Trailer brake SNAFU - Boat U.S. Reports

Boat/US Magazine, Nov, 2002

Boaters with surge brakes on their boat trailers have cause to be concerned about the legality of their braking system. Surge brakes are fully contained on the trailer and not controlled from the towing vehicle. They're in common use on small trailers, however, federal regulations written for large tractor trailers are causing problems in a few states like Maryland.

After a gubematorial veto of a proposal that would have reversed the state's 30-year-old statute outlawing surge brakes, Maryland officials now say nothing has changed. So while a boater pulling a trailer with surge brakes is operating outside of the law, the advice from the state's Department of Transportation is this: be aware surge brakes don't meet requirements of being controlled from a single source.

Does this mean the thousands of boat trailers pulled in Maryland are subject to a ticket? The answer is: possibly. Will Maryland State Police pull trailer boaters over specifically to inspect for a surge brake system? No. The Maryland Department of Transportation says this entire issue will be resolved once a petition by the Surge Brake Coalition is approved, perhaps early next year.