Be honest. Do you wear your seat belt in the back of the ambulance?

[abckidsmom]

So you're saying that if I grab the cot to help stabilize myself then that extra force from my hand may increase the force on the cot thereby breaking it loose?

Yes. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It's pretty much a rule.

You're not "stabilizing yourself" you're distributing force. It adds to the load on the cot. Quite a bit if you go flying but hold on to the cot.