The Truckers’ Report flatbed Hall of Shame.

How much tuime and money u spend trying to fight a ticket? Let me ask u wat is the point of cutting corners on securemsnt ?

In this industry you are guilty until prove innocent . If you aren't covering your ### 16 ways to one you are playing a losing game .

I can secure 16 pallets of bagged gravel in less than 10 minutes .. so what are we really gaining here ? Seems dumb to me but so be it .

I have been in a rollover wreck and none of my freight moved an inch because it was properly secured. Maybe u will claims you is secured as well but in a wreck ur #### is going to go flying and most likely kill someone.. maybe u could drive 50 years and never have a problem . Maybe you won't. Noone ever knows until it happens .
Me personally I could never live with myself knowing I could be done more to prevent a loss of life but maybe that's just me.

 

Some guys act like it takes an act of congress to throw a couple straps . Pretty pathetic in my opinion. No wonder why everyone thinks we are all ignorant apes

 

What were you hauling when you rolled? I’d bet it wasn’t bagged gravel or grass seed. That #### will be every where if #### hits the fan, straps or no straps.

 

The point is he has the equipment and chooses not to use them out if pure laziness. Just because something is legal doesn't make it safe. I u derstamd there is plenty of guys out here that don't have a conscious.

Amd to answer your question I was hauling loose rock on pallets.

 

If it's on my trailer it gets strapped no matter what the load is. I have never hauled and never will haul an unstrapped load.It is NEVER worth being lazy any length of time if it is going to put lives at risk. Like the recent two plane crashes. Would you rather get on an airplane and never be seen again? Or would you rather drive a thousand times round the earth and be perfectly safe? Think about the damage and destruction you can cause going down the road unstrapped.

 

depends on who ya hit or kill and how personal a particular family member took it if it was determined that a strap would have prevented their loved one's injury or death . Might be only a wrongful death suit , might have you stairing down the working end of a hole puncher .

 

The cop was right. The court was wrong. The curtain and poles may be strong enough to qualify, but a pallet load is still required to be secured to prevent affecting the vehicle's performance. ie if that load starts tipping, regardless if it will break through the curtain/poles, it still affects the driving characteristics of the vehicle and can topple it, which is the reason for the securement to keep the load immobile.

49 CFR 393.100(c)​

In your follow up argument, vans don't have to do it....well, actually they do. That their loads do not get opened and inspected as say, a flatbed load may; if pulled over and required to open their seals, they still can be cited for improper securement of a load if it is not, properly situated inside the van, strapped, blocked or otherwise immobilized as required by the FMCSA/DOT securement regulations.

49 CFR 393.106(c)​

Also, this section is pretty specific that any and all of these listed devices should/may be used to secure loads even inside of structures of adequate strength:

49 CFR 393.106(b)​

I've driven vans OTR and local, and specific freight, regardless of the structure strength, still must be secured to prevent affecting the performance of the vehicle. Their freight is still required to be secured against movement, either by keeping freight against each other and secured from forward, backward and sideward movement inside of the container (van/curtain van) itself. They have inflatable air bags to go between and around freight to keep it packed tightly, so it doesn't move, it uses blocking, strapping, load bars...etc, all to prevent the freight itself from moving inside (on top, for flatbed) the vehicle. Why? Because not only does the load need to be secured to keep it inside of the vehicle's parameters, it is required to be secured to prevent it's movement from affecting the driving characteristics and performance of the vehicle itself.

Consider yourself lucky you got a DUMB JUDGE, but don't make the mistake of thinking your statement of operation is in any way legitimate. Your luck, as it were, could very well run out, should you continue to ignore the plain written law that rules your industry. D.Tibbitt is absolutely correct in his warning to you. Had someone died as a result of your negligence, I can assure you, the lawyer and judge would make you see the error of your assumption.

 

Western has made a curtain with load bearing sides for years, and a regular curtain with buckles ain’t it.