Spare Tire problems of the 2000 Chevrolet C2500

I was driving into the driveway at home and noticed a noise behind Chevrolet 2000g high top conversion van. I didn't see anything initially from the rear view mirrors. I later discovered the spare tire was lying in the street. The steel cable that held it up at the bottom of the van broke completely. I was lucky it happened in our driveway. If we were going down an interstate it could cause a serious accident if someone were following me very close. I wonder if anyone else have reported this incident. There appeared to be no other mechanism attached to keep the spare tire from falling off. I now have a new one on order. If the safety department was interested I would ask the dealer to keep that steel cable that broke.