Secure your load

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
There have been many articles, in both the electronic and the printed media, in recent months about securing your load, and the consequences of loosing a load. The consequences range all the way from damaged items to potential collisions caused when vehicle following behind attempt to dodge and miss the unexpected obstruction in their lane of travel.

It was five years ago, July 2005, that RCW 46.61.655 became law. If you operate a vehicle on the highways of this state, and your vehicles carry a load of any kind; you need to understand this law and others regarding safely securing your load. This law came into being following a tragic event on Interstate 405, where the loss of a piece of furniture from a vehicle caused serious, life threatening injuries, and permanent blindness to an innocent driver. The law, is also known as the Federici Bill.

I thought, with all the media attention, and just that fact that we’ve been hearing the story for more than five years, that by now drivers would have gotten the message, and were now insuring their loads were well secured, with no chance for things to fall off, or blow out, . . . . but something I saw on Interstate 5 during the afternoon commute tells me there are still drivers “out there” who haven’t gotten the message.

While making our way through the heavy, stop-and-go traffic around the approaches to SR-16 and the construction in the Nalley Valley Viaduct area of Tacoma, we encountered what you see the photo. This little couch apparently was too large to fit inside the canopy of the compact sized pickup truck. It’s also wider than the box of the pickup truck’s box. Apparently the driver felt that a single, narrow fabric strap was sufficient to hold this bulky item . . . not INSIDE the pickup, but balanced on the tailgate.

We’re not sure what all was actually inside the little pickup box, but that, added to the weight of the couch, cantilevered out on the tailgate certainly has caused the rear of the truck to sag.

So, let’s recap all the errors:
(1) – the load is only secured with a single narrow fabric strap. The strap’s capacity and condition are unknown, not to mention the relative strength of whatever part of the vehicle the strap is attached to.
(2) - the load is so wide that the view from all three rear-view mirrors is either fully blocked or restricted in its arc of view.
(3) - the width of the couch completely blocks the tail lights, turn signals and stop lights. (4) - the load weight, and placement has altered the “balance” of the vehicle, and has caused the front tires to be lightly loaded, potentially increasing the possibility of loss of steering control particularly on a bumpy road.

Conclusion: There are just times when you need a bigger truck, and this was one of them.


To find out more take our FREE online training course.

Up to $5000 fine for the loss of a large item

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
In recent weeks, we’ve had opportunity here at ESC to focus on the necessity to secure your load, regardless of the size of the vehicle. This means that there is a possibility for damage and injury from the loss of a load, not just for commercial vehicles, but for those of us who only make an occasional trip to the local transfer station.

With this recent emphasis on secure loads, I’ve noticed an increasing number of vehicles, of all sizes, on the highways, with marginally secured loads that caused me to change lanes, to get as far away as possible. Here are the facts:

• approximately 40% of the litter on our highways comes from unsecured loads.
• Debris on the roadways are accountable for 25,000 accidents in north America, annually – causing about a hundred fatalities.
• In Washington State, road debris contribute to 400 accidents, annually.

Perhaps you’ve seen the billboards stating; “Litter and it will hurt”. Here are the real numbers:

• $216 for transporting an unsecured load.
• $103 fine for losing a small thing like a piece of paper.
• Up to $5000 for the loss of a large item.
• Loss of a load that results in property damage or in an injury may result in a fine of up to $5000 and jail time.

Don’t be like the person in the accompanying photo – secure any load you carry, to keep our roadways both safe and litter free.

Thanks to the Washington State DOE for the above statistics and the Navy Safety Center for the photo.

Road Debris

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

I commute a relatively long distance from my home to my office. While our modern highway system does a pretty good job of moving traffic, there is not a week that goes by when I don’t see at least one “situation” caused by the loss of part of the load from a vehicle. Even this morning I saw a car suddenly swerve into and back out of the next lane as they attempted to dodge heavy chunks of tree bark that was falling off of a load of logs, on a truck in the adjacent lane.

If your business operates trucks, and those trucks carry a load of some kind, you must insure that the load is secured. Sounds easy enough, but apparently this is not always the case. The photo shows a piece of debris removed from the north bound lanes of Interstate 5, in the early part of the morning commute, a few weeks ago, at the Ship Canal Bridge. Lanes on the bridge were temporarily blocked as Troopers quickly removed the over 200 pound steel ramp from the left 2 lanes, but not before nearly a dozen motorists ran over it.

Thankfully, there were no injuries as a result of the lost debris and most of the damage consisted of flat tires and bent wheels. However; the steel ramp did puncture the fuel tank of one pickup truck causing a small gas leak and fire, which was quickly contained.

The stories like this one never seem to end. Most of us “regular drivers” have our own stories of dodging debris either already on the road, or unexpectedly falling from a truck rolling along beside us. Even those weekend trips to the transfer station require that we secure our load properly so nothing escapes in route. Take a few extra moments if you are carrying a load on your vehicle to insure it is proper secured. Always keep a safe following distance (4 seconds or more behind the vehicle ahead) to insure you have adequate space and time to react in case part of their load should drop off. If you have questions regarding how best to secure your load, ESC offers a free online training.

If you have drivers working for you, or simply want to refresh your driving skills, contact ESC about our Eversafe Driving Course; do all you can to NOT become another roadway statistic.

A large “Thank You” to the Washington State Patrol for the information in this posting.

I shoulda’ got a truck

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Ah, Spring time; when something stirs inside of us and compels us to get outside and tackle some of those house and yard projects that we’ve thought about, during the winter.

A trellis of beautiful climbing flowers is often seen on the side of a house featured in one of the numerous house and garden magazines. Hmm, that doesn’t look too difficult: a few blocks of wood, a few nails and shazam – instant beautiful garden spot. Coincidentally the local home and garden store has a special sale price on that ready-made lattice – just what you need. Off the store to buy the materials. And then it dawns on you: how do I get my purchase home? It’s 4 ft by 8 ft, kind of floppy, but thankfully doesn’t weigh too much. Just strap it down to the old car roof and . . . . .

RCW 46-37.410 states; No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster, or other nontransparent material upon the front windshield, side wings, or side or rear windows of such vehicle which obstructs the driver's clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway. That sounds pretty clear to me, and the vision of the driver of the car in the photo is certainly not very clear.

If you’d like to learn more about safe driving, contact Evergreen Safety Council and ask about our Eversafe Driving Course. Offered as a workplace onsite training, ESD covers all aspects of safe driving, including securing your load.

Evergreen also offers a Free Secure Your Load online training course, which is available to anyone interested in how to safely transport their yard, debris, garbage, etc. this summer.

Securing your load

Contributed by: Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
A few weeks ago, we posted a photo of a load of bricks on the back of a truck that were apparently held on the truck by force of habit. We asked the question, “Would you want to be following behind this load?”

Here is a photo of what is commonly known as “We don’t have any rope Syndrome”. Anyone who as done so, knows mattresses are difficult to move; they’re bulky, seldom have convenient handles, and slippery – particularly when wrapped in a giant plastic bag. They are relatively light weight when compared to their surface area. . . or should I call it their “Sail area”?

There simply is no acceptable excuse for risking your life to save the price of a good, sturdy rope of sufficient length to secure the load.

If you have examples of driving behaviors similar to this, behaviors NOT to duplicate, please share them with us. If you have a desire to sharpen the driving skills of your employees, contact Evergreen Safety Council and ask about our EverSafe Driving Program. ESC also offers a free online training on how to best secure your load. In the mean time, to quote the actor Michael Conrad, “Let’s all be SAFE out there!”

Is Your Load Secured?

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Would YOU want to be driving your vehicle, and following behind this truck-load of bricks? Neither would I.

Many of us have experienced a chipped windshield due to a stone being thrown from the roadway or dropping from a loaded truck. Imagine for a moment what it would be like to have a brick crash through your windshield.

Several years ago my wife and I were driving under a high overpass when a soft-ball-sized rock came bouncing down and struck our windshield, dead center, just below the rear-view mirror. I never want to repeat that event; it was both frightening and had traffic been more congested - it would have resulted in a head-on collision, as our car crossed over the centerline momentarily before I regained control.

The rock penetrated the windshield, coming half way through and sticking there. The inner plastic layer of the safety glass worked as designed and prevented the rock from fully passing through the glass. Did that rock fall from a loaded truck crossing the overpass at the same time we were passing underneath? Could very well have been so.

Washington State Law is very clear about the responsibility of every driver to secure the load on their vehicle.

RCW 46.61.655 - Dropping load, other materials — Covering.

(1) No vehicle shall be driven or moved on any public highway unless such vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent any of its load from dropping, sifting, leaking, or otherwise escaping therefrom, except that sand may be dropped for the purpose of securing traction.

There is no distinction in the law between a load dropped from a 105,000 lb double dump truck or any one of us making that weekend trip to the local transfer station in a ½ ton pickup or towing a utility trailer, with a load of yard waste and trash. Take a word of advice and always cover and securely tie your load so nothing can be dropped, thrown or blown from the load.

If any of you have a story you’d be willing to share about lost loads, or your attempts – successful or otherwise – to avoid striking or being struck by the dropped material, please take a moment and post your story on our blog. Thanks for sharing!!!

ESC also offers a free online Secure Your Load training. It was designed to inform and protect the general public. If spring cleaning, dump runs, and hauling mulch and garden debris are in your future, take 45 minutes to protect yourself and those traveling the roads behind you.

Secure Your Load

A loose bucket rolling around I-90 was blamed for yesterday afternoon's multiple car/semi pile-up. See the news story and pictures.

Evergreen Safety Council offers a FREE online training on how to properly Secure Your Load. This 1-hour training session provides a lot of information for anyone who might be hauling items to the dump, moving furniture or carrying work supplies around in a truck bed.

With the beautiful weather we are having here in the northwest, if you are planning on taking some yard waste to the transfer station, hauling your boat with all its toys to the lake, or filling up the back of your pickup as you hit the road for the weekend - take some time out of your day to ensure you are keeping those behind you safe. It might even save you a ticket.

Report vehicles whose loads aren't secure by calling the WA State Litter Reporting Hotline: 1-866-548-8371.