Before you hit the road, you should always use the appropriate
load restraint equipment to ensure that whatever you're carrying stays put for the duration of the journey. This is particularly important for heavy loads, of course, but it applies to loads of
all sizes over journeys of
any length. Whether you're hauling a tonne of bricks from Land's End to John O'Groats or simply forklifting a few pallets to the other end of the warehouse, securing the load should always be your top priority.
Otherwise, you might end up like the motorists in these videos...
1. Shelves come loose from trailer
Everything seems fine in the first 15 seconds of this video...but then the flimsy length of tape that was barely keeping those shelves on the trailer broke, and it all went rather wrong. Again, kudos to the motorist who filmed this - not everyone would be able to get out of harm's way that quickly!
2. Boxes take a high-speed tumble
The text at the start of this video tells us that the camera's owner was doing 100 kph (roughly 62mph) when their fellow motorist lost their load, and this really illustrates the importance of using the right load restraint equipment. If your car hits something at more than 60mph, it doesn't really matter what that something is - it's going to do a lot of damage!
We're not entirely sure how those two mattresses ended up in mid-air, but we're almost certain it could have been prevented if the owner had strapped them down properly!
4. Huge crate slides off lorry
Okay, now we're just lost for words. Do these people not think to secure their loads at all? Do they think that everything will just magically stay put?
If you don't want your load to end up on YouTube, make sure you secure it with the correct load restraint equipment. It will prevent damage and - more importantly - save lives!