war1974:
I have run with steel strapped way beyond what would be classed as ‘safe’ and trust me when I had to hammer the breaks on the A1 because some ■■■■ thought the gap was big enough for his landrover to pull out slower than a tractor it moved and moved a lot.
Unfortunately what you class as safe and what someone else classes as safe can be very different things.
We do however have acknowledged/known standards for load securing such as BSEN 12195-1. This has been formulated by many ‘experts’ as a result of known scientific fact and trial and test. The standard has fact to back it up.
When a driver secures a load, if he isn’t aware of the actual recognised calculation to decide how many straps to use he resorts to experience or just a guess. Unfortunately his experience isn’t based on scientific facts or tests and trials.
If we consult BSEN 12195-1 we would find a simple calculation taking into account the weight of the load, the coefficient of friction between the load and load bed, the tension in the straps/chains, the angle they are at and the known acceleration forces that could be achieved during transport. Take all of those factors and we can scientifically calculate the numbers of lashings.
So a 2t steel girder resting on timbers loaded away from the headboard would require around 19 standard 2.5t straps to actually prevent forward movement under maximum braking if over strapped. Alternatively around 5 chains. This is way over what most people would estimate and is based on a proven scientific calculation.
The fact your load did move when you anchored on proves the point that it was not secured sufficiently for the worse case scenario. Whose fault it was matters very little if it moved far enough to enter the cab or leave the vehicle and cause a fatality.
I have lost loads and had no idea at all why. I was convinced it was chained/strapped to death and even after the biggest incident still thought something must have been faulty or - well I never really knew. Now I know the science behind it I realise it was simple maths. Not enough friction, too low a strap angle, not enough tension and far greater forces acting on the load than I thought possible.
With around 450,000 HGVs on the road and even far more vans the 22,000 or so road closures due to lost loads in a year is a tiny percentage of loads but if some of those were deaths or permanent life changing injuries then it’s no good.
Isn’t it better we avoid them if we know how and stop being ignorant to facts.
I remember arguing with the instructor on a speed awareness course. He said speed kills and I strongly disagreed but I know what he meant. If a load is secured properly it cannot injure or kill anyone.
Which would have presented loads of aggravation in the day of mostly roped loads and even often used for chained or strapped ones.
You must have a 12 inch ■■■■■