"vehicle overturned ......aluminum ingots"

Improper load securement is a hidden hazard that our industry is slowly awakening too. Here is a recent incident highlighting the hazard associated with improper load securement during transportation.

A heavy vehicle overturned between the lanes, on the carriageway part of the load - made up of aluminum ingots - and long queues with a section of closed motorway. Road accident along the A4 Milan-Brescia between Bergamo and Capriate at dawn on Tuesday 7 September, 2021 along the lanes towards Milan, just before the Brianza section. MonzaToday reports it .

The request for intervention was triggered around six o'clock and at kilometer 163 the emergency vehicles of 118 rushed together with the traffic police, the motorway personnel and the men of the Aliverti workshop in Agrate Brianza, who are working for the recovery of the vehicle and restoration of traffic. The driver, a 55-year-old man, was not injured.

Autostrade per l'Italia reports over 4 kilometers of queue "flowing into one lane". After the mandatory exit of Bergamo, where you register code. For those who have to take the stretch it is advisable to anticipate the exit at Seriate, through the ordinary road system you can return to the motorway at Capriate. For long journeys, for those heading from Brescia to Milan it is advisable to take the A35. In the opposite direction, towards Brescia, for the curious there are slowdowns between Capriate and Dalmine. The staff of Autostrade per l'Italia, the Traffic Police and all emergency vehicles are present on the site of the event.

We are thankful no one was injured in this incident. No doubt in our opinion, some would say expert opinion that this incident was caused by improper load securement.

We are working on a project to highlight the hazard of improper load securement. We may ask for assistance from the readers in terms of photos, translating, etc. Our inspiration for this project was a little girl who died because a rolling ingot was improper secured on a flatbed trailer. An accident occurred and the rolling ingot came unsecure knocking the cab of the tractor off. The little girl was in the sleeping cab. She was propelled onto the highway and died. Her name was Emma and she was 5 years old. It is because of Emma and sadly numerous other fatalities of improperly loaded trailers that we are undertaking this initiative.

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