horse trailer accident in Norfolk..panicing now!

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karenjj

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I've just read about the Landrover Discovery snaking on the a47 in Norfolk and the trailer tipping over.. I drive down that road to work and I'm currently training for my trailer test.. this has really put me off, I'm so scared that might happen to me!! I'm glad the horsey and everyone involved was ok.. this has put me right off though, I'm wondering whether to cancel the test and save for a lorry instead.. calming advice needed?!!!
 
Just be sensible and safe when driving... I've been in a worse accident than that and these accidents are few and far between. It's your choice whether you want to have a trailer or a lorry.
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If you thought like that everything then you would never get anything done, never fly, never drive, never walk around on your own, even never ride.... I get scared bout flying but thats the only way I can talk my way around it. You know your capabilities be over cautious and don't take risks and you will be fine. x
 
Thats why you do the trailer test! Try not to worry. I spent years driving up and down that stretch of the A47 as lived at Marham and Pentney and used to do about 70 miles a day some days! Never had an accident and even made Stephen Fry wait to pull into his house as the dog was getting hot in the car! You will be fine and you can buy anti snake bars.
 
Put an anti-snake bar on! Costs about £100 and you can buy them from most carvanning tyoe places, possibly even Halfords. Only times I ever tow without mine is when I'm popping 10 mins down the road in a 30mph limit to the local Comp centre. Trailer never moves an inch with one. I don't know why everyone doesn't use them.
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So why does it snake? when I feel it snake I just take foot off accelerator and hope it will stop.......but is that what you are supposed to do?!

Its not a nice feeling and I consider myself to be a really good careful driver with ned in back
 
Yes VicEDT thats the way to stop it......take your feet off everything. Better still get the snakers before it actually comes to that point!

For some bizarre reason people seem to think you should accelerate out of it......er......I dont think thats too clever!!!
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So why does it snake? when I feel it snake I just take foot off accelerator and hope it will stop.......but is that what you are supposed to do?!

Its not a nice feeling and I consider myself to be a really good careful driver with ned in back

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I think you are supposed to accelerate very gently to pull the trailer back into line. decelerating can make it snake more...

there were stories on the thread i started about travelling horses with no boots on, about horses in trailers treading on boots, panicking, and causing trailer to start snaking as they threw their weight from side to side. so, not always driver's fault by the sounds of it.
anti-snake bars sound ideal.
 
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So why does it snake?


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In simple terms the tailer is going faster than the car. So it is pushing against it. Because the car stops it going forward the body of the trailer goes sidewards.
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when I feel it snake I just take foot off accelerator and hope it will stop.......but is that what you are supposed to do?!


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You should accelerate out of the snake and then slow down again gradually without braking but by taking the foot off the acclerator slowly. Then get your trailer brakes checked asap.
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The natural reaction is to brake but this is the worst thing you can do.

Hence always keep to a sensible speed so that you can accelerate easily if necessary and always leave extra distance between you and the car in front so you have space to accelerate and slow down without braking suddenly. If you have to brake suddenly it could cause the trailer to snake.
 
I thought it was actually more dangerous to accelerate and you were supposed to gradually slow down - not by applying the brake though!

My sister was involved in a practically identical accident on the M1 a while back - she won't travel with a trailer again. There were 2 horses in at the time but thankfully they were both ok.

I thought the reason for snaking was due to the grooves made in the inside lane by the stream of lorries that o up and down the motorway as the trailer wheels can get caught in them and the snaking starts?
 
karenjj - Can you fix your sig... lol

TBH its very rare for a trailer to snake. As long as you have a modern trailer, old ones I think are more prone. We've towed for the past 17 years with no problems.
 
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