Home FleetWatch 2011 MOEGOE OF THE MONTH

MOEGOE OF THE MONTH

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Despite more than adequate rear visibility provided via the side mirrors on the Freightliner cab, the driver says he did not see that the load was protruding. Yeah sure!

Hard to believe! What a gemors! Can you believe this guy? Driving north along the N3, he got to one of the toll plazas and couldn’t fit his rig through the toll booth due to the protruding load. Well, that’s hardly surprising seeing that the load was sticking miles out of the trailer about to fall off writes Patrick O’Leary.

The N3 route services personnel saw the rig and instructed the driver to reposition and secure the loadbefore continuing his journey. The driver stated that he had a similar problem with the load as he left Durban so he stopped, secured the load and continued his trip. Obviously he didn’t do a very good job of it as the accompanying photographs show.

But here’s the real classic. The driver was surprised at the protruding load stating that he couldn’t see it in his rear view mirror. Hey! That’s a Freightliner in front of the trailer and if you take a close look, you will see that there are two mirrors on the left of the cab. The smaller one, if I recall, is a type of wide angled mirror and the other is simply a huge mirror which enables the driver to have a clear rear view all along the side of the trailer.

If, as he claims, the driver did not see this in his rear view mirrors, then he needs an urgent eye test. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
If, as he claims, the driver did not see this in his rear view mirrors, then he needs an urgent eye test. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

If the driver didn’t see the protruding load, then I would recommend that his bosses at SKR Freight immediately send him for an urgent eye-test. There is just no ways on earth that a driver could not have seen this in his side mirrors.

By not acting on it, a horrible disaster could have resulted from the load falling off and smashing into a car or truck behind. And if by luck the load had missed the following traffic, it would have certainly resulted in a damaged , or even destroyed – load for the customer and lost revenue for the operator. What was the driver thinking?

And this is not an isolated incident. According to Con Roux, commercial manager of the N3TC, the number of dropped loads on the N3 , steels coils in particular , is frightening and he has asked FleetWatch to bring this to the attention of operators and drivers in an effort to make them think about loose loads.

One would have thought that all operators and drivers would already be thinking of this. After all, surely load securement is one of the basics of truck operations? It’s just common sense that if you’re travelling with a load on the back of an open trailer, you secure the stupid thing before you start the journey. And you secure it in such a way that it stays on from start to finish. Yet how often do we hear of trucks losing their loads? Far too often which tells us that operators and drivers are not paying enough attention to this basic practise. C’mon guys, get real!

For his incredible folly, the driver of this SKR Freight rig gets our Moegoe of the Month award. Congratulations. You deserve the accolade.

One of the N3 route services staff instructs the driver to secure the load before continuing his journey. Sensible advice actually because apart form the safety aspect, he couldn't get his rig through the toll booth with the load sticking out as it was , and it was a long reverse back to Durban. Eieeesh!
One of the N3 route services staff instructs the driver to secure the load before continuing his journey. Sensible advice actually because apart form the safety aspect, he couldn’t get his rig through the toll booth with the load sticking out as it was , and it was a long reverse back to Durban. Eieeesh!

And for sending us the photographs, the service personnel of the N3TC are this month’s winners of the finest bottle of Chateau Collapso compliments of FleetWatch which we will deliver via Con Roux. May you enjoy it as you sit on the side of the N3 watching the trucks go by , hopefully with all loads secured. But only when off duty hey!

FleetWatch makes an open plea for all operators to instill in their loading and driver staff the absolute necessity to ensure that all loads are properly secured. And drivers should, every time they stop, check the load straps and/or chains to ensure they have not loosened or shifted. It’s one of the basics of trucking man!