Article adapted from The National Safety Commission’s Article titled How Receiver Hitches Affect Rear End Collision Injuries
As you have no doubt noticed in Colorado, more people are towing boats, trailers, and campers as we continue to weather the pandemic and its dramatic effects on our lives. But did you know that the receiver hitch can actually make you less safe in the event you are involved in a rear-end collision?
The receiver hitch is the part of the towing package that bolts to the rear frame of the vehicle. While 40% of us have this towing package installed on our vehicles, in pre-pandemic times, the average person towed something less than 1% of the time.
The trailer hitch (and ball joint, if attached) act as fixed, non-impact absorbing hardware that transfers the energy of a rear-end collision more intensely to the vehicle occupants, resulting in a 22% increase in whiplash- with women and children being most adversely affected.
As you see from this video, the damage sustained by the Nissan Frontier was mostly to the frame. You might think that the reduction of damage is a good thing, but it means that the vehicle occupants received a greater share of the force. For years manufacturers have developed ways for the vehicle to absorb the force of the collision and reduce the impact on the occupant; trailer hitches counteract these advances.
So, what can you do to increase safety if there is a receiver hitch on your vehicle? First, make sure to remove your ball mount or any fixed non-energy absorbing receiver hitch product after use. Additionally, there are energy-absorbing products that you can install on your receiver hitch, such as this one, to lower the risk of a whiplash injury.
Stay safe and healthy,
Your friends at Addison Auto Repair & Body Shop
