Ensure that all the loads transported are safely secured!!

September 30, 2018

Too often do we find lost loads contributing to road crashes in South Africa. Not only do these loads fall onto other vehicles but also create a significant collision hazard for other road users. Poor packaging and poor strapping have been found to be the most likely factors to cause loads shifting.

Section 49 of the National Road Traffic Act makes it the responsibility of the operator to ensure he conducts his business safely. Regulation 246 governs the manner by which loads should be transported!

This includes requirements such as:

A load may not come into contact with the surface of a public road.
The load may not obscure the driver’s view of traffic to the front, the side or via mirrors of traffic to the rear.
A load must be safely contained within the body of such vehicle or securely fastened to such vehicle.
Containers must be safely fastened by at least 4 twist-locks

On the Arrive Alive website, we find more information on how transport operators ensure that loads are safely secured. Barloworld Transport offered some guidance as to the operational systems in place for the safe transport of loads.

Some of the insights shared include the following:

It is the driver’s duty to monitor their loads during transit. In some cases, especially with bagged products (such as cement), drivers will need to re-secure the straps as the product settles while in transit.
In the event that a driver detects that a load has shifted, it will be reported to the Operations Manager whom in turn reports to our workshops, who then arranges service providers nearby the truck to assist.

It is important to recognize that modern technology also offers tools for global cargo and fleet monitoring business such as through active RFID Asset Tracking. This offers customers further control on the status of their cargo’s journey – from the planning phase to loading, tagging, reconciling, delivery and issuing of instant POD’s to customers as proof of delivery.

With cameras outside and inside containers, it is also possible to quickly detect once loads have shifted during transport.

Advice on Safely Securing Loads during Transport https://t.co/TcXg90biBD #ArriveAlive #SecuringLoads pic.twitter.com/VaI1wdyZR1

— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) September 30, 2018