Force and position sensing system for a towed vehicle

A hitching system for connecting a towed vehicle to a towing vehicle comprising:

• a connector member for engaging with a connection point on the towing vehicle;
• a shaft member connected at one end to the connector member and at a second opposing end to a main body fixed to the towed vehicle, the shaft member passes through a central recess formed in the main body;
• a plurality of sensor elements mounted to said shaft member, at least one of the sensor elements configured to measure a lateral force present in the shaft member during towing of the towed vehicle by the towing vehicle;
• and
• a computer processor mounted with respect to the towed vehicle for receiving a signal from at least one of the sensor elements representative of the measure of the lateral force present in the shaft member and processing said signal to control motion of the towed vehicle.