Many grey nomads will have felt a little nervous driving behind what looks like a vehicle with an insecure load on one of our highways and byways … and they’re right to be.
Queensland road operator, Transurban, says that during the past year it has responded to around 1,500 lost load incidents across the state’s roads and tunnels. That’s almost four incidents every day – with most happening on the Gateway and Logan motorways.
Transurban’s General Manager Assets, Angelo Lambrinos, said its traffic control room operators see loads coming loose from vehicles every day as tradies, truck drivers and other motorists transport unsecured items – everything from mattresses, kayaks, tyres and camping equipment.
It can be nerve-wracking following behind a vehicle with a full load. PIC: Cizza
Insecure loads can caiuse real safety issues. PIC: Transurban
Certainly, every grey nomad will have seen some of the stuff that has fallen off a roof rack or trailer laying broken by the side of the road … some might have even lost items themselves.
But Mr Lambrinos’s advice is clear.
“We know it can be tempting to get out of your car to retrieve something that’s fallen onto the road,” he said. “But this only puts your life and the lives of other drivers in more danger. Please, leave it to the experts.”
Any debris on a high-speed road can be a hazard to motorists and can lead to traffic delays as authorities often need to close lanes to clear the road. Debris can also cause secondary incidents as motorists change lanes quickly or swerve to avoid a collision.
Transurban say that anyone who spots debris on the motorway, should allow plenty of braking space between themselves and the vehicle in front, and not to leave the vehicle to try to remove it.
“We’re all about getting drivers where they want to go quickly and safely, and we have more than 1,500 CCTV cameras on our Queensland roads,” Transurban said. “This means we always have eyes on the road, looking out for drivers in need of help … we also have systems to automatically detect stopped vehicles, and a fleet of rapid incident response officers to clear debris from the road.”
The organisation says no one expects a load they’re carrying to come loose, but it’s been happening more and more, and the best way to avoid issues is to secure the load properly in the first place.
It warns that what looks stable when parked in your driveway could look very different when you’re travelling at 80 km/h or more.
It advises motorists to make sure they:
# Have you ever seen items flying off someone else’s vehicle on the road? Or have you ever lost anything from your own vehicle while driving along? Comment below.
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The old “Bush Rule” when it comes to tying down a load is:- It must be able to be secure enough for a trip from Sydney to Melbourne before taking the load around the corner.
We had our fuel tank pierced & our exhaust system ripped out while traveling along the Bruce Hwy north of Rockhampton.
A piece of scrap metal fell from a truck in front of us & went underneath our car.
We were doing 100kph towing a trailer at the time.
We were left stranded beside the highway, it was lucky that we didn’t explode because the spray of fuel was enormous.
Did you buy lotto tickets after,?
N.S.W. is cracking down on insecure loads. There was a Tautliner pulled over at Kelso via Bathurst NSW by the Highway Patrol and booked for unsecured load. Even though the driver had the curtains pulled around and fastened, the boxes inside were not secured. He was fined heavily and spent the next 1/2 hour tying down every box on board.
Yes gas cylinder not one but 4 bouncing out of a trailer. We managed to alert them as there was more in the trailer
Forest Highway in WA has a colourful 25km stretch where numerous cans of paint have come to grief. Large and small spills, white, blue, green, yellow – you name it. It certainly brightens up the trip but cost someone a bundle.
Once had two ladders fall off a plumbing van in front of us as we turned a corner. VERY scary!!
We were traveling on a hwy towing a caravan, where there was metal on the road, we where doing 110 keeping up with the traffic, we could not swerve as to on coming traffic, and a road train up our back side, it was too dandgerous to stop.
It shot up under our caravan, and smashed all the plumbing.