Buying a tree for Christmas? Make sure you tie that puppy onto your car real good, folks

by Cindy Smith
Editor
Education for the Driving Masses.com

It's that time year for a lot of folks like myself. Time to head out to the tree farm and cut down a real tree and cart it home.

I like a real tree at Christmas. I make up for what my parents couldn't afford when I was a kid. My parents opted for a plastic tree complete with pipe cleaner branches because it was economical and affordable. But I was always "green" with envy at the kids who got to bring home a real tree with their parents so when I was able to do it myself, I didn't hesitate.

I realize it's not for everyone but it's what makes me feel it's Christmas.

This afternoon at the tree farm, I observed other drivers strapping their trees to their cars and I was incredulous at how little any of them gave any regard to how secure that tree was once they threw their car in drive.

While heading north on the road out from the farm's driveway, I was behind a minivan carrying a family we saw earlier in the afternoon. When once both of us were cruising at the speed limit of 80 km/hr, I noticed their tree bouncing against the roof of their van and then quicker than you could say Santa, didn't that tree fly off and land onto the roadway where I had little choice but to run over it. At no time did I brake or swerve. The guy in the car behind me also saw it fly off and he swerved. Why, I don't know, but he lost control, over-corrected and came to a screeching stop halfway off the shoulder and into the ditch. Maybe he thought I was going to slam the brakes? No idea, folks. He drove away before I had a chance to ask him.

The family in the minivan was pretty upset. I pulled over to check the under carriage of my Equinox when minivan Dad joined me, asking me why I purposely drove over his tree.

"Better the tree than a head-on collision," was what I mused to him as I surveyed his now destroyed Fraser Fir. A pity really, because it's what I picked as well only his was an 8-footer and would have set him back a cool $65. I bought a 5-footer (shown all trimmed in the picture above) for $38.

I told him he really should have secured it better to his roof which I noticed had the side rails of a roof rack but no crossbars between. I don't know how he tied the tree but seeing as the string was still attached to the side rails but nothing attached to the tree, he didn't tie it tight, right or strong enough.

Who I really felt bad for were his kids and I almost, almost offered up my tree as a replacement but I stopped myself because I really had done nothing wrong. I saw the tree, I realized it was going to fly off and I was prepared to hit it instead of leaving my lane, ditching my car or slamming my brakes and causing a collision.

It's a lesson minivan Dad needed to learn. If you are going to strap anything to your car/minivan/pickup be it a mattress, plywood, drywall or Christmas tree, you must anchor the object across and head-to-toe with straps/tension belts/bungee cords or good, nylon rope being sure to tie into the object if you can for leverage.

Minivan Dad should have made sure he roped his string around the trunk of the tree and the very top and base, looping between the branches. Had he done this, he'd be trimming his tree instead of tossing it in the ditch and lamenting his losses tonight.

String isn't an option but if it's your only option, using it as a cross-strap with no looping through or around a tree is just plain negligent and you will run into trouble, especially if your loose load causes a crash or injury.

For step by step instructions on how to tie a Christmas tree to a vehicle, visit eHow.com.