Unseen Hazards In Repetitive Tasks - Trailer Hitch

“Done this task a hundred times & without getting hurt, didn’t even see the hazard- Thank you luck filter….”

“I was un-hitching the Pintle Hitch on my gravel trailer from my truck at home and the way it was positioned on uneven ground there was an upward strain against the top of coupling on the hitch. As soon as I released the tab to uncouple the hitch the strain and stored energy in the trailer tongue shot upforcing the pintle jaw to the “wide open“ position.  I reacted quickly and threw my hand up out of the way (‘cat like reflexes ... a lesser man would have been hurt J’). Actually, its only because my hand wasn’t wrapped around the lever that I managed to get my fingers clear with only a minor scrape.  I now realize how bad this could have been. That style of hitch is an ‘amputation point’ and if my hand had been caught, I would have been pinned in there screaming for help. My potential rescuer (my wife in this case) would have to put 12000 lbs on the front of my trailer to get me released if my fingers weren’t already severed. She would have to do this all while screaming and freaking out with me in excruciating pain. I would have had to hope that someone would have called for additional help to rescue me all the while being fully aware that my children would have been watching helplessly. It made me sick to my stomach that it could have played out this way. I continue to re-play out the 4 or 5 outcomes that could have potentially happened that evening and I wouldn’t want that to happen to anyone!”