Can you tow and dodge?

It’s no joke when you have to suddenly swerve with a caravan

Once you get to the top of a mountain pass, it’s advisable to select a lower gear for the downhill section. This not only automatically prevents you from speeding, but you also don’t have to brake as hard and as often to slow the vehicle down or control the towing combination.

These calculations were made assuming the caravan remains neatly in line with the bakkie without any swaying. However, the caravan can easily roll at such high speeds,

If a bakkie and caravan come speeding down a mountain pass with a gradient of 20% (11,3°) at 120 km/h, it will require 8,4 seconds en 153 m for the combination to come to a standstill. Should the tyres lose grip, the time and distance doubles to 13,5 seconds and 238 m.

At 90 km/h, it still takes 6,5 seconds to stop a bakkie and its caravan, but the distance shrinks to 90 m. With skidding wheels, it will require 140 m and 10,3 seconds to reach a complete stop. especially if the wheels of the bakkie should hit the edge of the road surface, or if you have to negotiate a curve in the midst of the braking effort.

Now imagine you were towing at night, with the lights on dim, and you can only see 45 m ahead of your car, particularly if you keep in mind that the driver at 120 km/h already moved 26,6 m in the 0,8 seconds after he reacted to the emergency situation, and before any braking has yet occured.