You think that you are all set and your towed vehicle is safely secured. The wheels are both strapped into the spec lift or onto the bed of your recovery truck. You have done everything correctly and set off. But there are some things in life that can't be expected and things happen. Equipment can fail unexpectedly or your load might apply greater forces than you might expect.

    A recent report from the UK is a case in point: A Sprinter 311 was strapped to the spec lift of a recovery vehicle. As the recovery truck approached the summit of a steep hill, the driver changed gears, from second into first. The resulting lag in speed caused the Sprinter to rock on the spec lift frame, creating a shock load that broke both of the yoke straps. The Sprinter was then free from the recovery truck and collided with a vehicle behind it. In this instance there was only damage to the vehicles, but no injuries resulted. In some circumstances, a vehicle separating from a recovery truck could result in a serious or fatal event.

    So what can you do? A brother strap, attached to the towed vehicle with a winch, provides a secondary means of securing the load. The strap is adjustable and is secured around the chassis of the towed vehicle. A delta ring at the centre of the strap allows you to attach your winch cable and evenly distribute the load from left to right.  Once you properly adjust the tension in the brother strap, allowing enough slack for articulation of the spec frame, the towed vehicle will not be able to run away from your truck if any one of the primary restraints, or the spec frame itself, fails. A small, simple step that could prevent a serious accident.

    For further details about brother straps and other recovery equipment, contact Recovery & Winch on
071-963-0875 or logon to www.recoveryandwinch.ie.