Truck Driver Killed by his load 4-22-16

Sobering stuff. I am in the market for a flatbed and I'll tell you that after reading this thread, whatever I end up with, I'll be fabricating an over-built headboard for it.

Thanks for posting

 

Save the money and weight. Learn how to properly secure a load.

 

Not to be contrary, but the impression I'm getting is that even with a properly secured load, and proper driving technique, that certain conditions could cause the load to hit the cab.
I can't say I like the idea of being speared through the back because of an unavoidable situation with a properly secured load.

 

The ones you see in the back of the cabs and sleepers are the ones that are NOT properly secured. Nothing in this life is a given but if you want to secure say a 45k coil the only thing that is going to keep it out of the cab is having enough securement.

 

The amount and weight of the materials you would need to stop the heavy coils or I beams once they start moving would be prohibitive. It is much easier, cheaper, and lighter to stop the movement before it starts.

 

And drive according to the load on your wagon.

Years ago, my company sent me to pick up a 48000lb coil out of a ditch alongside i65 in Bowling Green. I get there, they were pulling the truck out of the ditch. They brought on a crane to pick the coil up.
The driver had pulled over onto the shoulder to piss. 30000lb truck. 48000lb coil. The coil leaned over, flipped the truck and broke the drivers leg.

Guess he. had to piss really bad.

 

Thanks guys, I get your point... I've spent a lot more time as a machinery rigger than a truck driver so my perspective comes from a place where each individual piece on the trailer is secured from forward movement.

While I have watched them go down the road a thousand times, and while I'd never really thought about it before, after this thread I'm now looking at those loads like a box of straws on it's side with a rubber band around them.
I had not considered that those loads of straws are really only secured for up/down motion and the forward motion is in the hands of friction which is coming from the securement tension?
When you're chaining machinery, even if the securements relax a little, they are still hard connected to the trailer as long as the hooks stay in place, but it just feels from looking at it that if one of those girder/rebar/pipe loads got even the slightest bit loose, that it would lose it's friction securement to the trailer and become dangerous in a hard deceleration scenario....especially the inner layers not even in contact with the straps or chains?

Put another way, I have to ask if those girders or poles or whatever were soaked in oil, if there were a greater sliding risk? I have to ask since I've never seen exactly how they are secured.
If so... I can't say I'd like the idea of something where it was even possible to move forward without physically breaking the securements, not just having them get loose.

Again, I'm not trying to be contrary, I'm just trying to learn.

 

In the case of the load in the original post, there was not nearly enough securement on the top layers. Hence the straps were cut by the movement for two reasons. Not enough straps and even more important there seemed to be no edge protection under the straps to prevent them from being cut.

Forward motion in this case is in the hands of friction so what you do is add more friction. i.e. more straps or chains.

As for machinery having slack in a chain, you do not want this to happen. One loose chain and you can have another chain snap and now you have 2 loose chains. You get the drift.

 

Years ago I was bobtailing to the hotel in Baltimore, I see one of our trks with the hood up on the north bound on ramp off of Eastern Blvd. So I was going to turn around and see if I could help
Then I see a machine sitting on the on ramp. Yep he lost it
One chain on the front and one on tbe rear. Chain popped on the back and the rest was history
I got stuck helping clean that mess up
He got mad at me when I told the company inproper chaining and was taking pics as they requested

 

At least more friction than that of the tires to the pavement, else... I get it.

Many Thanks, and I too am sad about that driver.