Youtuber Follies

The load moved so obviously there was not enough securement. Only 3 straps over the top piece on what looks like a 60+ft long conveyor? Should ideally have at least 7 that go over the top. This is the kind of load where 2 inch ratchet straps can really come in handy. Use them to pull forward and backward against those vertical braces on the side of each layer and they would've never slid forward. It takes very little to keep things from moving. Stopping them once they've started though can be nearly impossible ifthey get enough momentum going. That smooth paint with nothing between the pieces gives essentially 0 friction. Same for those straps over the top on smooth paint.

Headache racks or bulkheads haven't been required for a very long time. I ran my last truck for 6 years without one. A lot of people don't run them. If you secure your freight properly you shouldn't need to worry about it hitting the back of the cab.

 

I saw that awhile back. No there was not enough securement. But to her defense , she used every available winch on her trailer. Can only work with what ya got. That's the type of a #### a driver needs to put their foot down and let the company know they don't have enough equipment to do the job properly and safely.

 

An aluminum headache rack isn't going to stop anything anyway.

 

She should have spent more time learning her load, instead of narrating to the camera. She had no idea the length of overhangs she had, whether they were legal, and whether she had sufficient securement to start with. But to your points...
1) No.
2) Not needed, and if there, she would have not been able to take that load, because they overhung the front and back.
3) Company's fault, in my opinion, sending her without training in something as simple as installing load levellers, OS/OW book and apparently, just simple securement rules.

Since the front was overhanging by 3 feet, and the front deck is minimum 10' on a 48' trailer, that means she had minimum of 13' to secure which requires 3 straps to start, let alone an additional one depending on height, not number of levels. Since the trailer height on top deck is 5', and the top of the truck with full sleeper tends to be 13'4", that means this load is at least 8 feet tall, and regs says that if it's over 6 feet it needs to be secured short of the third tier as well as the top.

49 CFR 393.118(d)(3)(iv)(B)
(2)

(i) If there are more than 3 tiers, then one of the middle bundles and the top bundle must be secured by tiedown devices in accordance with the general provision of §§ 393.100 through 393.114, and the maximum height for the middle tier that must be secured may not exceed 6 feet above the deck of the trailer; or

(ii) Otherwise, the second tier from the bottom must be secured in accordance with the general provisions of §§ 393.100 through 393.114; or​

In the first area of that deck, she should have had 2 straps through the 2nd tier, and 3 over the top for a total of 5 straps through and over. That more than likely would have kept it from moving. If she didn't have the needed equipment she needed to properly secure the load, she shouldn't have moved it. She's lucky on this one, that's for sure, but she won't always have that luck going for her.

 

And no flags on the front of the vehicle?

Cold metal on metal is gonna move no matter how many straps you put on it unless you secure to something vertical pulling it back. I haven't been pulling open deck all that long and I know that, kinda common sense...oh yeah, a lot of modern drivers today don't possess that and you can't teach common sense.

I subscribe to a couple open deck YouTube drivers, but I definitely couldn't watch her channel...the chick is annoying.

 

The regulation you quoted applies to bundled building materials like lumber, sheet rock, or plywood. Not applicable. General securement rules apply.


393.118 What are the rules for securing dressed lumber or similar building products?
(a) Applicability. The rules in this section apply to the transportation of bundles of dressed lumber, packagedlumber, building products such as plywood, gypsum board or other materials of similar shape. Lumber or building products which are not bundled or packaged must be treated as loose items and transported in accordance with §§ 393.100 through 393.114 of this subpart. For the purpose of this section, “bundle” refers to packages of lumber, building materials or similar products which are unitized for securement as a single article of cargo.

 

This was the worst cringiest video I have ever seen. I understand not knowing how to do stuff but clearly she has zero knowledge.

I stopped watching when she said a tow truck had to bring her straps. I would have dropped trailer and bobtailed to buy straps and would have zero issues. She said she chained bottom ones. Why couldn’t she chain the top ones too?

 

Apparently, playing the Dumb Female role gets her the attention and the validation she needs.

 

I didn’t watch the whole video. Companies like hers should be held accountable when they send people with no idea out to haul open deck loads. It’s clear she either has no clue about basic securement regulations, or flat out doesn’t care.

everyone involved with that load should consider themselves lucky that load shifted before she made it to the highway. That could have been deadly.