Yellow shirts require lessons in securing loads

isnt it also a fact that men who ride bmws sitt down to pee?

more proof that it is actually dangerous on the roads, who woulda thought hey..

A friend of mine was pulled over and fined when the truck he was driving (full of chopped up buts of tree) lost a quite small branch off the back. But I think that is because they take industrial* situations more seriously then the average grandad on his way to mugga lane on a Sunday arvo.

* – industrial does not include plumbers utes obviously.

I agree, a blown load can be dangerous for all involved.
Gold!

I had a wheelbarrow exit the back of a tradies ute on Majura Rd, whilst I was riding my motorbike to work.

Gave me a hell of a fright, I can tell you. I caught up with the bloke and he was a) obvlivious that it happened and b) quite apologetic. It’s a pity that if it had of got me, a) would have meant he wouldn’t have been b).

RandomPoster said :

…A few months back my wife encountered a kitchen sink on the parkway…

So, did she stop and do the dishes?

AG Canberra said :

…I hit a sheep once – just before I hit it the woolly thing, she had beeen happily travelling in a tarp covered cage on the back of ute….The door sprung open and out she fell…

Did the troopers come and get you for killing the jumbuck?

maintain an appropriate gap to the vehicle in front

Agree, but doesn’t help when the trailer comes from behind you (or crosses into traffic heading the other way!)

I once saw a large piece of concrete fly out of the back of a cement truck (the gutter part that the cement pours down) whilst it was travelling around the roundabout on the Barton Highway.
The driver didn’t seem to notice it but the lady sitting in the car it somehow missed certainly did.

I agree, a blown load can be dangerous for all involved.

We once had to dodge a fridge bouncing down the freeway having fallen off the back of a poorly secured ute. Once the terror had subsided we all agreed it was actually very funny.

Yes, Astro is right, if you keep 5 car lengths between you and the car in front, then a rampaging trailer poses no risk 😛

abs isn’t standard on new bmw’s?? ffs…

this is far too typical, though (on topic) but says much for the encouragement to maintain an appropriate gap to the vehicle in front. tailgaters getting what’s coming, eh? (let’s hope, madocci, things do come in threes and mr madocci stays upright a while longer yet!)

Yes they do happen often. Yes they can be and are fatal, a friend of mines uncle was killed when a piece of rubble fell from a tip truck and went through his windscreen.

Yes it does get policed but not often. Years ago I rode my bike to a friends house and he droped me home with the bike in his trailer. The bike was not tied into the trailer (yes I admit it was stupid) and a passing Mr Plod stopped us and gave us a large fine, I think about $600 which back in the day was a lot.

About 6 months ago I went to the Mitchell tip and there were inspectors checking trailer rego and that loads were secured. I saw them issue a few fines.

I hit a sheep once – just before I hit it the woolly thing, she had beeen happily travelling in a tarp covered cage on the back of ute….The door sprung open and out she fell. Her mates looked on in horror – as I did when I smacked into her and turned her into lamb roast…..

Yep securing a load is nothing to be taken lightly – problem is that “she’ll be right” seems to overide basic common sense.

When you come up with a design for an automatic badly-secured-load-detecting camera, let us know.

Igglepiggle

My son totally loves you, man.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

To the gent in the green Landrover who lost his matching green trailer at the top of Erindale Drive on the weekend – the whole trailer, bouncing six feet in the air, then careening back and forth over three lanes before finally coming to rest on the traffic island – you’re very, very lucky. A few seconds either way and things would have been very different.

Sweet jesus. The fact that no one was hurt is unbelievable.

About 15 years ago my mum hit a couch on the parkway. It had fallen off a truck who obviously didn’t notice and kept going. Destroyed the front of our car, but it made quite the story for me at school the next day…

I was the second car behind a ute losing several long pieces of timber at 90km/hr on William Hovell Drive northbound about 10am this morning. Some more thought in securing them before take off would have saved a few people a “life flashing before your eyes” moment

I was under the impression that you could be fined for having an uncovered and loose load as it presents an obvious danger to others on the road. I recommend taking down their details and reporting it to the Police or to the company in question.

To the gent in the green Landrover who lost his matching green trailer at the top of Erindale Drive on the weekend – the whole trailer, bouncing six feet in the air, then careening back and forth over three lanes before finally coming to rest on the traffic island – you’re very, very lucky. A few seconds either way and things would have been very different.

It’s good to hear your man wasn’t hurt in those incidents.

1. Is anyone policing the tying down of loads? If so, there obviously isn’t a great enough deterrent occurring. All the emphasis on ridiculous speed cameras etc with no emphasis on other types of road safety indicates even more that it is simply revenue raising. How about an education campaign for how to secure down loads properly?

You’re assuming there’s money to be made in the policing of loads being tied down, and there’s not. Politically, anyone who talked about cracking down on tradies not securing their utes could probably be laughed out of office, and the coppers aren’t going to worry about it. Speed cameras are easy, they don’t discriminate (except against speeders), and more important, they bring in free money.

Something needs to be done to improve the situation. A few months back my wife encountered a kitchen sink on the parkway. Not good at the best of times, but significantly worse at peak times.

That’s some scary stuff. I never even thought of something like that when I was riding. Then again I never road behind a ute.

I can’t think of anything that would preclude that from being an act of negligence, however I haven’t looked into the ACT situation in a very very long time.