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**wulfraat** · 07-26-2017, 11:37 AM

That was a long build-up to the turn over.... many oscillations - I'm sure the driver would have known there was a sway issue happening... he or she likely didn't know how to deal with it though (manually apply trailer breaks, etc..)

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 11:59 AM

Hi

The first sway happens about 2 seconds in. I suppose there could have been other things going on before the start of the video. At about 9 seconds he's still in some sort of control. At least the sway is not building at that point. By 14 seconds it's all over. Six seconds does not sound like much, but if you time it off, it's a lot of time. This went on for quite a while. At a mile a minute, 6 seconds gets you far enough to be across the other 5 lanes and into the trees ...

Bob

OTRA15 · 07-26-2017, 12:20 PM

Monza, if you come over here from your closed thread, it seems as if the camera was not a dash cam, but was hand-held IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thanks. Also interesting that the video appears to have been made by the driver hand-holding the camera IMO -- perhaps another distracted driving accident just down the road, averted by the roll-over in front stopping him!

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 12:46 PM

Hi

Best guess is that the TV was a Ford Expedition. It's roughly in the "6,000 pound towing" class. After many views (and looking at the wreck cleanup video) ... still no idea what the trailer make and model was.

I still find the total lack of any brakes somewhat amazing (unless the trailer simply was not plugged in at all). The normal reflex is to put on the brakes. Watching the rest of traffic zoom by them, they were either already going slow or slowing down ....

Bob

KCCO · 07-26-2017, 01:40 PM

Now now - don't you dare say anything about the limits of an expedition........that thing has independent rear suspension - put a good hitch on it and it will tow aaaaaaaaanything........haha

Hope everyone involved is ok!

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCCO

Now now - don't you dare say anything about the limits of an expedition........that thing has independent rear suspension - put a good hitch on it and it will tow aaaaaaaaanything........haha

Hope everyone involved is ok!

Hi

I would not *dare* soil the reputation of *any* SUV

We actually drove Explorers and Expeditions for a number of years. I never tried to tow anything that big with them. I certainly pulled around small stuff a number of times. The Expedition was fine for cruising down the road with the kids in back.

AFIK, nobody was injured in the accident. That was reported on one of the other videos. I'm guessing they must have at least had seat belts on. Nothing I have seen from a news outlet so far has anything rational about the cause of the accident. (Yes I could shorten that up a bit .. )

Bob

Foiled Again · 07-26-2017, 02:20 PM

Having DONE roughly the same thing to my former Airstream - I can personally attest that the elapsed time between the realization that there is a problem and hitting the embankmemt was not long enough to say OH SH**! more than twice. I had deliberately placed my brake controller less than six inches from my right hand and reached for it as I started rolling. IT JUST HIT ME that in a panic situation letting GO of the steering wheel with one hand is a pretty unnatural act. My truck has hand controls to change sound levels on music... but I still have to reach for the brake controller. Might do better to have a "deadman" switch that would activate beakes and flashers when your hand comes loose. (kidding but only slightly.

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 02:29 PM

Hi

I think that a lot of us would be interested in the driver's take on what was happening in this particular case. There's been some speculation about this and that. With no information, we've done what everybody always does. Maybe at some point there will be a follow up. I'm pretty sure right now the poor person is still very shook up.

Bob

Protagonist · 07-26-2017, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Might do better to have a "deadman" switch that would activate beakes and flashers when your hand comes loose. (kidding but only slightly.

If the tow vehicle has an automatic transmission so you only need one foot to drive, the ideal solution would be a foot pedal for the brake controller, positioned conveniently to the left foot. Kind of the way they used to do the high/low headlight switch before they put it on a stalk on the steering column…

Hopeful1 · 07-26-2017, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

I think that a lot of us would be interested in the driver's take on what was happening in this particular case. There's been some speculation about this and that. With no information, we've done what everybody always does. Maybe at some point there will be a follow up. I'm pretty sure right now the poor person is still very shook up.

Bob

Very true. I know what it *looks like* as far as the size of the TV and the trailer etc. But I really don't know for sure either. My heart goes out to them because maybe this is their dream and now it is wrecked. I'm so glad they're ok.

AWCHIEF · 07-26-2017, 03:12 PM

I do not know what is worse, the avoidable accident or the fool driving and videoing the incident with his hand held phone/camera.

rmkrum · 07-26-2017, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

I do not know what is worse, the avoidable accident or the fool driving and videoing the incident with his hand held phone/camera.

Good point--video from a dash camera--makes sense. Handheld video--against the law in many states, assuming a cell phone. This does look handheld.

urnmor · 07-26-2017, 03:40 PM

Yes, there are a lot of other observations one could make.
As the OP stated there are lot of observations one can make. From speed to texting to everything else in between. So for me the take away from all of this is to drive at a speed safe for the conditions and just maybe at or just under the speed limit. I know this sounds like apple pie and motherhood but I often have to remind myself to slow down as the goal is to get there safely.

Be safe out there and enjoy the journey.

rmkrum · 07-26-2017, 03:44 PM

Traveling, as a friend of mine once said, "...for apple pie and motherhood, and against sin.." is probably the best bet. (Good old boy, Mr. J. J. Adkins--I miss that Southern gentleman!)

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 04:15 PM

Hi

It *would* be interesting to actually know (as opposed to guess .... as I have done) the speed when the sway set in. I'm not interested enough in the answer to drive over and measure the distances involved to compute the answer though ....

Of course, with that data you still only have part of the answer. The hitch, the trailer, and the setup of the TV all got into the act at some level.

---------------------------

Hey !!!! It's on INSIDE EDITION tonight !!! I just saw the clip flash up.

--------------------------

Bob

OTRA15 · 07-26-2017, 04:23 PM

Thanks for the heads up:

http://www.insideedition.com/headlin...-hitch-them-to

The driver says a tire blew according to the voice-over. Most of the remaining footage is other pap and pablum drama reportage IMO.

Protagonist · 07-26-2017, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thanks for the heads up:

http://www.insideedition.com/headlin...-hitch-them-to

The driver says a tire blew according to the voice-over. Most of the remaining footage is other pap and pablum drama reportage IMO.

I'm sure a tire did blow on the driver's side of the trailer as it started to tip over (around the 15-second mark). But methinks he has cause and effect mixed up. The rollover caused the blowout, not the blowout cause the rollover. Standard disclaimer #3 applies: the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the opinions of management.

uncle_bob · 07-26-2017, 04:53 PM

Hi

I think you can see all the tires on the TV *after* things come to a stop. They all seem to be intact. Before the roll over, the trailer tires come into view as things swing. None of them seem to be blown. I agree that *after* the roll over the trailer tires are indeed a mess.

Given the precision of a lot of TV reporting, the driver may have said something very different than what the voice over reports. Certainly my local station tangled things up quite a bit yesterday.

Bob

ITSNO60 · 07-26-2017, 07:06 PM

If that really was cell phone video the phone had to have been in some type of mount, the video is too steady to be hand held. Also the video starts before any swaying really happens which indicates the phone was already filming, no one could grab a phone that fast and start recording. Another possibility is that is really was a dash cam and after stopping the driver pulled it off it's mount to save the video before it got lost or recorded over. My dash cam has a button to push in order to prevent an important event from getting over-written, it saves the last clip in a special folder.

OTRA15 · 07-26-2017, 07:12 PM

There is too much camera motion IMO for it to be a dash cam locked to the dash. Not much motion, but just enough to have been hand-held, probably with his hand resting on the wheel or dash. The newer phones have some stabilization software that minimizes the motion, but at some points the image rocks a bit "off level" compared to the rest of the video.

It is subtle, but the camera sweeps right/left and up/down quite a few times -- I just watched again -- right from the beginning. Highly likely it was hand-held IMO.