Properly Securing Your Freight: A Matter of Life or Death

[Lawrence]

I really hate to read stories like this when most times these types of accidents are preventable.

From what I read the guy didn't have a Headache Rack nor did he properly brace it to prevent forward motion. This happened near Angola, IN on US 20.

Truck driver killed after load comes loose

 

[LDB]

Very sad. Yes, it can be life and death. It can also be a source of additional jobs and revenue. Do a really good job securing the freight and it's possible the shipper and/or the receiver will notice and request you handle their loads in the future. It happened for both myself and one of my teams on multiple occasions.

 

[geo]

when looking at a load it is like thinking how are you going to paint a picture
find points to secure the load to
how I did it when I had my straight trucks was make a x front and back, then take a tie down and connect in middle, so it would not move forward or side to side
if you prepare it right before you go down the road you only have to check only to tight it up
when i had the rollers in my sprinter only had to make sure it didn't roll back and force
because if you didn't do it right be like water rolling back and force
found out first time, you learn so much by accident

 

[Treadmill]

when looking at a load it is like thinking how are you going to paint a picture
find points to secure the load to
how I did it when I had my straight trucks was make a x front and back, then take a tie down and connect in middle, so it would not move forward or side to side
if you prepare it right before you go down the road you only have to check only to tight it up
when i had the rollers in my sprinter only had to make sure it didn't roll back and force
because if you didn't do it right be like water rolling back and force
found out first time, you learn so much by accident

Hopefully you didn't have one.

 

[redytrk]

Reminds me of a expediter I met on a dock one time. (Not our company).He explained this was his second truck. His first truck was totaled because a "stupid" fork lift driver only put a 2K skid on the tail. That skid proceded forward at the first traffic light and wound up in the cab beside him. He was still blaming the fork lift driver.

 

[Moot]

I don't suppose a headache rack would have helped much, if he had one, once the bundle of pipe got some momentum. A headboard on the trailer probably would have prevented the bundle of pipe from moving forward if it was loaded directly against it. I don't see many flats with OEM headboards any more.

 

[geo]

if you keep load from moving any way that half of battle

 

[Moot]

if you keep load from moving any way that half of battle

I agree! More than half the battle. Being that these pipes were bundled, if 2 straps or chains were crossed from the rub rails across the front of the load, maybe the load would not have penetrated the tractor. Maybe?

 

[Ragman]