N Y new hitch law?

[95_Dually]

I agree with monkeywrench. If somebody trips on your hitch, what are they doing that close to your truck in the first place? My wife hit her shin on mine one time and now she and I are more aware of hitches on any vehicle. It reminds you to pay attention to your surroundings. When I see a hitch on a truck in front of me, I almost always allow more room between us.LOL

[grafekie]

I love the "if they make a mistake, ****em" attitude here... kinda sad.

[Frankenbiker]

Originally Posted by grafekie

There is a functional reason to outlaw them... they are dangerous and prevent the bumpers from functioning. Yes, it protects yours, but at the cost of whomever is hit by it. It can turn a no-damage accident into a very pricy one.

If the idiot is so absorbed in his texting that he hits you, maybe the "very pricy" accident will be enough of a wake-up call to get him to abandon such behavior.

For some folks, the ONLY way they learn is through the wallet.

-blaine

[monckywrench]

I love the "if they make a mistake, ****em" attitude here... kinda sad.

Such mistakes are the result of the adult choice not to care about their surroundings, so why should I protect the plastic bumper covers of negligent humans when they deserve to be punished and chose to impale their ride on mine? Better they get a reminder than go on to kill a pedestrian or motorcyclist (who are usually much smaller than the back of a truck!).

My F150 was tagged by a stupid cow who wasn't looking where she was going (I guess whatever trifling airhead babble she had going on with her passengers was more important) but sadly she missed the hitch. The bumper did well though it was bent in the contest. She and her homie she called for help actually had the nerve to ask me not to call the cops. if I should trust them to make it good. I called the cops and collected from her insurance (profitably, since I'm a mechanic), and she drove off in her (insufficiently) mangled Dodge Neon, with her probable insurance increase and ruined left front quarter a reminder not to be stupid. Too bad her bags didn't fire and cost several hundred more dollars.

[bunklash]

Not kinda sad, damned sad!

[monckywrench]

In that case, where does it stop?

There are people who oppose pickup trucks and SUVs because they tend to come out the winner in crashes with smaller vehicles. If we should be forced to provide a gentler (it'll still write off their bumper covers, as anyone who does crash repairs will confirm!) surface for idiots to crash into, how dare we have heavier vehicles than they are driving? Time to scrap all the half-ton plus machines and drive Rangers wrapped in foam rubber! Those OLD pickups have evil frame and body structures not designed to absorb crashes, and the ones without seat belts and safety glass are proven dangerous in hits that eject passengers. Maybe adults shouldn't have the choice to drive them either? Compared to the actual risks of driving old vehicles (which adults are allowed to assume) a hitch ball vs. bumper cover event is nothing.


I'm merely advocating that people be RESPONSIBLE for the consequences of what THEY do just as I am. The rest of us shouldn't have to modify our behaviors or vehicles to accommodate the stupid when the issue is not one of physical safety. Mere plastic and metal can be replaced.

I'm insured and if I do something stupid I'm equipped to pay for it, and I accept that if I do something stupid I will be punished under law and by increased insurance rates. That's the adult response. I have heavy bumpers on some of my rides, a wheel lift on one (running into THAT would be much nastier than smacking a hitch ball!), and they exist because they are tools that serve me. It is my ADULT responsibility not to run into other people who have the same gear, and if I do then I should expect to bear the consequences! They should not have to modify their rides to suit me.

[grafekie]

How hard is it to remove a hitch when not in use? They target this because its so easy and can prevent a lot of damage, and insurance increases WHICH EFFECT US ALL, not just the idiots who rear end you. I DO drive around with my hitch because I use it so often, but if there was a law around here I don't think I'd do more than grumble a little about it. It takes 30 seconds to remove.

[monckywrench]

It's not worth it at ALL because MY truck is more important than someone ELSE'S car or truck when THEY are in the WRONG, and I object on principle to MY freedom and convenience being sacrificed for morons. People negligently who do bad things to property they do not own should suffer for it so they are deterred from doing it again!

The public burden theory in this case is also absurd. Why should I be burdened to lessen the burden (not physical risk, just "frontal component risk") of the person who chose to run into me? Let's hear the logic behind that one. The insurance companies don't offer me different premiums for hitch or no-hitch operation, hence logic supports my contention that it isn't a significant risk. Their bosses pay insurance company actuaries plenty of money to research these issues, and they have differing rates for other truck equipment such as bed types.

Anti-hitch law is just another nanny-state law thought up by mechanically illiterate window-lickers who see a small projecting object and lose their tiny minds. The idea that they shouldn't run into vehicles in front of them in the first place seems not to have occurred to them. I oppose all such "slippery slope" laws because they chip away at our personal freedom to use what we own as we like. "Public burden" theory in its end state is used to justify government micromanagement of every personal action. As owners of the most Politically Incorrect vehicles (pickups and SUVs) it behooves us to resist any interference with our choice of vehicle equipment.

[bunklash]

Yeah, you've convinced me Monckywrench. It's a basic flaw of modern society to expect the intellectually superior to inconvenience themselves for the mentally challenged masses.

[slappysdump]

I don't think the law has anything to do with causing less damage if involved in an accident-it has to do with people walking around the truck when its parked. Imagine somebodys grandma walks around the truck at a resturant hits the hitch with her leg drops to the ground and breaks her hip. Anyhow I take mine out when not in use because I got tired of bruises on my knees from it. Also I heard PA had such a law on the books as well.

[mudmaker]

I never have mine out as I pull a trailer at least every other day. It is easy to say how easy is it to pull it out, but think about it. I am not going to waste my time to pull ahead, stop again, get out, unlock the hitch, find a spot in the toolbox for it, and hoist (my pintle is not light) it into the tool box just to save someone from having to watch where they are walking or driving when I am going to hooking up the trailer again in the next day or two. I guess if CO ever comes up with this law it will be time to install a custom bumper with a pintle bolted directly to it.

[monckywrench]

It's a basic flaw of modern society to expect the intellectually superior to inconvenience themselves for the mentally challenged masses.

I don't expect anything of other drivers I don't expect of myself, and that's flawlessly fair.

The "masses" don't negligently run into other folks vehicles, but some individuals do. Why should their indifference be rewarded? I shouldn't have to inconvenience myself for someone who doesn't care enough to avoid RUNNING INTO ME. If someone takes a punch at you it is sensible to block it, and I like my vehicle a lot more than I like that of someone who runs into it.

If they aren't insured, bonus points if they can't pay for their own vehicle damage afterwards since they didn't care enough to buy insurance to protect others from their actions. If you accidentally damage someones ride, man up, pay up, and accept that whatever happens to you and your ride is because you richly deserved it by doing the wrong thing. Count it as a lesson learned.

My F150 be even less cuddly when I install a heavy pipe hitch/bumper/liftgate support replacing the stock bumper. That may be a safety feature for the morons because they don't tend to tailgate my uglier vehicles.

[kotzy]

The biggest problem I see that can happen is for some reason the lock pin comes out and the hitch ball comes out onto a busy high speed highway. Don't tell me it can't happen as it happened a couple of vehicles in front of me on route 80 just east of the Chicago split. It cost a rear tire as I was able to miss it with the front. The cars in front of me were all over the road trying to avoid it, sadly when I caught it with the sidewall I sent it across and another guy hit it and he lost a tire. All this at 70mph in 5pm traffic, it could have been tragic. I never have mine bouncing around when it is not working, to darn dangerous. kotzy

[grafekie]

I've known a person that was killed by an airborne pintle hitch... don't ask me how it happened I have no idea.

And yes, insurance rates DO go up if the general public makes more claims. More claims means EVERYONE pays more. That's what happens with health insurance too, its just less noticable in car insurance.

Accidents do happen. Not every rear ending is on purpose with some negligent driver. I was in a fender bender where I rear ended a turning car that was masked by the car in front of me... when that car jumped lanes I had no options to move and couldn't stop fast enough. My F150's stock bumper broke a small piece of plastic, her bumper, lights, and most of the trunk where destroyed. My insurance paid, of course, and I never did fix my bumper or make a claim for myself (I should have!). I guess I feel that people can do simple things to make other's safer, without taking too much skin off their nose.

[mudmaker]

I don't know what kind of pins you guys are using that could come out, but even my non locking pin has a cotter in it so tight it would never fall out unless it was not installed properly, but then again I change mine out when it gets too easy to slide on and off.

I guess it is a risk we all take getting behind the wheel and driving down the road. The vehicle in front of you could fall apart at any time! If a hitch falls off something has failed. If something has failed and the owner did not catch the failing component he/she should be responsible for any damage or injury caused. In a perfect world things like this would never happen, but adding another law is not the answer!