"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
Yeah, horrible accidents happen. The weak-hitch-equals-death analysis
makes a pleasant fictional scene, but unconvincing as to reality.

I'm a pilot, I've written embedded avionics software for commercial
aircraft, and I've written telemetry software for the Space Shuttle... I
have a MS in CS with a minor in EE... I guess that kind of classifies me as
an engineer... If there is a way that one small thing can go wrong and end
up killing someone, it definitely will sooner or later... A weak hitch could
result in a minor wreck developing into something much worse... Maybe the
initial fault of the wreck might be someone else's, but a poor design on
your part could definitely be argued as contributing to the severity of an
accident... At the very least, you might end up with damage to your vehicle
on a minor accident that you wouldn't with a more structurally sound bumper
/ hitch attachment point... Personally, I think that you should go with a 2"
receiver hitch since it gives you a lot more options for attachments other
than just a trailer hitch... Cargo carriers, bike racks, etc... Design it
right and you have a good attachment point for tow hooks so that you can get
extracted from places that you shouldn't have gone without a winch...