In an accident with your towbar – what must be done?
In an accident, there are many points that shoot through your head and that you have to pay attention to. The trailer hitch (maybe) does not always come to mind at first. Of course, driving yourself in or against the front of the car will obviously not affect the towbar, although it will certainly damage other areas of the vehicle. Thus, you will have to worry about the trailer hitch when the rear of the vehicle is affected in the accident. So if somebody drives into the back of your car or if you drive too far when parking and end up in the wall, then you should always think about your trailer hitch and question whether it can still be used.
Damage to the trailer hitch – repair required
In the event of a collision on your vehicle and thus also on your trailer hitch, you have to act. A trailer hitch can not be repaired. This is because repairs and modifications of any kind are inadmissible and the approval, which we receive for your trailer hitch and send you, is not valid anymore after an accident. In addition, there are product liability reasons that make it necessary to replace the trailer hitch. If someone crashes into your car frim behind, then possible damage to the trailer hitch is often not really visible. Sure, when the paint is off, the damage does not seem that bad at first. However, you can not detect any damage to the cross member or the side parts with the naked eye. We strongly advise against the repair on your own, not only for the reasons already mentioned. A self-repair does not fulfill the necessary hardening and machining processes which ensure the tensile strength and stability and can not be met by you or in any workshop. If your rear end and thus your trailer hitch has been damaged, you should no longer tow the trailer with the trailer hitch and replace it as soon as possible.
Damage caused by the trailer hitch
In an accident, as we have outlined above, certainly the opposing vehicle is affected. Often it will be the case that your tail looks much more harmless compared to the front of the other party. Due to the trailer hitch on your car, the impact forces of the opponent on his car have a significantly stronger impact, so that his vehicle is certainly badly damaged at the front. But does the trailer hitch affect the liability of the insurance company? Currently there is no official and universal regulation. In the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations in Germany (StVZO) the following is stated in §30c: „[…] no part of the outline of the vehicles may protrude so that they more than inevitably endanger the traffic.“ That is, with a removable trailer coupling or even a swiveling model, the emergence would be avoidable. Therefore, we strongly advise you to have the two models attached or unfolded on the vehicle only if you need the towbar immediately. Otherwise, there may be difficulties with the insurance.
