Safety Tips an Recommendations
10 Common Sense Rules for Hauling
- Secure everything properly, even groceries. Buy the Cargo SafetyWeb before loading anything into an empty truck or trailer bed. Always keep your Cargo SafetyWeb in your vehicle at all times—you never know when you’ll need it. Have any passengers help watch the load for safety.
- Never let anyone attempt to act as a tie-down by holding on to cargo while riding in a SUV or pick up truck during transport.
- Check the condition and weight limits of the vehicles tires.
- Do not overload them.
- Be sure tires are properly inflated within their stated capacity.
- Know how much weight you hauling and whether it is within the limits of the vehicle.
- Install suitable overload springs if needed.
- Distribute weight evenly as much as possible. Be sure the load is properly supported. Loading weight to the rear effects steering and handling. Do not exceed the vehicle manufacturer’s total weight limits as outlined in the owner’s manual.
- Cover everything that could blow out of the cargo area. Driving creates lift to unsecured items. Protect others on the road from flying materials and the dangerous evasive maneuvers that other drivers may have to make to avoid road debris.
- Secure a bright red flag to loads that extend 3’ beyond your vehicle bumper.
- Hitch trailers properly. Use safety chains and verify tongue weight as well as hitch capacity. Be sure all lights are working properly and that any required brakes are in working order.
- Drive slowly to reduce lift and load shifting from sudden stops, turns and bumps. Adding weight increases braking distance. Be particularly alert for the need to brake hard or turn suddenly will cause the loads to shift. Watch for wind, wind shifts and the buffeting of semis as you meet them. Shifting cargo can cause distractions and lead to accidents.
- Don’t leave open hard tonneau lids or cap doors to accommodate loads. Remove them before hauling oversize loads, and then anchor loads properly.
- Ask for professional assistance if you have any doubt about the safety of your load. If a load falls onto the freeway, don’t try to retrieve it yourself. Call the highway patrol for help. The life you save may be your own!
Recommendations
Trucks and open-bed trailers
Cargo should always be secured to the vehicle using the Cargo SafetyWeb or Cargo Net. Cargo safety is a driver responsibility. Cargo that falls onto roadway creates an immediate hazard to other motorist and motorcyclist. Remember, drivers who lose a load are legally liable and may face stiff fines, jail time or possibly a lawsuit for negligence. Take a few minutes to secure loads properly.
Sport utility and crossover vehicles
Secure cargo to the luggage rack or the vehicle interior floorboard using the Cargo SportWeb. Even if you are driving 35 miles per hour, unsecured cargo can become airborne in the passenger cabin. For instance, an ice chest may become a projectile during a sudden stop or unavoidable rollover accident.
Vans and station wagons
Secure cargo to either the luggage rack or the vehicle interior floorboard using the Cargo SportWeb, Cargo Net or Cargo SafetyWeb. Even if you are driving 35 miles per hour, unsecured cargo can become airborne in the passenger cabin. For instance, an ice chest may become a projectile during a sudden stop rollover accident.
Secured Load Laws of All 50 States
State |
Law |
Reference |
Fine |
Alabama |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural loads. |
$500 |
|
Alaska |
Applies to all motor vehicles except agricultural, mining, and timber. |
$1000 + litter pickup |
|
Arizona |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural loads. |
$250-1000 |
|
Arkansas |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying rock, sand, or gravel. |
None found. |
|
California |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural and food processing products. |
None found. |
|
Colorado |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$45-700 |
|
Connecticut |
Applies to all motor vehicles except farming vehicles. |
$35-100 |
|
Delaware |
None found. |
|
|
District of Columbia |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$500 |
|
Florida |
Applies to all motor vehicles except farming vehicles. |
$500 and/or jail time |
|
Georgia |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural, silvicultural, or forest products. |
$1000 and/or 1 year jail time |
|
Hawaii |
Applies to all motor vehicles except agricultural vehicles, vehicles carrying birds with feathers, and vehicles carrying rocks, sand, or gravel. |
$250-1000 + jail time |
|
Idaho |
None found. |
|
|
Illinois |
None found. |
|
|
Indiana |
None found. |
|
|
Iowa |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying hay or stover. |
$100 |
|
Kansas |
Applies to all motor vehicles except trailers and semi-trailers carrying livestock. |
None found. |
|
Kentucky |
None found. |
|
|
Louisiana |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$500 and/or 6 months jail time |
|
Maine |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying hay, straw, vines, cornstalks, or grain. |
$150-500 |
|
Maryland |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural products. |
None found. |
|
Massachusetts |
None found. |
|
|
Michigan |
Applies to all motor vehicles except agricultural andhorticultural vehicles. |
$500 and/or 90 days jail time |
|
Minnesota |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying agricultural products such as grains, shelled corn, soybeans, or other farm produce; or sand, gravel, aggregate, dirt, lime rock, silica, or similar material. |
None found. |
|
Mississippi |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$100-500 and/or jail time |
|
Missouri |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$50 |
|
Montana |
Applies to motor vehicles carrying solid waste except commercial motor and agricultural vehicles. |
None found. |
|
Nebraska |
None found. |
|
|
Nevada |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those containing radioactive waste. |
None found. |
|
New Hampshire |
Applies to motor trucks, trailers, semi-trailers; junk motor vehicles; construction vehicles; and other commercial vehicles. |
None found. |
|
New Jersey |
Applies to all motor vehicles except agricultural vehicles. |
$500 |
|
New Mexico |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$0-300 and/or jail time |
|
New York |
None found. |
|
|
North Carolina |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$200 |
|
North Dakota |
None found. |
|
|
Ohio |
Applies to all motor vehicles except agricultural and garbage vehicles. |
$500 and jail time |
|
Oklahoma |
Applies to all vehicles. |
$117 |
|
Oregon |
None found. |
|
|
Pennsylvania |
Applies to all motor vehicles except logging and garbage trucks, and feathers from slaughter vehicles. |
$100-1000 |
|
Rhode Island |
Applies to all motor vehicles except logging trucks or those carrying wood, lumber, or sawmill wastes. |
$100-500 |
|
South Carolina |
Applies to all motor vehicles except those carrying rock, gravel, stone, or similar substances. |
$100 |
|
South Dakota |
None found. |
|
|
Tennessee |
Applies to trucks with open beds for public use except vehicles carrying farm produce to the market. |
None found. |
|
Texas |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$25-500 |
|
Utah |
Applies to all motor vehicles except vehicles carrying dirt, sand, gravel, rock fragments, pebbles, crushed base, aggregate, any other similar material, or scrap metal. |
None found. |
|
Vermont |
Applies to private motor vehicles; trailers; semi-trailers. |
None found. |
|
Virginia |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$50 |
|
Washington |
Applies to all motor vehicles. Exempt: vehicles carrying gravel, sand, and dirt if 6 inches of freeboard is maintained within the bed. |
$216-5000 and/or jail time |
|
West Virginia |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$500 or 10 days jail time |
|
Wisconsin |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$10-200 |
|
Wyoming |
Applies to all motor vehicles. |
$750 and/or 6 mos. Jail time |
There currently is no national legislation for securing loads, but some states have taken the initiative to have their own laws.
Other Links
HIGHWAY SAFETY RELATED SITES WORLDWIDE
New Car Assessment Programs (NCAP)
United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Europe
Australia
Japan site in English
Master list of offset crash test results an independent Australian site
United States
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
The Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
Federal Highway Administration
Insurance Research Council
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
The Injury Prevention Web
Australia
VicRoads Victoria, Australia government homepage
Canada
Integrated Traffic Camera Unit, British Columbia
Traffic Injury Research Foundation
Transport Canada
Finland
The Finnish National Road Administration/Finnra Today English version of site available
Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) English version of site available
France
The French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research English version of site available
La Prévention Routière a private road safety association, founded in 1949 by insurers; concerned primarily with child safety education and driver training; no English version of site
International
Research Council for Automobile Repairs
Poland
Gambit: Integrated Programme of Road Safety Improvement in Poland English version of site available
Sweden
Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute English version of site available
United Kingdom
United Kingdom Department of Transport
Highways Agency
Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS)
Sign-up for Sensible Driver e-Magazine
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/litter/secure.html