Use the truck itself to promote security

A new report from The Health & Safety Executive – RR1078 The use of vehicle structure in load securing on heavy goods vehicles explores how best to progress in improving load security on the road.

This has long been an area of safety focus. For many otherwise low-risk companies, the transport of goods may be their most dangerous work activity. The strength of lorry trailer structures has been identified as a significant area of concern for the transport industry. The strength of the trailer headboard, located behind the lorry cab, is of particular concern, as there have been a number of incidents where the load being carried has come through the headboard.

Securing loads for road transport is a legal requirement in the UK, and doing so helps to protect the driver of the vehicle and other road users and pedestrians during the vehicle’s journey from vehicle rollover or load detachment, and the driver and unloading personnel from the risks inherent in unloading a load that has been able to move in transit. Securing loads also helps to prevent damage to the vehicle and to the load from unintended movement. 

Load shift incidents can generally be divided into two categories: on-road incidents and workplace incidents. 

On-road incidents include: 

• Direct impact (the load strikes either another vehicle or a cyclist or pedestrian).

• Load spillage in the carriageway (loads such as loose aggregate may not cause significant issues for cars but could cause a cyclist or motorcyclist to fall or skid, resulting in an incident).

• Obstruction in the carriageway (following vehicles may take avoiding action and suffer secondary impacts with other vehicles).

Workplace incidents resulting from a load shift include: 

• Load falling from or collapsing on the vehicle when the vehicle is opened or restraints are removed for unloading.

• Fall from height or fall on the load bed during manual unloading when a prior load shift has rendered the load unsuitable for unloading by fork lift truck or similar. 

• Manual handling injuries resulting from manually unloading a collapsed load that would normally be unloaded mechanically (for example, by fork lift truck).

Devastating consequences

Any time the vehicle changes speed or direction in transit, the load carried on or within it may move relative to the vehicle unless it is secured to prevent movement. Under braking or when a vehicle is travelling downhill, a load carried on a vehicle will tend to shift towards the front of the vehicle. If there is no restraint to movement, individual items within the load area will continue to move forward at their original speed until they impact against either the structure of the vehicle or other items. Load movement can occur at low speed and in the course of normal driving, and the consequences can be devastating.

If the load begins to move sideways and is not contained by the body structure, then a significant risk of harm to other road users is created. Even small items falling from a goods vehicle could result in serious injuries to a cyclist or pedestrian. Sideways movement of the load also increases the risk of vehicle rollover. Heavy goods vehicles are inherently more vulnerable to rollover than passenger vehicles because of their higher centre of gravity. A moving load may cause the vehicle to suffer untripped rollover even at low speed. 

The transportation and storage sectors still account for the highest numbers and rates of injury for workplace transport reported to HSE under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). Even where no injuries occur as a result of load shift, incidents may carry financial and/or reputational penalties for a company.

Good practice

Existing good practice guidance issued by the Department for Transport encourages operators to secure loads through use of a “load securing system”, which typically comprises: 

• The structure of the vehicle.

• Intermediate bulkheads, chocks, cradles and similar 

• Lashings.

The role of vehicle bodies

The construction of vehicle bodies in the UK is customer-driven, with significant variety in both the construction of the body and the equipment fitted to or within the vehicle to assist with securing the load. Awareness of UK legislation in relation to load securing, the relevance of the load securing system to meeting legal obligations to secure the load, and the potential time and cost savings available when the structure of the vehicle is used as part of the load securing system, appears to be relatively low among operators in general domestic haulage.

This report suggests the concept of the load securing system, which comprises the structure of the vehicle, physical barriers to movement, and/or lashings, be given more prominence in current practice. In order to make effective use of the vehicle structure, it is important to ensure that the structure is in sound condition, and that vehicle headboards and bulkheads, in particular, are both strong enough to resist forward movement of the load and also maintained in serviceable condition to protect the driver from ingress of the load to the cab.

Significant deficiencies were noted in the awareness of both the necessity of load securing and the means by which it could be achieved amongst drivers, operators and consignors across a number of industry sectors. Amongst drivers, awareness of the personal risk they were exposed to appeared to be low. A significant number of defects were observed in vehicle headboards and headboard upright supports which had resulted from load movement, and in many cases the damage to the headboard and/or its supports was serious enough to present an immediate risk of harm to the driver.

It is suggested that operators should consider greater use of vehicle structure when planning load securing. Vehicle structure means the vehicle headboard, sidewalls if fitted, curtains if the body structure is XL-rated, side posts, or fold up sides. Use of the structure, where appropriate, can either remove or drastically reduce the need for lashings while still providing a high level of safety. Operators may see a significant time-saving through greater use of the vehicle structure, since less time will be required to lash the load.

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