Dangers of Snatch Straps

Firstly, I’m glad the person involved continues to recover.

The strap was not the issue it appears. But the story does highlight that extreme care needs to be taken when using this type of equipment. On reading the detail, it appears the failing was to attach the chain back to itself with fencing wire, rather than a rated shackle. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I’m sure the lesson learned is to secure with rated shackles only, not fencing wire.

We are hoping to visit next year...

I guess in hindsight, a hole should have been made in the centre of the tread and the strap pushed through the hole and secured by a stick or something on the inside. A tow rope would be better than a snatch strap. Its hard to think of all situations but shows the importance of getting it right!! And he is lucky to be alive.... Michael

Bloody awful injuries.
A very lucky man indeed, I wish him and the family all the best.

Long time since I've posted on here, but this thread caught my attention.
Firstly, thankfully the gentleman in question is alive. That is the most important thing.

Secondly, snatch straps are designed to stretch and "snatch" a bogged vehicle. They aren't designed to be a tow rope. This strap did exactly what it was designed for.... it stretched and snatched.

Contrary to other opinions, the only really safe way to use a snatch strap to tow is to NOT use a snatch strap.

4WD Qld has a guideline document that explains their use.....

Snatch Strap Guidelines.

People have died from not using them properly..... Rhett Walker was extremely lucky to have survived. That is a fact. If anyone disagrees with what I have written, save your typing finger, I won't be listening.

Glad to hear that Rhett is ok. A marvelous job by all the rescue services. It amazes me how the whole system works in someones hour of need.

Have to say though, why would you use a snatch in this way??? The whole set up sounds Mickey Mouse to me. Snatch? Wire? Dragging???? Nothing to do with hindsight, you'd have to look at this and say its an accident waiting to happen. The first thing I'd think is that if the tyre got caught up on something, the first thing that is going to happen is that its going to be like a stone in a catapult.

Forward thinking and planing. Life is like a game of chess. You have to got think of all the angles, or at least cover as many of them as possible.

Terrible incident but a salutary reminder. Have only used my strap once years ago to snatch another Patrol stuck on slippery ground. We were careful but I admit to having limited knowledge of potential dangers at the time, although I'm sure my offsider was the full bottle. Thanks to the Walkers for posting the pictures. A clear lesson for all of us. All the best Rhett.

Having met Rhett on two occasions at Lorella Springs I can tell you he deserves the best recovery possible as he is a most helpfull and pleasant person and does all he can to make a nice stay at the station which is a great place to visit.It is of no use harping on what should have been done to avoid the accident as I am sure Rhett more than anyone else knows where he or others went wrong.I wish him the best recovery possible and hope to catch up with him again at the station.

Snatch straps are one of the most dangerous things ever invented, and must be used with exceptional care.

As an ex-contractor who learnt to drive heavy equipment in the days of Steel Wire Rope, we were taught early, the extreme danger of the vast amount of energy stored in a SWR under heavy tension.
When a SWR snaps, the damage it can do is unbelievable. A snatch strap stores more energy than a SWR because it stretches even more than a length of SWR.

There have been two fatal accidents in W.A. within the last 5 years involving snatch straps - and in both cases, the snatch strap didn't break - it was the items the strap was attached to, that broke.

The first involved a farmer SE of Wickepin, W.A. The young farmer got a 4WD bogged, and went back to the house to fetch his wife and a second 4WD. The two vehicles were joined by the snatch strap.
The young farmer drove the bogged 4WD, and his wife drove the second 4WD that was doing the towing. He instructed his wife to back up and "gun it", to use the inherent stored energy in the snatch strap, to "pop" the bogged 4WD out.

The wife did as instructed, and as the snatch strap reached its maximum tension, the bolts holding the towbar to the wifes 4WD broke, and the energy stored in the snatch strap, hurled the towbar through the windscreen of the bogged 4WD, hitting the young farmer in the head, and killing him instantly.

In the second case, a bogged 4WD on a beach near Geraldton was being debogged by using a snatch strap. The snatch strap was thrown over the tow ball of the towing vehicle. A woman passenger was left sitting in the front passenger seat of the bogged 4WD.

The towing vehicle was backed up and gunned, and once again, as maximum snatch strap stretch was reached, the tow ball snapped, and it was flung back through the windscreen of the bogged 4WD, striking the woman passenger in the throat and causing fatal injuries.

There have been multiple events of this type, and many did not cause major injury - and possibly more similar events weren't even reported.

However, time and time again, the reports come in, that when using snatch straps to debog a vehicle - that the snatch strap hasn't failed - but the attachment points have.

As result, it's imperative that attachment points for snatch straps (each end) are secure enough to withstand a force, that is capable of stopping the towing vehicle in its tracks, at the maximum speed encountered when "gunning it".

There is much talk on 4WD forums about methods of damping the energy released when a snatch strap is released from it's attachment point.

There's little discussion about how that release can be accompanied by a very large piece of metal on the end of the snatch strap, that isn't going to be damped by anything placed over a snatch strap.

By all means use snatch straps - but be very aware of the strength of attachment points - and be very aware of the amount of energy capable of being stored in a snatch strap, that is being taken to its full stretch, by 2-1/2 or 3 tonnes of fast-moving 4WD.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/lifestyle/10126780/towing-death-highlights-danger/

yep there have been a few fatals over east, too - and you're right, it's often the metal bit (towball, bull bar, socket extension or whatever has been used to attach or join straps) that flies through the air at 300+ KMH when something lets go

we met Rhett late last year when we stayed at Lorella Springs after that accident had occurred (he was actually packing up shop for the year the afternoon we arrived, we would have been one of their last visitors for the year). he's heeled remarkably well, and if he hadn't of told me what had happened to him when we were there, i wouldn't have believed it by looking at him. anyone that gets the chance to stay at Lorella should do so, a great place to stay and even better hospitallity IMHO.

This has been a very sobering discussion. I too have stayed at Lorella and wish Rhett a speedy recovery. I am amazed at the photos as he seems to have great recuperative powers to look so good two weeks after the first distressing image.

I have also been interested in the comments about snatch straps. I have been involved in snatching vehicles a couple of times both as the snatcher and the snatchee and they scare me because of the forces involved. It is true that the real problem is failure of the points of attachment and the metal misiles that result when they fail. I was wondering would it be a good idea to attach a small (about a metre or so) length of rope between the loop in the snatch strap to another strong point on the car- say a convenient bit of the chassis. This bit of rope could be loosley hanging down and in the event of the anchor failing, thethers the potential misile to the car. Even if it it snaps in the process, it would still absorb a lot of the energy and the failure would be less lethal.
There is a lot of wisdom and experience on this forum. What do you think? Will this idea work?
Yabbo