Peter W Jones MInstP
16/01/12
See my blog:-
www.westmidlandspoliceauthority.wordpress.com as my enquiries have now revealed a serious scientific educational deficiency in the training of Police Road Traffic Accident Investigators.
www.20.six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents
As the above is so frequently not available I have copied some of the work in to
see my blog
Information on the safe towing of Caravans,School/University mini bus trailers and HGV Trailers and a possible explanation of why the media is so deficient in reporting on this matter.
24/01/10
ITEM IN PLACE OF MATERIAL REMOVED BY HACKERS
see my blog:-
Peter W Jones MInstP
The most recent entries to my blogs are at
www.improvingroadsafety.wordpress.com and
www.caravanaccidents3.wordpress.com
See also
www.caravanaccidents2.wordpress.com
and
www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents
Advice for Physics and Maths teachers (GCSE and GCE “A” level)
see www.schoolminibusaccidents.wordpress.com and
www.schoolminibustrailers.wordpress.com
in this blog
Para 100
Flying with the RAF helped with Caravan research
Para 101
2007 Problems with T&T.com
Para 102
Details of some towing Experience.
Connection between sailing and caravanning
Para 103
Caravan Club Technical Advice
Para 104
Further details of towing experience
Para 105
2003 advice for CC and CCC members
A recent upgrade has been given to:-
www.aerodynamicsoftrailers.wordpress.com
Peter W Jones AMInstP
The above depicts a Tiger Moth Biplane of the same type that I was a passenger in many years ago. I recalled this event in 2003 and remembered that the plane had a take off speed of about 60 mph. If I had not made this connection and the possible comparability with the critical air speed for a small caravan, I doubt whether I could have made a minor contribution to road safety by writing these blogs.
A much greater contribution to our Health and Well Being was made by the WW2 RAF trainee pilots who did their initial flying training in these air craft at the Wolverhampton ( Pendeford) Airport. My parents’ house was fairly close to the air field and as a child the RAF caused me more anxiety than the Germans (even though I never actually saw a “trainee” pilot plane crash into a house). The Germans, failing to discover that we had (in proportion) as many vital targets as Birmingham and Coventry, kept well away.
I would like to pay tribute to the many RAF pilots who trained at Wolverhampton, but did not survive the war.
There is a further note concerning Tiger Moth Bi Planes at the end of the section 18b on HGV Trailers.
Paragraph 101
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PROBLEMS WITH T AND T .COM
Peter W Jones MInstP..
New Revised Edition..
I have previously written about the considerable input to this debate by responders to the information I sent to “touringandtenting.com”. According to T&T .com there were over 5000 viewers of the forums I instituted and a vast number of replies far too numerous for me to be absolutely certain that I have answered all valid objections.The most important hole that a number of responders thought they had blown in my reports was the fact that there is still doubt in the caravan industry concerning the legality of electric brakes for trailers in the UK, in spite of the fact that in the USA and Australia these brakes have been in successful use for over 30 years.I have always been troubled by the inability of the Caravan Club to take a view of controversial items that opposed the caravan industry. I only realised a few months ago ( due to reading an item on the CC’s private www site for members), that the CC and the Camping and Caravanning Club have had a formal agreement since about 1998 with the National Caravan Council (the caravan industry) concerning the supervision of the quality of the work in a large number of the Caravan/trailer workshops in the UK. The fact that the CC the CCC and the NCC will be in touch on a regular basis with Jones Vening Ltd who run this supervisory service indicates that there is a well organised cooperative system.The reason we still have around 95% of trailers/caravans in the class 750kg to 3500kg operating with over run brakes, and those below 750kg not being required to have brakes, is because for reasons I have yet to discover it suits the clubs and the caravan industry. Faced with such a united front I would not expect either the EU or the UK authorities to change anything. As I see matters the “law” concerning the braking system is in effect made by the caravan industry.Similarly the Road Haulage Industry have virtually unopposed access to Government (UK and EU) concerning aerofoils/electronic brakes for HGV trailers because Trade Unions are ineffective due possibly to low membership in this sector.The other most objected to part of the information I sent to T&T .com was my test for friction based stabilisers. Caravanners and trailer towing campers were mortally offended that I had told them that the devices they had relied on for years were most probably of no use whatsoever.If any one has reported on the results of carrying out my test for stabilisers, I must have missed the item.
In view of the Caravan Club having advertising on T&T.com (and the CC also clearly supported this “independent” site when it opened, according to the owners) I was pleased to note that a considerable number of respondents to my forum articles did concede that caravans needed better brakes, and the replies were initally left on view.
In addition, another feature of a number of “slightly abusive” replies was that they finished with a plea for better brakes.
At a large CC meeting held at the Thistle Hotel, East Midlands Air Port, in February 2004, I challenged the fact that the CC had sponsored a great deal of research at Bath University but had never had anything done concerning the over run brake actuating mechanism. In reply an official conceeded my point and said that perhaps they should now take up this investigation. I have not heard anything about this being followed up.
(To see a short article on “The Case Against Over Run Brakes” go to
www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents
and go to Paragraph 10ci of the main report.)
I shall not be altering the blogging item concerning the possible editing of my work on T&T.com by the site owners. I am only responsible for work appearing in my blogs.
Addendum 29-1-08
I mentioned above a list that can be seen on Google. Also on the first page of this list is “Evidence from Snaking Tyre Marks – Touring and Tenting.” If you click on this you will go to T&T.com and see an edited version of the items from my forums that they have chosen to leave on public display.
I was pleased to see that items attributed to myself were accurate, but readers will find difficulty finding them due to vast quantities of silly remarks and pseudo scientific comment.
I wrote to this cyber tabloid in the first place because in 2003 the Guardian did not publish the article I sent them. Had they done so the fitting of electronic brakes to HGV trailers would be more extensive and a start would have been made on electric brakes for caravans.
Overall I did not waste my time writing to T&T.com as in spite of their failure to allow me to use the facility of
www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents
giving readers ease of connection to my blogs without typing in the lengthy address, my www addresses have had a substantial increase in those reading same for more than 15 mins at any one time.
Addendum 25-02-08
The following are the Introductory sentences of the 1999 McDonald Bath University MPhil thesis, mainly on Moisture Ingress to Caravan Structures, the results of which the Caravan Club put to very good use. It is only the writer’s opinion, but I think this is a good time to reveal same as it reveals every thing about members of the caravan industry who seem reluctant to raise safety levels to those more commensurate with the speed at which it is legal for caravans to travel on a motor way to day:-
“The manufacture of touring caravan trailers is essentially a cottage industry. Its conceptual evolution since the horse-drawn-cart has been primarily aesthetic compared to that of the motor industry.”
I previously wrote concerning the failure of the Guardian Newspaper to print my article in 2003. I have checked with “Guardian On Line” today and note my blogs are on their list and that I now have a “Technorati” rating. By putting “caravan snaking accidents” into the “Guardian on line” search engine you will not only reveal my blogs but
the on line newspaper started by my brother about 12 months ago. He wrote last week about the Selby Rail Disaster. One of my daughters (see “archives for April 2007” section 3a of
www.caravanaccidents2.wordpress.com ) sent me an e mail a few days ago. She had confused T&T.com’s blog with mine as the latter have so prominently displayed my name on Google. My daughter wished to know why I had not just deleted all the “silly” comments so that the objective ones could be seen.
It can be seen by accessing T&T.com via Google, as mentioned above, that the site owners have increased their attempts to discredit my efforts and avoid any mention of the Bath University research or the evidence I have quoted from caravan snaking accidents.
There are now 67 comments which are trivial and 16 spurious.
20 commentators, with Logiclee as their leader, are objective on aerofoils for caravans, but fail to mention the Bath University relevant result, or the evidence from the snaking caravan accidents.
I have no doubt that all 103 commentators referred to above know who Logiclee is. As he claims a HND in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering he must be well up the “pecking order” of the Caravan Industry. I did think at one time he may even be the MD of the Swift Caravan Group, but then I remembered that when the accountant who had held this post for many years retired, the Caravan Club Magazine announced that the replacement had a string of impressive qualifications after his name, including a CEng.
Paragraph 102
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TOWING AND SAILING EXPERIENCE
ace-bradwell.jpgace-bradwell.jpgace-bradwell.jpgace-bradwell.jpg
The above photograph shows my current Swift Challenger 4oo SE Small Touring Caravan which I have owned for about 14 years and the current Land Rover Discovery which I have owned for 11 years.
I previously towed the Swift with a Rover 3500 SDI SE V8. Although I followed the CC’s advice this van (the Rover 3500 should have been an excellent tow car) started snaking on the motor way as soon as I was over taken by anything fairly large. I always countered by slowing down until the oscillations died away. Most people do not realise that slight oscillations are potentially very dangerous; if a following large vehicle with a bow wave in phase with the previous oscillations over takes before the snaking has subsided, a catastrophic snake could immediately take place.
Addendum 25-1-08
I should have reported above that my Discovery is a better tow car; I was reminded of this by another respondent to T&T.com. The aerodynamic factors are very different when towing a caravan with a car than they are when towing with a mini bus or 4×4. These factors should be quantified so that clear advice can be given to the public.
I also started a Forum on www.practicalcaravan.com (the Practical Caravan Magazine) and had a reply from the Editor of the PC Mag suggesting that aerofoils on caravans needed to be over the axles. I would add to this that the aerofoils need to be just forward of the axles to ensure that there is a chance of the correct weight on the towing hitch being maintained as speed increases.
Another reply to the Forum welcomed the new editor (it seemed to me that this was a response representative of the Caravan Industry). The above item then disappeared.
I intend to appeal for assistance from owners of large sailing cruisers (with weights comparable to HGV trailers). I feel that HGV drivers need to be advised of the area of sail that these large boats use in a gale force wind (about 44mph) to push them along in smooth sheltered water comparable with a road. I am sure that the relevant sail area will be much less than the side area of most HGV trailers and would remind drivers of the fact that although exposed stretches of road get closed to high sided vehicles by the police in Storm Force winds, gale force winds will most probably cause some HGV trailers to snake.
The above photographs show the Bradwell 18 Sailing Cruiser that I owned between 1976 and 1988. In making these reports I am heavily relying on my towing experience aswell as my knowledge of Physics.
At various times I towed the Bradwell 18 with a Vauxhall Victor 101 1600cc; a Morris Marina 1800cc; an Austin Princess 6 cylinder 2200cc and a BL Ambassador 2000cc which was a development of the Princess.
In addition my deductions concerning the air speed at which a caravan is likely to become subject to snaking depend not only on my towing experience but on a knowledge of the effect of the wind on sails of roughly the same area as the side of my current small touring caravan.
The above displays a copy of the brochure cover that was produced when the Jaguar 21 was first introduced in 1980.
I show this as I do not have a similar photograph of the boat with either of the two cars I have used for towing. ( A Land Rover Discovery and a Rover SDI 3500 SE V8).
Paragraph 103
17-12-08
I note that in the January 2009 issue of the Camping and Caravanning Club Magazine there is a reference to a Highways Agency Report claiming that 50% of road users would continue with a road journey despite hearing a severe weather warning of fog, ice, snow, rain or strong wind.
Concerning the “strong winds” forecast the Camping and Caravanning Club is partly to blame for the above lack of respect for road safety as it always follows the Caravan Club in such matters and it can be seen from the above that advice on strong winds needs to be much improved.
The new edition of the CC handbook is due out soon. It is to be hoped that this matter will have been rectified.
Addendum 29-1-08
Yesterday I observed on a large caravan dealer’s display shelves a “tyron.” This is a device which ensures that a caravan tyre stays on the wheel in the event of a “blow out.” For many years serious caravan snaking was almost always blamed on burst tyres; hence the need for “tyrons.”
I did not have a “tyron” when my Ace caravan tyre burst at 50 mph.
I was able to pull on to the hard shoulder without any swaying or snaking of the caravan. As a result of the “snaking tyre marks” details I received about 17 years later from a Police RTA Investigator I have been able to show that snaking could cause burst
tyres, but burst tyres were not the cause of the snaking. (see para 17a of my blog www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents ).
Paragraph 105
Caravan Clubs
This part of the blogs is specifically aimed at members of the Caravan Club (CC) and the Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC). I have been a member of the CC for many years, and for the CCC I am in my fourth year of membership. The problem with both clubs is that the technical advice they offer misses out on a number of topics which members should know about to improve their safety on the road.
As the clubs and the caravan industry have been so reluctant to use electric brakes it is worth noting that the Goodrich corporation have recently announced that some Boeing 787 airliners are to be fitted with electric brakes made by the former.
Goodrich are also the makers of the control system for Rolls Royce engines on the Boeing 777.
If electric brakes for trailers are investigated via Google readers will discover that at current exchange rates USA electric trailer brakes are cheaper than the UK/EU over run system plus a friction based stabiliser .
The Caravan Club now seem to accept a revised view of caravan accident statistics. They recently had a small item in the CC magazine which said that although there were few caravan accidents, there were not many caravans around. I think that the statistics show that there are serious safety matters that the caravan industry and the Caravan Clubs must address.The CC officials also now seem to have accepted ( they also stated this in a small recent item in the CC magazine) that burst tyres can most probably be the result of caravan snaking, and not its cause. (see section 6a of my other blogs.)
It can now be seen how much important information on caravan and trailer safety has been left out of the article on page 26 of the March 2007 edition of the CC magazine, entitled, “Why Did I Crash?”
My other blogs on the same subject are:-
www.caravanaccidents2.wordpress.com paragraphs 1a to 10c and www.20six.co.uk/roadtrafficaccidents paragraphs 10ci to 18b
and www.caravanaccidents3.wordpress.com
A CCC Magazine Supplement, recently delivered to members.
I am pleased to note that last year’s CCC caravan safety advice has not been repeated in the latest “Tow Car Awards” Supplement. In 2008 the CCC had an item on the web ( which has now been withdrawn) stating that caravans were very safe and the accident statistics proved this.
The statistics prove the opposite if one takes into account the low number of miles covered by caravans and other recreational trailers. (Put “Caravan and HGV Trailer Snaking Accidents” in to the search engine of
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Para 3a — in the archives for April 2007
The 2007 CCC “Tow Car Awards” supplement reminded members (by means of small inserts displaying accident statistics) of the above CCC incorrect safety claims on many of the pages containing advice on the best tow cars.
is advertised.
.Strong winds can be a factor at all times of the year and a weather check with
Caravan,Trailer and HGV Accidents 
