced
>>- or fortunate - drivers can regain control and avoid catastrophe.
>>
>>U-Haul, the nation's largest provider of rental trailers, says it is
>>"highly conservative" about safety. But a yearlong Times
>>investigation, which included more than 200 interviews and a review of
>>thousands of pages of court records, police reports, consumer
>>complaints and other documents, found that company practices have
>>heightened the risk of towing accidents.
>>
>>The safest way to tow is with a vehicle that weighs much more than the
>>trailer. A leading trailer expert and U-Haul consultant has likened
>>this principle to "motherhood and apple pie."
>>
>>Yet U-Haul allows customers to pull trailers as heavy as or heavier
>>than their own vehicles.
>>
>>It often allows trailers to stay on the road for months without a
>>thorough safety inspection, in violation of its own policies.
>>
>>Bad brakes have been a recurring problem with its large trailers. The
>>one Sternberg rented lacked working brakes.
>>
>>Its midsize trailers have no brakes at all, a policy that conflicts
>>with the laws of at least 14 states.
>>
>>It relaxed a key safety rule as it pushed to increase rentals of one
>>type of trailer, used to haul vehicles, and then failed to enforce
>>even the weakened standard. Customers were killed or maimed in ensuing
>>crashes that might have been avoided.
>>
>>The company's approach to mitigating the risks of towing relies
>>heavily on customers, many of them novices, some as young as 18. They
>>are expected to grasp and carry out detailed instructions for loading
>>and towing trailers, and to respond coolly in a crisis.
>>
>>But many renters never see those instructions - distribution of U-
>>Haul's user guide is spotty.
>>
>>To those who receive and read it, the guide offers this advice for
>>coping with a swinging trailer: Stay off the car's brakes and hold the
>>wheel straight. Many drivers will reflexively do the opposite, which
>>can make the swaying worse.
>>
>>Yet when accidents occur, U-Haul almost always blames the customer.
>>
>>Proper loading of the trailer is crucial in preventing sway. U-Haul
>>tells customers to put 60% of the weight in the front half and
>>suggests a three-step process to check that the load is balanced
>>correctly.
>>
>>But the company has declined to offer an inexpensive, portable scale
>>that would help renters get it right.
>>
>>U-Haul vigorously defends its safety record. Executives say that the
>>company diligently maintains its fleet of more than 200,000 trucks and
>>trailers, and that decades of testing, experience and engineering
>>advances have steadily reduced its accident rates.
>>
>>"Our equipment is suited for your son and daughter," said Edward J.
>>"Joe" Shoen, chairman of U-Haul and its parent company, Amerco. "On a
>>scale of 1 to 10, I'd say U-Haul is rated 10 in safety."
>>
>>It is unknown how many U-Haul customers have crashed because of
>>trailer sway. No government agency keeps track of such accidents, and
>>U-Haul declined to provide a comprehensive count or year-by-year
>>figures.
>>
>>But statistical snapshots the company has produced in civil litigation
>>hint at the scope of the problem and show that it has persisted for
>>decades.
>>
>>In a lawsuit stemming from the Sternberg crash, U-Haul listed 173
>>reported sway-related accidents from 1993 to 2003 involving a single
>>trailer model.
>>
>>In a case from the 1970s, the company disclosed 1,173 such crashes
>>involving all trailer types during a 3 1/2-year period.
>>
>>In other cases, it has listed up to 650 reported sway-related wrecks
>>from about 1990 to 2002 involving two-wheeled trailers called tow
>>dollies.
>>
>>Still, U-Haul says statistics indicate that drivers towing its
>>trailers are less likely to crash than are other motorists. This is
>>so, U-Haul says, because people drive more cautiously when moving
>>their families and belongings.
>>
>>The claim has not been independently verified and is viewed
>>skeptically by some outside experts.
>>
>>Shoen said sway-related accidents almost always result from customer
>>mistakes, primarily failing to load the trailer properly and exceeding
>>U-Haul's recommended top speed of 45 mph. The company said both errors
>>contributed to the Sternberg crash.
>>
>>"U-Haul customers drive the equivalent of to the moon and back over 10
>>times a day," Shoen said in a recent conference call with investors,
>>"and, regrettably, accidents occur."
>>
>>TRAILER SWAY
>>
>>U-haul international inc., founded in 1945, is the leader of the do-it-
>>yourself moving industry. It sends millions of Americans out on the
>>road annually in its signature orange-and-white trucks and trailers.
>>
>>The Phoenix-based company, built on low cost and convenience, has
>>about 1,450 company-owned centers and 14,500 independent dealers. It
>>took in about $1.5 billion from equipment rentals last year.
>>
>>Many U-Haul customers are college students, weekend movers and others
>>who have never hauled a trailer before.
>>
>>It is not unusual for a trailer to swing slightly. This normally poses
>>little or no threat.
>>
>>Accidents often happen when a driver gains speed going downhill. The
>>trailer whips from side to side more and more powerfully and finally
>>takes control of the tow vehicle - a situation known as "the tail
>>wagging the dog."
>>
>>Peter Keith, a Canadian safety expert, described the danger in a 1984
>>report for transportation officials in British Columbia.
>>
>>"When the trailer suddenly starts [to] swing violently, the driver can
>>often be caught unawares and is further faced with a very dangerous
>>situation which requires considerable skill and presence of mind to
>>resolve," Keith wrote. "Probably only a small minority of drivers are
>>in practice capable of bringing the vehicle combination back under
>>control."
>>
>>The weight of the tow vehicle relative to the trailer is a crucial
>>factor. The heavier the tow vehicle, the easier it is to control the
>>combination.
>>
>>Richard H. Klein, an authority on trailer dynamics who has served as
>>an expert witness for U-Haul, underscored the point during one court
>>appearance. He was asked if he'd rather be driving "a larger tow
>>vehicle than a smaller one" if a trailer began to swing.
>>
>>"Yes," he replied. "That's like motherhood and apple pie."
>>
>>In keeping with this tenet, other major companies do not allow
>>customers to pull rental equipment with passenger vehicles. Penske
>>Truck Leasing and Budget Truck Rental compete with U-Haul in renting
>>two types of tow equipment: tow dollies and auto transports.
>>
>>But Penske and Budget provide equipment only to customers who rent
>>large trucks to pull the load. They say safety is the reason.
>>
>>Penske's trucks are "engineered to pull these types of loads," said
>>spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson. The company has "no way to make sure
>>other vehicles would have the same adequate towing capabilities," he
>>said.
>>
>>U-Haul allows customers to tow its trailers, tow dollies and other
>>equipment with passenger vehicles as well as with the company's large
>>trucks. Most renters use SUVs or pickups, which have a high center of
>>gravity and are prone to rollovers.
>>
>>Moreover, customers are permitted to pull trailers that weigh as much
>>as or more than their own vehicles.
>>
>>Under U-Haul rules, the company's largest trailers, which are equipped
>>with brakes, can outweigh the customer's vehicle by up to 25% when
>>fully loaded. Smaller units, which do not have brakes, can weigh as
>>much as the tow vehicle.
>>
>>U-Haul says extensive research at an Arizona test track and other
>>sites has shown that its weight rules are safe, provided customers use
>>its equipment as instructed.
>>
>>But the rules conflict with the safety recommendations of some auto
>>manufacturers.
>>
>>Ford Motor Co., for example, advises owners of the 2007 Crown
>>Victoria, which weighs about 4,100 pounds, to tow no more than 1,500
>>pounds. Owners of the lighter Mustang are advised not to pull a
>>trailer weighing more than 1,000 pounds.
>>
>>U-Haul will allow a Crown Victoria to tow a trailer weighing up to
>>4,400 pounds and a Mustang to pull up to 2,500 pounds.
>>
>>(U-Haul has banned towing with Ford Explorers since late 2003. Shoen
>>said the SUV was not unsafe but had become "a magnet for attorneys.")
>>
>>Honda Motor Co. says its vehicles should not pull trailers that weigh
>>more than 1,000 pounds unless the trailers have brakes. General Motors
>>offers the same advice for many of ...
>>
>>read more »
>
>
> IF she had been going the speed limit that is plastered all over U
> Haul trailers and on the highway she would not have had that problem.
> I'll bet she was hitting 70mph plus on the downhill.

I don't think many have actually read the Times article. Customers
placed their trust in the company, and some were provided defective
equipment. Some got trailers dangerously oversized for their tow
vehicles. U-Haul ignored many of their own guidelines, and those of the
auto manufacturers.

An accompanying article mentioned U-Haul's boss demonstrating how
effortless it was to tow one of his trailers at 80mph. I'm sure *his*
trailer was recently inspected and had working brakes.

I fail to see any gratuitous insults... however, if one is to operate any
piece of equipment, it would be wise to become familiar with the
equipment... Failing to do so is an agregious error.

I, for one, find it appalling that I am forced to share the roads with
people that can't even take the time to walk around their cars looking for
low tires and burned out lamps - something we see every freaking day!!!! It
is up to each motorist to make sure they are prepared for what they are
doing or what they may encounter... and this includes the very simple task
of making sure the vehicle is roadworthy to begin with.

But this cavalier atitude will go on and on.... supported by those that try
to pass on the responsibilty of their oversight, their omissions, their
failure to do anything to familiarize themselves with the very complex task
of safely operating a motor vehicle.... whether a trailer is involved or
not.

I meet people very day that have a drivers licence... as I'd said... this
little piece of plastic ALLOWS them to drive.... it doesn't mean that it is
wise for them to drive.... and the world might be a better, safer place if
they didn't....

The public needs to wake up... driving is a very dangerous recreation... We
shouldn't be "practicing" in general traffic...

In article <JfFgi.14836$xk5.341@edtnps82>, Jim Warman wrote:

> I, for one, find it appalling that I am forced to share the roads with
> people that can't even take the time to walk around their cars looking for
> low tires and burned out lamps - something we see every freaking day!!!! It
> is up to each motorist to make sure they are prepared for what they are
> doing or what they may encounter... and this includes the very simple task
> of making sure the vehicle is roadworthy to begin with.

Don't you know, we are all supposed to drive slow and obey countless
other restrictions to compensate for these idiots and because everyone
has to be treated like an idiot and protected from himself.