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Committee reports bill allowing safety cables in place of chains for trailer hitches
Summary
House Bill 71 would permit motor vehicles towing trailers to use safety cables instead of safety chains for ball-and-socket type hitches; sponsor and committee members said technological advances justify the change and no opposition was reported.
The House Transportation Committee reported House Bill 71, which would allow motor vehicles that are towing trailers to use safety cables in lieu of safety chains for ball-and-socket-type hitches.
Proponents told the committee that advances in towing technology and manufacturing have made plastic-coated safety cables as strong as traditional chains for small trailers, and that some other states already allow such cables.
Josiah, a committee staff member, summarized the bill, saying the vehicle code currently requires chains but that technology now permits the use of cables. Representative Brian Smith, the prime sponsor, said the measure arose after a constituent was pulled over while towing a small trailer that came from another state with plastic-coated cables. "They are as strong, as the chains," Smith said, describing his research into the product and manufacturer.
Chairman Benninghoff spoke in support, noting that chains can break and that when they do, they can rebound dangerously; he encouraged support for the measure. The staff summary said there was no known opposition to the bill.
The committee chair called the question and reported House Bill 71; the transcript records no negative votes during the roll call and the bill will be reported to the next legislative stage.
If enacted, the bill would change the vehicle code language that currently requires safety chains for the described hitch type to permit safety cables as an alternative.
