Refused my first load today

The shipper refused to place them against each other and didn't provide vertical bracing. I asked if I could grab broken boards to stack up and create bracing and they agreed but then started to complain about how much I needed. So I told them if they would just provide proper vertical bracing then it wouldn't require a quarter of what I needed. The supervisor then said they ship it like this all the time. He didn't like it when I told him that they are shipping it illegal and unsafe all the time. I even offered to show him pictures of what would happen in a hard brake. He then offered to just take the load off instead of working with me and I said fine by me.

I was able to get ahold of my operations manager and sent him these pictures. He reassured me that I'm the expert not him and that he supports my decision but even he as ignorant on flatbed securement as he is could see that there'd be nothing holding the middle bundles down.

 

Mostly for my quick reference the regulation that covers this is 393.106 (c)(2)(i) and (ii)

 

The reason they gave is because some of their customers use chains and overhead cranes to unload. Which I told them is fine all it takes is a few 2X4s and nails and you have that space and the load is legal.

 

Shoot if nothing bad happens and I just get caught it's an unsecured load violation plus I bet my company would have to have a forklift or wrecker come out to fix the load. If I left the shipper with it the cost ought to be mine to bear since I'm supposed to know what I'm doing and not accept a load like that. I wasn't willing to die or pay for it so f em.