"19 tons ...overturned when leaving a roundabout"

The proper load securement of material to and from our plants is a hidden hazard. There are countless number of incidents that injure and kill truck drivers, nearby motorists and pedestrians. Here is a recent incident highlighting this hazard.

 

A trailer carrying at least 19 tons of aluminum bales overturned when leaving a roundabout on (street name omitted), behind a shopping mall, in the (name omitted) neighborhood.

 

The event occurred this Thursday, so paramedics arrived who provided first aid and ruled out injured people, while municipal police from nearby city came to take cognizance of the traffic event.

 

According to the authorities, the heavy vehicle was heading towards (town name omitted) when apparently when "banqueting", the weight of the load overcame it and it ended up on its side.

 

Uniformed officers interrogated the driver of the unit, who did not present any injuries as well as his companion.

 

Workers from a crane company arrived at the site to straighten the unit, while the aluminum pieces that ended up on the median were transferred to another cargo truck.

 

Due to the mishap, traffic in the direction of (town name omitted) was closed to traffic while the emergency was attended.

 

We are thankful that no one was injured in this incident. What caught our attention was the lack of strapping to the aluminium bales in the boxed trailer.

 

This is a common incident when truckers do not properly secure the load onto the deck of the box trailer. Aluminium companies need to ensure that all loads that enter and exit their workplaces are properly secured to the deck of the trailer. We feel the load shifted resulting in the trailer falling over on the turn.

As more and more roundabouts are constructed throughout the globe. It is very important that aluminium plants know where any roundabouts are in the vicinity to their plant. If roundabouts are nearby, aluminium companies should review their outgoing shipments and if necessary direct the trucks away from any roundabouts.

Companies ask, "how can we ensure that outgoing loads are properly secured to the trailer deck/bed?" Easy, do not give the shipping paperwork to the trucker until the load is properly secured and aluminium company personnel have inspected the load. As soon as you give the shipping paperwork your workplace has lost control of the shipment.

 

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