A trailer can very easily push around a tow vehicle. That’s why all large trailers have trailer brakes. I have never looked at motorcycle trailers, but I am guessing that they don’t have brakes and depend on the motorcycle’s brakes.

I once pulled a utility trailer that didn’t have brakes behind my Jeep CJ. I about jack knifed at the first stop. The Jeep slowed down, but the trailer pushed me forward.

Sadly, I witnessed a similar accident with a motorcycle towing a trailer on a rural road in Arkansas several years ago. What happened was we were going downhill around a blind left-hand turn and there was a herd of cows crossing the road! The trailer jackknifed and the motorcycle went down. Fortunately, the rider was not badly hurt.

Sounds like the rider may have been heeled over coming around the ramp, realized he was coming too hot for the traffic stream, dynamited the rear brake and jackknifed his trailer.

Either that, or his trailer is packing more horsepower than most.

I’ll buy the jackknife theory. The story made it sound like he was riding along, slowed for traffic and the trailer “pushed the bike out from under him”. Physics says no way in that case.

Jackknife, OK, major change in direction of momentum and I can see falling off.