http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/07/13/man-hurt-after-4wd-incident-in-sydney-s-west.html See news link above. Many weekends we still see people hooking up straps and cables to non-rated points on the vehicle or joined via shackles. This one occurred over the weekend and has left the 17 year-old in an induced coma. Surprising the police referred to it as a freak accident. There was nothing freak about it at all as there have been multiple occasions of it occurring. If I were asked to pull someone out that had no rated recovery point, I would be letting them know they will need a tow truck instead.

it's very sad to hear of these things happening.

I agree with you on the tow truck if there was no other safe way to get him out.

I have seen this happen a few times over the years. On 1 occasion (in the watagans) the energy from the strap was so fierce that the shackle imbedded itself into a tree. 

Be careful guys, some companies are selling what they call "rated" straps that really are not correctly rated. Its ok to do a "recall" on them but many months after they went on sale. The scary thing is how many of these straps are still out there never used as yet waiting for another incident like this one to happen.

I hope he manages to recover.

I cannot imagine how his parents are feeling right now.

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Most of the standard tie down points on current 4WD's are just tie down points. I.e They are used to tie the cars down to shipping containers etc.

However, saying that, even though the rear tie down point on a JK Jeep wrangler is not rated. It can be used as a recovery point. The only issue is, it is not central to the car.  But if you have a tow bar. That could be used also.

I am sure there will be people who dis-agree with me.

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I don't understand Andrew. If it is not rated, how do you validate it as being safe to use as a recovery point?

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As I drive a JK wrangler, I have done quite a number of 4WD courses. everything from Beginers to Advanced.
At no stage have any of the trainers said that the JK standard recovery points can not be used for any recovery.

However, when you ask Jeep if these are rated, they will tell you they have no idea.

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Andrew, The reply from the Sales people does not surprise me.  However, stating that the JK tie-down points must be OK to use simply because no Driving Instructor has said otherwise is putting a lot of faith in a critical piece of equipment. I spent 15 years as a Driving Instructor for heavy vehicles including 4WDing. I would not tell someone that their points are/or are not rated, simply because I am not an engineer and i am not qualified to say so.  I always look for a rating stamp stating the maximum rating (in addition- most rated devices are painted red or yellow).   Considering the consiquences (possibly killing someone, as it has happended), would it not be best get written confirmation from an engineer that the rear tie down points on the JK are actually rated and also what is the maximum capacity you can pull (similar to the maximum rating stamped on every tow bar) ?   I am not trying to be harsh....... this is good healthy conversation around safety.

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Sounds like I have opened a can of worms (I am good at that)
I am fully aware that performing a recovery using just a TIE- DOWN
 

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Sounds like I have opened a can of worms (I am good at that)
I am fully aware that performing a recovery using just a TIE- DOWN point will and does cause major injuries.

I have aksed many people who own JK's and are instructors are the rear tie down points used for recovery.
Everyone has said yes. I fully trust them as they are putting their business on the line if they are wrong.

Even the guys at 4wd Vic (http://www.fwdvictoria.org.au) will tell you the JK points are safe for recovery.

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My understanding of this accident is that the actual snatch broke not a shackle..

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Yes this is an extremely sad incident,
Maybe due to inexperience and recovery equipment failure.

I've see people use not rated or under rated snatch straps and shackles not equipped to pull / recover heavier vehicles ,plus the additional loads put on the equipmet from the bog or angles they are pulling from.

The RMS has clamped down on breakaway chains and shackles here in NSW enforcing that all chains and D shackles have to be stamped and rated to the trailer being towed.

I have no idea how any shackle can be legally sold not being rated.

It may take a little longer to recover a vehicle safely but the result is a lot lesser chance of injury.

If you 4wd complete even a basic training course, everyone can still learn something.

Hopefully not the hard way !!

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I quite amazes me that many people get confused ,well actually it  doesn't ,I feel the tie down points should be removed before delivery ,that would take away confusion then there's the good ol tow point which should only be used for flat towing but wrongly gets used for recoveries,usually by the uneducated, unfortunatly with the popularity of 4wding these incidents won't go away,Please everybody ensure you recover from only RATED recovery points

While I have your attention,it is important to mantain your straps and winch ropes, I regulary wash me straps, this not only cleans the dirt and grit out of them but gives me the chance to inspect then when putting them away, I wash them in warm water with a little bit of soap and NO fab. softner then hang them up to dry, the same with my winch rope. Don't telk my wife I use our front load Miele.

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all I know is what is in the link and it states that he was hit in the back of the head while his car was being recovered so I would think that it was a recovery point failure and the strap with the shackel still attached got him. Absolute tragic if he doesn't pull through, thoughts go out to his family and friends.

A simple dampener would have made all the difference. When I was panel beating I used 10 tonn hydraulic rams and chains to pull out bent chassis, every now and then a chain would let go with a heap of pressure on it with a almighty bang. without a dampener the chain would fly at 100 mph with a dampener it would just drop to the ground, it still made a hell of a noise and would scare the crap out of you but at least it just dropped and didn't cause any major damage.

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It turns out that I know someone who knows the poor fellow who had the accident. He was hit in the head by the shackle which we are presuming broke. They were not using a damper.. and without sounding nasty if he is with the same crowd as the person I know the recovery would not have been in control and gentle.. more like they would have hooked it up and floored it. Prognosis for the poor kid isn't that great right now. It's a hard lesson to learn this way. 

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Thanks for the update Sue as there has been various differing reports of what actually happened. It was a towball, it was the towball tongue & finally it was a unrated D shackle, similar to what many would use on trailer chains. Whatever it was, lets hope the boys comes out of this & his future life is not compromised in any way.

Not getting into the debate regarding the unrated recovery points as mentioned in relation to Jeeps, but Tony did bring up the point of how common it is that snatch straps are contected to each other by a D shackle.... Seems to be a common practice as have seen a few youtube videos where this has been done; crazy practice in my opinion. Also, how many of us use a dampner when winching with rope?. I have to admit the few times I have used my winch, I havent used a dampner, think I probably should from now on....

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Hi Matt. Good to hear your comments.  One piece i am not sure of is your belief ''that a dampener would have made all the difference".  While a dampener definitely helps with a snapping winch cable, I am not so sure it would help stop a flying shackle on the end of a snapped snatch strap (I could be wrong). I think if a dampener was over a snatch strap as it broke away, it is highly likely a connected shackle would still fly though the air at ultra high speed. It may help, but not make all the difference from a safety aspect. 

Allan, I agree with washing and maintaining straps.  I wait till i am at home on my own and then pop the dirty snatch strap in the washing machine (with NO detergent) and put her through a full cycle. Comes out looking brand new.  Not a bad idea to do the plasma rope once a year as well.

Our thoughts go out for the young teenager.

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