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Using the breakaway cable correctly

28. January 2017 at 16:26

When driving with a trailer the breakaway cable already plays a major role when attaching the trailer. The breakaway cable is responsible for an emergency slowing-down process in case the trailer backs out the towbar. A new law concerning the transportation and use of trailers has been released in the Netherlands (Art. 5. 18. 34-2) claiming that the tear-off must be a fixed part of the vehicle itself. Therefore, an option must be provided for the driver to fix the breakaway cable to the car.

How to use the breakaway cable correctly

Simply placing the breakaway cable around the towbar is not valid anymore. There are two alternatives:

You can rather fixate the breakaway cable using a special lug which is part of our towbars in series. The lug can be found in the vicinity of the housing. Further, a special retainer can be used which makes it possible to fixate the cable to the towbar as well and also accomplishes the same purpose as does the lug.

More information on the law in the Netherlands can be found at Algemene Nederlandse Wielrijdersbond.

Tags: breakaway cable driving with a trailer law Netherlands

About MVG – Die Anhängerkupplung

For some 40 years now MVG has been successfully developing, constructing and manufacturing towbars and electrical kits in original equipment quality for passenger cars, commercial and off-road vehicles.
Many years of experience, reliability, flexibility and excellent quality – these are the features that qualify MVG as a dependable system partner for the automotive industry and the car dealing business.

In the development and construction of our towbar systems we, at MVG, use state-of-the-art technology such as CAD and FEM (Finite Element Method). In this process we also take into account the individual wishes of the customer, such as attractive yet unobtrusive designs on the vehicle, as well as easy and quick fitting thanks to an excellent accuracy of fit and simple installation of the towbar on the vehicle.
MVG towbars are tested for maximum tow load capacities and D-values in accordance with European standards. Approval by the German (or other) technical agencies is not required.

Before everything goes into serial production extensive safety tests are carried out in our test centre. The fatigue strength of the towbars is tested on the basis of the European Guidelines 94/20/EG; ECE R55 or the test procedure Carlos TC – “Car Loading Standard Trailer Coupling”.
All MVG towbars can also be used for rear cycle carriers.
MVG electrical kits are based on the high technical and statutory requirements demanded of the automotive electronic systems. Taking into consideration the latest technology, such as check-control, CAN bus, LED and PDC, our electrical kits are indeed complete, vehicle-specific solutions with that extra plus of easy fitting and reduced installation times.

State-of-the-art manufacturing technology in our plants, which is monitored by process-related quality controls, guarantees an outstanding product quality.
MVG stands for quality “Designed and made in Germany” – tried and tested and certified in accordance with ISO 9001* and ISO/TS 16949 as the first* manufacturer of towbars and electrical fittings in Germany.