Unsecured load on sealed trailer

The person or driver that loaded and sealed are responsible for the load being secured properly. If in doubt send your dispatcher a message that he has to respond to BEFORE HOOKING TO THE TRAILER. Stating unable to check load seal intact seal number #####. Please respond releasing me of load responsibility before I contect to loaded trailer.

Or talk to your safety officer (since that is where they always send you anyway) and get them to write you a release of responsibility for preloaded sealed trailers. The later is what our company has done.

Once you back under it its yours, anything you do has to be done prior to hooking the trailer.

 

But, does that satisfy the DOT man ??

 

Yes, it will. Our company gives our drivers a list of the companies accepted responsibility's, brakes, load weight, sealed loads, etc..... On a company letterhead.

It matters what the judge accepts, nit what the DOT Cop accepts. Its called point of law, and as long as the carrier has accepted the responsibility the driver will not be held liable. This simply means the judge will dismiss the ticket and in case of a lawsuit there not coming after you.

Alot of what I see posted here has to do with situation I have never encountered or even seen out on the road, this is one of them.

A real seal, not one slapped on by a driver he purchased a walmart, but a seal placed by the shipper, customs, DOT stop everything.

 

Thanks PJ.

 

This is not allways true, one of my trucks hauls food grade paper products and the shipper seals the trailer and by no means can we break the seal, if we do the hole trailer has to be unloaded, desanitized and reloaded. A o/o broke a seal last week and got in a heap of trouble and had to pay to unload and reload the trailer. Its in the contract.

 

Absolutely, when ever you can secure the load well, but your are actually in violation if you break a shippers seal. I knew a driver that had blank seal and a heat gun that would mark numbers into a blank seal.

I have had dispatchers fax me permission to break the seal if I thought had a problem, Had one send back to the shipper so they could open it up (felt it shift getting onto the 710 fwy) for me to inspect, and pay me for going back. That was a HP load out of Rancho Dominguez, CA.

 

I'm glad to see DOT actually looking into vans to see how or if the material is secure.

I'm sure some if not many of you have hauled coils or some sort in a van, or atleast some material that isn't stuffed side to side in the trailer....?

How is that stuff secured? I know a place that just uses 2x4's and nails them to the floor. Well, thats all good. But what happens if the truck rolls over?.......

Here, just so you all can see!.....

Those are coils laying in that strip of grass.

 

That's why I said to call their company. If the o/o had he would have been informed of the details of the contract. It is all CYA. There are some Hazmat loads that have the trailers air sealed. If they are opened without protective gear people can be badly hurt.

 

I personally don't think coils, ingots, or even giant rolls of paper belong in a van. That being said, I've hauled them all.

The thing I think is stupid however, is that a simple load bar that only presses against the sides of the van, is considered to be secure. Even though nine times out of ten, they will be laying on the floor by the time you get to where you are going.

A van with E-track and straps is a lot better at preventing movement of the cargo, but still isn't going to prevent a coil from coming through the wall in the case of a rollover.

 

Exactly my point!

Vans should be held to the same securement standards that flatbeds are. I thought a few years ago they passed a law pertaining to this but apparently I'm wrong.