Anti Recoil Safety Strap

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I was reading a Safety Alert published by DEC (dated 9/8/11) regarding Snatch Straps. I don't have a link but do have it in PDF format. I've tried to attach it but unfortunately the file size is too big. As a result of an accident where a Snatch Strap broke and flew through the windscreen of the vehicle being recovered, DEC has now banned the use of Snatch Straps unless they are fitted with Anti Recoil Safety Straps.

I've looked into these and found a couple of places selling them - see photo's below:





I'm getting a quote to have Anti Recoil Safety Straps added to existing straps for myself and local friends through a work contact. Has anyone had any experience of using these? Also, I'm not 100% sure of how adding these Safety Straps will affect the integrity of Snatch straps - attaching a new webbing strap to what is effectively an elastic strap. Any thoughts on this would also be appreciated.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Further to this - here is a quote from the Hazard Alert:

"All snatch straps must be fitted with an ANTI RECOIL SAFETY STRAP all DEC heavy fleet straps should have them, should the strap or mounting point fail this anti recoil safety strap will stop the recoil.
Straps not fitted with the anti recoil safety strap are to be sent to Fleet Section for modification and inspection."

From this I take it that DEC are modifying their straps, so sounds like this is an OK thing to do.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Who is DEC?

Are they a bunch of DECS if there is more than one?

Are strap ons and DECS were mutually exclusive?

On a serious note, The dampner bags/blankets etc would have to be more effective than these straps surely.

[eatlovelearn Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eatlovelearn]

ive never had a problem with mine , although i have kept it clean and dry after every use and havnt over used it .
by the looks of the pic , it would all depend upon where it actually broke as to whether the recoil straps worked or not ?
just my opinion .
i think the question has to be asked is , what the hell were they doing with it ?

D E C = Does Everyone Comply

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

DEC = Department of Environment & Conservation.

I believe they are recommending these in addition to dampener blankets.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

i think the question has to be asked is , what the hell were they doing with it ?

Pretty extreme use:

"Using a Snatch Strap to recover a bogged grader (external agency) the snatch strap was torn apart resulting in one half of the snatch strap ricocheting back into the windscreen of the grader. The operator of the grader suffered severe eye injuries from glass impact."

"Damage caused by the snatch strap torn apart and ricocheting back into the graders windscreen. The operator of the grader suffered severe eye injuries from glass impact."

The strap broke at the eye which is supposed to be the normal point of failure for snatch straps.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Graders start at about 15t I thought so it is pretty extreme...

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Graders start at about 15t I thought so it is pretty extreme...

About a year or so ago I got a 45 tonne truck and trailer combo bogged, I ended up getting a 14H grader to recover me, we used 2x40tonne snatch straps, fortunately we were able to do it without actually snatching as such.

Then only a couple of months ago I used a 966 cat loader to recover a bogged B double approx 68 tonne. No snatch strap this time, all we had was a piece of boat anchor chain! Got some crappy pics of that one on my phone, no idea how to get them from the phone to the computer though.

In extreme situations like this extra precautions would seem appropriate, the safety straps seem like a good idea for extreme recoveries, however I wouldn't mind betting that in the incident refered to above the dampners (if any) fitted to the strap were probably inadequate.

Cheers Andrew