This happened yesterday in town

Straps on a load of steel ? I have seen a lot of that lately, wtf !!! And if you have various size is diameter, your supposed to throw a complete wrap around belly wrap, at least I do. And those look like those 2” straps on that load. Anyways...... RIP driver, very young driver.

 

As far as I know it's not required anymore. Back then it was.

 

You pay for laziness with your life. RIP

 

Even extremely well secured loads can shift during hard braking. This is why anybody transporting steel beams or pipe should use a truck with a headache rack, they're worth the money in the life they save could be your own.
I would never transport steel beams or pipe without a good headache racks installed on the truck it's not worth your life.

 

Looks to me like he made a good attemp to keep the beams cinched together tight. But keeping sufficient friction on the inside upper pieces to hold in an abrupt stop is hard no matter what all you do. I doubt chains would have made any difference in this ultimate outcome. However with large I-beams such as these, a chain “x-strap” can usually be put in place that will hold at least a few of the inside upper pieces that worried you the most.

If given another chance he would probably at least invest in a headache rack

 

Headache racks used to be required. About 10 years ago when the big carriers finally bought off enough people in Washington they were able to dictate their own regulations, that requirement went away.
The pic above is a truck that the driver's life was saved with the headache rack countless people have been saved by headache racks. The fact that some carriers mostly local are too cheap to invest a few dollars in a headache rack is retarded. if you're going to haul a flatbed with steel it's an absolute necessity.
I'm not saying they're foolproof but they definitely improve your chances of surviving significantly.

 

Whenever the weather cooperates, I don't even have a piece of glass between me and the load...

Properly secure the load & drive like you're supposed to and it isn't an issue.