Fatal crash spurs another look at safe canoe towing
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
In the aftermath of the Sept. 6 fatal collision on the Big Island between a breakaway trailer carrying three fiberglass outrigger canoes and an SUV driven by a 49-year-old California man, paddlers across the state are wondering how the accident could have occurred and taking a closer look at the measures they take to safely transport their vessels.
"It's scary," said Kalani Irvine, president of the O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association. "It seems like it was a freak thing — a rare and tragic accident. It's scary that someone lost their life because of something so simple."
Statewide, hundreds of canoes are routinely transported via trailer each week for races and practices.
As news of the accident spread, paddlers speculated about how the trailer was attached to the truck.
While some clubs make do with the standard set-up of a trailer receiver hitch connected to a ball mount or draw bar (secured with a locking pin), many others opt for the added security of safety chains or cables, which keep the trailer connected should a bump or other disruption unhitch the trailer from the mount.
Unlike some states, Hawai'i does not require safety chains or cables for towing.
Walter Vierra, head of the Hawai'i Canoe Racing Association, said it is up to individual clubs to decide whether to use such safety equipment when towing.
Vierra said that while trailers carrying canoes occasionally separate from the tow vehicle, typically causing damage to the canoes, the accident is believed to be the first in Hawai'i to result in injury or death.
The accident occurred just before 9 a.m. on Sept. 6, the final day of the Queen Lili'uokalani Long Distance Canoe Races.
According to the Hawai'i Police Department, the trailer was being pulled by a 1999 Dodge Truck heading north on Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. The trailer became dislodged from the truck, crossed the median and struck a 2009 Ford Escape multipurpose vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
One of the canoes crashed through the windshield of the SUV, striking the driver. The man was transported to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour later.
The driver of the SUV has not been identified.
Neither the driver of the truck, a 36-year-old man from Lahaina, nor his four passengers were injured.
The Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit has opened a negligent homicide investigation and ordered an autopsy.
Police have not indicated whether speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.
Paddlers at the site said the canoes belonged to the Kahana Canoe Club of Maui.
Kahana president John Kuia said last week that he was unaware that any of his club members were involved.
"I have no idea what happened except for what I read in the newspaper," he said. "I just know that the paddlers who went out there are just human. Everybody feels bad. It just happened."
Barbara Querry, president of the Maui County Hawaiian Canoe Association, would not comment on the incident.
"We're very upset, just like any community would be," said Lawrence "Uncle Bo" Campos, president of the Kai 'Opua Canoe Club, which hosted the race. "People are devastated. Maui is devastated."
Irvine, the OHCRA president, said the accident was surprising given the sophistication of modern trailers and how relatively light the load was.
"You take it for granted sometimes because it's so simple," he said. "These trailers are professionally built — some of them are even equipped with brakes — and the canoes are only 400 pounds. You can tow five of them and it's only a ton, which is less than most boats.
"Everyone is pretty knowledgeable about how to do this because we do it every weekend," he said.
Kai 'Opua member Mike Atwood, who served as race director on Sept. 6, was overseeing the start of the double-hulled canoe races when he got word of the accident.
"It definitely put a damper on the rest of the day," Atwood said. "Our hearts go out to everyone who was a part of that — the people in the vehicle that was towing the trailer and the family of the man who was fatally injured."
Atwood said Kai 'Opua uses a pair of safety chains when transporting its canoes, as do most other clubs. Still, he said he is mindful that any number of equipment failures could result in a trailer breaking away.
"Anyone who tows a trailer for a significant amount of time has had one break loose for whatever reason," he said. "We're such a close-knit community that when a trailer breaks loose, we always think, 'That could have been me.'
"When it involves an injury or a fatality, it's even more tragic and saddening. As a group, we're all trying to deal with that."
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Comments:
This life was lost by another "Random victims of negligence" Please go to www.dangeroustrailers.org...
This quote is downright calus..
Walter Vierra, head of the Hawai'i Canoe Racing Association, said it is up to individual clubs to decide whether to use such safety equipment when towing.
HAWAII has no safety chains law....... in fact Mr. Humphrys told RVBusiness. “Safety chains are not designed to provide any protection over 30 miles per hour. Those little S-hooks will straighten out even if they are installed properly.”
Since 1975 over 15,100 lives lost... What will this person who lost his trailer be charged with?
Maybe we should tell the MOB they don't need guns anymore... just hook up a trailer and form a "Utility Trailer HIt Man Company" and go around the Island and take out people and nothing happens.
09/14/2009 5:14:58 p.m.
Bottom line is that it's the drivers responsibility to make sure that the truck & trailer is legal, registard, safety checked, in proper working order, load secured, the works. When you operate any vehicle you have to become a professional driver while doing so. My Dad was a pro truck driver and saw how he checked & rechecked everything before driving. If ONE thing was not right, he would shut it down until it was corrected. The liability, responsibility, & consequences are just too great. I also been paddling & sailing canoes for 30 years now & have seen LOTS of canoe trailers with improper hitches, ball sizes, no safety chains, break or running lights, no safety checks, poor construction - everything. My heart goes out not only to the family of the deceased but the driver who has to live with this hard lesson. Canoe clubs - learn from this now.
A person in the article said that the canoes are relatively light as compared to boats, etc. Could a light load be easier to dislodge than one that is heavier? Also, did the canoe itself dislodge from the trailer, or are canoes raised that high off the ground so as to be at windshield height of an SUV? The trailer getting unhitched is the primary problem yes, but if there is a secondary safeguard, could a life have been saved?
I suspect the issue is in the design of the trailer. These canoe trailers allow the load to be evenly balanced front and back vs. a boat trailer has more load on the hitch side of the trailer. This evenly balanced situation might have contributed to the hitch releasing while in tow. Once broken free, the balanced trailer would be more likely to maintain it's velocity thus being able to cross the highway divider.
This is a criminal act and the driver should do jail time....at least ten years for a death....
Only people with a professional mind should ever attempt to attach a trailer as it is a definite procedure of interlocking parts......the statement that everyone who tows a trailer has had one break away is utter rubbish from someone trying to limit the idiocy.
Many many meticulous people who OWN boats in the Islands trail them year in year out without ever having the slightest incident and can back them up like 18 wheeler drivers.
The very point here is that these are CLUB boats probably towed by whoever has a truck and hitch whereas it should be by a professional.
The FACT is a man is dead and his family devastated.......this excuse making is rubbish.
It's really hard to think of any good reason why safety chains shouldn't be required for every trip on public roads. Regardless of trailer size or load. Actually, it's incredible that it's NOT the law already!
