Ball weight

I see a lot of folk putting motor bikes on the draw bar of their caravans, obviously this effects the ball weight.
Question 1 ....how does it effect your insurance if the tow hitch fails.?
The modification to the draw bar in that a strap is welded underneath is ok for the bar. ( incorrectly welded may result in premature failure )
Iv seen a split ball hitch while the van was still in tow as i stepped over it in a garage once, and pointed it out to the driver, who said with a grin...yeah i know.

Question 2 with clause... (in the event of an accident causing death).
If found to be overweight by police investigation, would you be charged with Motor manslaughter or other.??
Remember, if you knew it was faulty, the outcome would be different if it just simply failed while in transit from just being overweight...or would it.?

Your probably right I reckon, and also the tow bar on the towing vehicle also has a rating that is meant to be taken notice of.

Iv'e seen big vans being towed by small vehicles with under rated tow bars, but then if they don't have any insurance then there hardly going to worry about any of these minor details.

cheers dave

Great that you bring up this issue.
I used to work for towbar manufacturer and a towbar is rated to Xkg. There is 10% download allowed on towbar. (if rated to 200kg then download is 200kg) If you extend the towbar tongue then this reduces the towbar specifications. So many times I see cars towing large trailers or vans and they only have standard towbar on there car. (most standard towbars nowadays are 1000kg to 1200kg) Some towbars are now made with square tonge hitch reciever and owners think they are heavy duty but you must look for rating plate either welded onto towbar or a sticker usually placed inside drivers door on door pillar or on door frame, all easily located. The heavy duty towbars are made of much larger/heavier tubing and they brace much further forward as well to stop them tearing of the back of the car. Yes and cars all have a maximum limit on them depending on the model.
I hope this makes some sense
travelergold