Flatbedder gets fatally smushed by his steel load at a stop light in NJ.

i thought reg for steel was 2 within 5 and then every 4 feet. Maybe thats just tmc over securing, but ive always done it that way and never had a shift

 

I can't remember, when I was leased to Yellowstone Trucking they were bought by TMC, and that was one of the things they pushed on us was two in the first 5 and then every 4 after, and this was following that driver who had the load of pipe on in Chicago who rear ended a step deck that was stopped when he was doing 55, and the load of pipe came through the cab, they were using an air compressor to push pieces of him out of the pipe.

 

You can over secure all you want. You can only under secure once. I know some of TMC reg is over dot reg, but i always thought its worth the extra effort to get there in one piece.

We did 5-4 on metal
5-8 on wood
5-10 on everything else (at least 2 securment on each piece)

palatalized got 2 on first, 2 on last, one on the rest. x straps front and rear.

Steel got a bulkhead, x chained or chokes strapped/chained.

Obviosly more if weight requires it.

 

Some of you seem to know quite a lot about flat bed loads. I would like to try & ask a question. I have pulled flat beds a bit but never a product that had to be bound down. When I hauled sack cement the only thing holding it on was the trap. But the way they stacked the sack cement it rode very good. And all of our flat bed trailers had a bunks.

Several years ago I had a friend who was going home from work one day meeting a flat bed truck loaded down with 10 foot of some type siding material that was doubled stacked. It was a Georgian Pacific truck hauling Georgian Pacific product.

This happen not long after they started using nylon straps as this load of steel had.

As she met this truck in a curve some of the straps broke dumping part of the load on her car. It seriously injured this woman & her friend. Neither one of them were ever the same after this, they both got cut up very bad having hundreds of stitches along with serious back & head injuries. They were very fortunate to have survived yet were never able to work or really enjoy life anymore.

In the law suit they proved easily the nylon straps that were used were frayed & unsafe to use to secure a load. I just feel chains would be safer than straps, am I wrong?

I had a classmate that was unloading oil pipe at an oil field in Oklahoma & his load came off & crushed him to death when unloading one day. Wow, there's many dangers out there for all of us.

 

Cut off by a 4 wheeler? You can be sure that if I'm 'cut off by a 4 wheeler', my first concern is going to be for my own safety. Which means that I WILL NOT stand on my brake and risk losing control of my vehicle or my load. I will reduce the speed of my vehicle in a safe, controlled manner to attempt to avoid a collision. And I will not leave my lane to avoid conflicting traffic under any circumstances.

 

First off, anything on a flatbed needs securment. (or needs to be "bound down" i don't care what your hauling. Tarps and bungees are not securment according to DOT. I assume the sack cement was palatized? If so the first and last pallet should have gotten 2 straps over and all the rest a single strap. If dirrect loaded without pallets, they would need v boards and straps. Having a "bunk" in front doesnt keep it from falling off on turns. Unless it had walls all around, it needed securment. (side kits for tarps aren't securment either) Your so lucky you never killed someone when your unsecured load fell off on turn.

As for siding, thats a triky one. You cant use chain on certain products because it will damage them. The vinal probably had a sharp edge that cut the straps. If so, plastic edge protectors need to be used to protect the strap from the sideing. Also straps need to be inspected for any damage every time they are used and replaced if any damage is seen.

On steal, generally chains are prefered because the product is strong enough not to get damaged by them. If you do use any straps, edge protection is required on any sharp edges.

as for the oil pipe, he should not have been anywhere near it durring unloading. If it was gonna roll do to unstrapping he shoudl have been on the up hill side and a forklift or crain or whatever should have held it as he removed secuerment.

 

When you are dealing with loads of sacks, really if you get in a wreck, they are going everywhere, it makes a huge huge mess.

Having a tarp on them will mitigate some of that, but still won't stop it.

When securing pallets of stacked sacks really you can get away with the first two, the last one and then every other if you are tarping them.

If you are hauling pipe you need to have pipe stakes, otherwise its just a death trap as soon as you break the securement loose; and not just a couple of 2x4's shoved in the stake pockets, I am talking an actual stake pocket made of steel tubing that connects to both the rub rail and frame of the trailer that has a steel tube stake that is constructed of heavy wall material like 1/4" or better.

 

not according to DOT. tarp protects the load...it does not secure it

 

I am not talking as per DOT regs, I am saying in an accident a tarp will slow the burst sacks down, won't stop them.

I know good and well a tarp is not securement gear.

 

Some people don't have a complete and full grasp of the English language, for instance, some don't know the meaning of the word "mitigate" and are quick to "correct" something that was never said. Many on this forum are intelligent and respectful, others? not so much.

I agree, with some loads, tarps [well applied] can make a HUGE difference in terms of product containment in the event of an accident.