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Scouts and Scouters injured in two vehicle crash involving Troop Trailer


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This has been an unfortunate week for those attending BSA summer camp.  This accident involved an out of Council unit that was returning from one of our Council camps:

 

http://www.nbc26.com/news/boy-scout-troop-involved-in-rollover-crash

http://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/suvs-carrying-boy-scouts-crash-near-bonduel

http://racinecountyeye.com/racine-boy-scouts-leader-injured-accident/

 

Let's all say an extra prayer for the Scout leader seriously injured, and say a prayer of thanks that the boys suffered only minor injuries.  I saw a post from someone who passed by the accident scene and they were amazed that anyone survived.

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....and this is why BSA says no caravaning!

 

...and was the SUV sufficient to haul a troop trailer?  The CRV's tend to be a bit on the light side and a high center of gravity.

 

...As one who has pulled a lot of different trailers over the years, I can assure you, there's a lot more to it than just dropping it on the ball, putting on the chains and plugging in the lights. Did they weigh the full trailer and check it against the tow capacity of the vehicle?

Before I put any boys in the vehicle (which will add even more weight to deal with) I would have made sure I could handle the extra weight.

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....and this is why BSA says no caravaning!

 

...and was the SUV sufficient to haul a troop trailer?  The CRV's tend to be a bit on the light side and a high center of gravity.

 

...As one who has pulled a lot of different trailers over the years, I can assure you, there's a lot more to it than just dropping it on the ball, putting on the chains and plugging in the lights. Did they weigh the full trailer and check it against the tow capacity of the vehicle?

Before I put any boys in the vehicle (which will add even more weight to deal with) I would have made sure I could handle the extra weight.

CRV's are basically just extra large Civics, I would never trust one with a trailer. 

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....and this is why BSA says no caravaning!

 

Except da BSA no longer says no caravans, eh?  That got dropped from da G2SS some years back, around the same time they dropped da prohibition on driving at night.   :p

 

The real issue I reckon was fatigue, eh?   And the sudden correction with a trailer.  Pretty easy to lose control when yeh make sudden steering moves while towin', and awfully hard for anybody who is close by to dodge yeh when yeh lose control like that.    Better lesson might be to have a few extra folks come up to help drive the pickup run, so that the adults who have been subject to a week of sleep deprivation can take a break.

 

Prayers for all involved, especially our brother scouter who was more seriously hurt.

 

Beavah

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I had a full sized Ford van with a 302 V-8 engine and automatic transmission that would overheat when pulling the troop trailer more than 50 mph.  Even if the tow unit is large enough to handle the weight, it still does a heavy duty strain/damage to the tow vehicle if it isn't rated for the tow.

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Except da BSA no longer says no caravans, eh?  That got dropped from da G2SS some years back, around the same time they dropped da prohibition on driving at night.   :p

 

 

A slight correction for you here Beav.  They didn't drop the ban on caravans, but they did modify it a bit and move it to the Guide to Tour Plan Principles Pledge of Performance: 

 

15. If more than one vehicle is used to transport our group, we will establish rendezvous points at the start of each day and not attempt to have drivers closely follow the group vehicle in front of them

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A slight correction for you here Beav.  They didn't drop the ban on caravans, but they did modify it a bit and move it to the Guide to Tour Plan Principles Pledge of Performance: 

 

15. If more than one vehicle is used to transport our group, we will establish rendezvous points at the start of each day and not attempt to have drivers closely follow the group vehicle in front of them

 

LOL.  Yah, @@T2Eagle, yeh got me there.   That's a hard document to locate, eh?  :p

 

Point 15 on a page of small print on a document almost nobody will ever access.  I wonder how often anybody actually lives up to Point #1:

 

1. We will submit changes to notify the local council in the event our itinerary or activity changes.

 

Somehow I can't see 99.9% of da units out there botherin' to call or email the council every time the itinerary or activities on an outing get modified. ;)    Can't imagine what da council would do with that if it happened!  I reckon this is a bit like those units that have 100 page Bylaws, eh?  At some point, it's just a bit silly, eh?  Yeh have to rely on da Oath and Law, and just trust that an average parent knows how to drive a car with kids in it.

 

Beavah

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Didn't they teach you to read the fine print in Law School?  or did one just focus on writing it?  :) 

 

My ASM had pages of legalese paperwork just to get us to summer camp.  I have an ASM dedicated to just paperwork.  I'm thinking that if we did have an itinerary change she'd be on top of it.  It's kinda scary at times.

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Yeah if the itinerary changes on your tour plan, you just log back into the system and simply make changes on the tour plan as long as the changes don't happen the day you leave for the outing.  Usually you know about changes the day before so you can think about it and have time to make the changes.

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Yeah if the itinerary changes on your tour plan, you just log back into the system and simply make changes on the tour plan as long as the changes don't happen the day you leave for the outing.  Usually you know about changes the day before so you can think about it and have time to make the changes.

 

Yah, hmmmm...

 

My question, as always, is "Is this really a service?".

 

The BSA is in da service business, eh?  We're providing materials and Helpfulness to organizations and volunteers who want to use Scouting.  

 

How is it a service to ask (or worse, "expect") volunteers to do this added paperwork?  How does it make da program better for the kids?

 

10-12 outings a year, plus some day trips and service projects and such, times roughly 40,000 troops, plus packs, plus crews, plus posts... Hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours dedicated to fillin' out and updatin' this form online instead of workin' with kids.   

 

We get this backwards too often, eh?  It's our job to serve da unit volunteer, not their job to serve the needs or wants of the BSA.

 

Beavah

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I see it more as a BSA CYA issue. 

 

Mr. SE, my little Johnny was supposed to be home last night and he didn't show up.  Where is he? 

 

Don't worry, our records show that he got home last night.

 

At this point guess who gets thrown under the bus.

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A slight correction for you here Beav.  They didn't drop the ban on caravans, but they did modify it a bit and move it to the Guide to Tour Plan Principles Pledge of Performance: 

 

15. If more than one vehicle is used to transport our group, we will establish rendezvous points at the start of each day and not attempt to have drivers closely follow the group vehicle in front of them

 

Thanks for the heads up.  I always remember that one but was surprised just now realizing it was not in G2SS.  I knew I read it somewhere.  

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