Post Tagged with: "breakaway cable"

The breakaway rope is essential for trailer travel, as it secures the trailer in an emergency and initiates emergency braking. Already when attaching the trailer, the breakaway rope is an important point that needs to be taken into account and should be included in every routine. In Germany there are different ways to attach the breakaway rope: either you attach the rope to the specially designed eyelet using a snap hook or you use a holder for the breakaway cable. But how is this regulated in neighboring countries, and what do you have to pay attention to when traveling on holiday within the EU?

The breakaway rope in the Netherlands

Even when traveling in the country of caravans, the Netherlands, a breakaway cable is important for all trailers (unbraked and braked). The breakaway rope must be attached to the towing vehicle or trailer hitch using an eyelet or bracket. In addition, it must also be secured against slipping, so simply wrapping the rope around the ball rod of the trailer hitch is not sufficient. Therefore a breakaway cable holder is required, which is mounted on the ball rod. If your vehicle has an eyelet specifically designed for the breakaway rope, this is also permitted. The Dutch Automobile Club ANWB has also put together all the information about it.

The breakaway rope when traveling in Austria and Switzerland

Although a breakaway rope must be used when towing a trailer in Austria, no slip protection such as a breakaway rope holder is required. Its use is still recommended.
In Switzerland, too, the breakaway rope must be secured against slipping off the trailer hitch, so a breakaway cable holder is also necessary there. However, this is not the case with removable trailer hitches, where breakaway cable holders are only permitted on foreign vehicles. On Swiss vehicles, the breakaway cable must be attached to a part that is permanently installed on the vehicle. This can also be in the form of an eyelet, but this must also be permanently installed on the vehicle and not, for example, part of the removable ball rod.

This is how you use the breakaway rope correctly in Scandinavia

What is important to pay attention to in Denmark, is that the breakaway rope, which was placed around the ball rod, cannot slip off. An eyelet must then be used or a holder must be installed to prevent it from slipping.
In Norway, a safety rope is also required for unbraked trailers. It must consist of two chains or steel ropes and must have a certain breaking strength just like the hook or fastening to which the rope is attached. This must at least correspond to the maximum permissible total weight of the trailer. In addition, the links in the chain may be so short that the trailer hitch cannot function in any way, for example when turning.

The regulations in Spain and Slovenia

In Spain, a breakaway cable is required for braked trailers, but this is not necessary for unbraked trailers. It is important to ensure that a safety rope or a chain must be attached instead. Both can be placed around the ball rod, but the ADAC recommends a slip protection device, for example in the form of a breakaway rope holder or an eyelet on the vehicle.
The rules are similar in Slovenia: a breakaway rope is required for braked trailers, and a chain or safety rope for unbraked trailers. However, it is important to note the following: If the trailer comes off the trailer hitch, the trailer hitch must not touch the ground. In addition, continued travel must be guaranteed for at least as long as it takes to remove the trailer from the danger zone. Here, too, a loop placed around the ball neck is generally sufficient, but a slip protection is recommended by the ADAC.
In principle, anti-slip protection in the form of a breakaway rope holder always makes sense. In some of the countries mentioned, heavy fines are due if the breakaway rope is not secured and detaches from the towing vehicle.

Before every trip with the trailer, you will certainly check your lighting equipment and the locking of the trailer on the towbar, but the wheels and brakes should also be checked regularly. Your trailer will have its own brakes itself if it weighs more than 750 kg. It is set that trailers can only be pulled without brakes up to a maximum permissible total weight of 750 kg. Why is this important? Because, above all, with increasing weight, the braking distance of your combination changes and the trailer infects the vehicle from behind when braking. It practically pushes the towing vehicle when braking, so that the vehicle’s brakes have to be more efficient. At the same time, there is an increased risk of pulling out of the trailer with heavy trailers without their own brake.

The overrun brake

So if your trailer is heavier than 750 kg, a so-called overrun brake is required. This prevents the vehicle from being pushed by the trailer during braking and follows a simple mechanical principle. The overrun brake works like this: When the vehicle brakes, the trailer runs on the vehicle or the trailer coupling. A lever is thrown by the forces that are generated, which in turn releases the trailer’s brakes. The more your car brakes as a towing vehicle, the more the trailer is braked by the overrun brake and the load is distributed over both brakes.

Emergency braking with the breakaway rope

If the trailer should come loose from the ball bar, the overrun brake will of course no longer work. In that case, the breakaway cable is your protection for braking the trailer. You have to attach the breakaway cable to a part of the car that is permanently installed with the vehicle; our MVG trailer hitches have a special eyelet on the cross member to which you can attach the breakaway cable. Otherwise you should use a special holder. When the trailer detaches from the towing vehicle, the pull on the breakaway cable initiates emergency braking and the trailer comes to a standstill. So you should always pay attention to the correct use of the breakaway rope, as it is very important in an emergency.

It makes sure that even in the event of the trailer coming loose from the coupling towbar it will still decelerate. This is what we call the safety or breakaway cable. Anyone who drives a lot with a trailer is sure to be familiar with installing it – and probably also had many discussions about it. When travelling to our neighbouring countries, the Netherlands and Switzerland, if the breakaway cable is not correctly installed or you have no safety cable, this could lead to heavy fines. For this reason, we’ve put together the provisions given by the ADAC (German Automobile Association) regarding the correct installation and use of the cable.

Breakaway cable safety mechanisms when driving in Germany

In Germany trailers in the medium-weight class, i.e. with a permissible maximum weight of more than 750 kg and up to 3,500 kg, are generally equipped with inertia (overrun) brakes. This means that in the braking procedure the trailer overruns the towing vehicle and the resulting power is transmitted by lever transmission to the trailer brakes. In the event that the trailer becomes detached from the towbar, a safety cable should trigger the brakes and bring the trailer to a halt.

The use of a breakaway or safety cable is mandatory in Germany. Where exactly the cable should be installed is not specified. However, one thing is certain, the cable may not be looped over the towbar. As far as technically possible, the safety cable has to be fixed through an opening, drill hole or eyelet on the towbar, not on the ball head.

How to use a safety cable correctly in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands safety devices are foreseen for both braked and unbraked trailers. Trailers up to 1500 kg therefore require a safety feature and/or breakaway facility. With trailers without their own brakes a secondary coupling in the form of a cable or chain is compulsory. This also applies for unbraked trailers up to 750 kg. With larger trailers an ultimate (at break) braking provision must be in place, i.e. a steel cable between the vehicle and the braking system of the trailer. This is only available for vehicles (trailers) with brakes.

In any case, it is very important that in the Netherlands the specified safety cables must, in addition, be attached to the towbar for both unbraked and braked trailers.

This is done with special eyelets or clamps. Simply winding the cable round the knee-joint bar is not sufficient in the Netherlands.

How to use a safety cable correctly in Switzerland

In Switzerland with trailers up to a permissible total weight of 1,500 kg without a service brake system, an additional safety cable, e.g. a breakaway cable is required. The Federal Office for Roads has approved additional eyelets or special fixing holes on the towbar as suitable for mounting.

What requires special attention with a foreign/German trailer combination in the Netherlands and Switzerland?

In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, the brake systems of trailers must be equipped in such a way that the trailer, even in the case of a break in the coupling device when in motion, can come to a halt. This does not apply for single-axle trailers or double-axle trailers with a wheelbase of less than one metre and the trailer does not exceed the permissible total weight of 1,500 kg. Unbraked trailers up to a permissible total weight of 1,500 kg must be connected and secured to the towing vehicle via a safety cable, i.e. a breakaway cable. General information: Since the minimum requirements specified by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic may not be exceeded, either in the Netherlands or in Switzerland, the national provisions shall in any case also apply for trailer combinations registered in Germany, insofar as these are active road users in the Netherlands or Switzerland.

Please note: Our towbars have either eyelets or a drill hole for fixing the breakaway cable. Read more about how to use the cable correctly in our report on this topic.

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.