dumbarse flatbed driver, musta been speeding

Born in New Bedford, MA.. I know that curve very well.

 

I hauled those out of a Cambria plant Minnesota once, I agree with what you said. If those edge protectors come out somehow it'll cut those straps like a razor

 

While normally i agree with budd on us needing far harsher punishment, i have actully hauled these slabs before and in my eyes correct punishment is going to depend on why this happened.

If it was speed and/or a poor strapjob or some other form of driver being an idoit then sure throw the book at the moron. If however it was any one of a thousand other things that can cause this type of load to fail, then the punishment should fit the crime. If the brace failed and the load was otherwise correctly secured and he took the turn at a good speed then thats the shippers fault for example.

As towards destroying the highway and damageing those cars. Youed be suprised how little it takes. Perfect example



I delivered this monster to a recycleing plant. Its 20,000 pounds all on its own. When the guy lifted it with a claw to unload it at the reciver he accidently dropped it only 6 feet up and it sunk a good 3 feet into reinforced concrete. A 46,000 pound slab hitting edge first with forward movment into soft squishy pavment? Oh that will for sure smash up the road something nasty. And if a car or multiple cars are tailgateing or speeding coming in hot.....well theres a good pileup right there if they hit chunks or the truck itself. Hit the gouge at 10 or 15 in a little sedan? Good bye axle.

 

The Minnesota accident video showed multiple cars hitting debris on the road .. people don’t pay attention and swerve around through the debris as if they found a magical lane around the stoppage.

 

"The load shifted, causing the straps to snap."

The question is, why did the load shift? We don't really know. He was cited on the inspection but we don't know the details. Could've been bad tires or a slack adjuster that was too loose or a marker light that was out. Or it could've been for improper securement.

But the bottom line is that no one got killed or even hurt, so say thanks and hope the guy learned his lesson. I'm sure it will be painful.