Bulldozer comes off of trailer, kills 2

[5030]

I see a ton of insecured and unsecured loads going down the road every day. I missed my calling I guess. Should have been a DOT officer with extra ticket books.

Prior to retirement, the last 2 years I was 'promoted' to the company enforcement officer and I did a seminar on securement and I did large posters depicting the proper way to secure steel coils, sheets and bar stock and while I've been retired since I was 56 and I'm now 74, those posters are still prominently displayed in all the loading bays in all their plants. They have 5 plants covering Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. It was always an interesting job and it paid very well. Had a company car, expense account, company credit card and if I was on the road (which I was quite a bit), my meals were paid as well as my lodging and I never ate cheap or stayed in flea bags either.

Only person I answered to was the owner of the company and he always told me 'to make it right, which I always did.

Under the rear floormat in my Focus RS I still have the 2 magnetic signs stating 'Safety Officer' Most times I ran incognito but at an accident scene, they came out so LE knew who I was and who I represented. Had a few grisly accidents and one wrongful death and none of them were pleasant either and the one thing I really disliked was terminating someone and I did that more than one time. I always felt bad taking someone's lively hood from them. Got to do the random drug screens as well or at least I drew the name from the hat. The company I worked for had a zero tolerance for drugs and booze as well. It was a heavy industry company (steel processing).

The owner of the company sold out to someone else soon after I retired but, to this day, we remain good friends and go out to eat frequently and reminisce about old times.

Drivers today scare me. Overweight pigs driving in shorts and tee shirts. One thing for certain with me, when I pass any truck on the e-way, I get around them quick and I never linger.

If you ever get a chance to watch the You Tube 'Lucky Banana' do it. That guy knows what he's doing 100%. All business all the time. Great channel.

 

[KCTractors]

Yeah, during hay season it is not uncommon to see MANY bales on the sides of the roads. I don't see why just because they are farmers they get a free pass on public safety. Another one that scares the crap out of me are the log trucks, stacked/balanced above the stands, leaning to one side or the other and using what looks like 5/16 chain. Knowing how many of them don't care about anything I have little doubt whatever chain they are using is the cheapest they could lay their hands on. I have yet to ever see any of them checked or inspected.

Those 5/16" chains have to be Grade 7 and have a marking every foot on the chain. If you can not see the marking, that is a illegal chain. Dot will check the chains. I have hauled pulpwood, logs and lumber for 33 years. Dot watches stick-haulers like a hawk.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Yeah, during hay season it is not uncommon to see MANY bales on the sides of the roads. I don't see why just because they are farmers they get a free pass on public safety. Another one that scares the crap out of me are the log trucks, stacked/balanced above the stands, leaning to one side or the other and using what looks like 5/16 chain. Knowing how many of them don't care about anything I have little doubt whatever chain they are using is the cheapest they could lay their hands on. I have yet to ever see any of them checked or inspected.

Come to Florida the State and DOT lawmen wear them old boys driving log trucks out, mostly for being overweight.

 

[WinterDeere]

Loads should be strapped or chained down well enough, that if gravity were to suddenly reverse, the load would still stick to the trailer.

Like this guy. This dude knows how to strap down a load.



I'm interested to see the follow-up reports, but fully expect the restraints were either undersized or non-existent. I've seen a few heavy equipment haulers towing totally unsecured excavators and dozers on local roads, thinking gravity will do the job.

 

[RjCorazza]

I've never hauled a dozer, but I suspect the metal tracks on a metal deck was a factor in addition to not being adequately chained down.
I am assuming the rollback was a metal deck, but I don't think that its been established what the transport vehicle was.

 

[5030]

You NEVER use straps on steel unless absolutely necessary and only then with rubber edge protectors because steel can and will abrade straps and cause them to sever. When I was hauling steel, the ONLY time it was strapped was when hauling tubing because tubing has no sharp edges. However, when hauling tubing. the load must have a 'bulkhead' at each end to prevent the tubing from sliding forward or backwards. We used to haul brass alloy rounds to Weatherhead in Indiana. That stuff is inherently slippery and must be bulkheaded at both ends.

 

[plowhog]

I have taken pictures of transport coming in with their loads not even secured,

I followed a big rig / car hauler full of junked wrecked vehicles on Interstate 80 a few years ago. Various parts were falling off the wrecked vehicles and then skidding down the freeway in trail. I had to dodge several parts.

After one large chunk of sheet metal flew off the truck I called the Highway Patrol and reported it. At that time the truck was nearing the inspection station entering Nevada.

 

[Paystar]

Here is the sad reality folks. The large mega fleets cry in the media and to the gov about the "driver shortage"
In reality it is because many of the violation free professionals have quit the industry due to things like gov over regulation, poor rates , lack of respect and wages, and all around terrible conditions.

So now the gov brings in more immigrants, and unfortunately they are being used as the new world slaves.
They work cheap, will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So now these mega fleets use all the loop holes, like them running on their home licenses for 6 months, etc and they send them out with little to no training.

And now we see the results.

 

[Paystar]

Our "leaders" are more to blame than the people.

 

[dodge man]

Apparently there is rarely a need to tie down a mower. I saw a large zero turn go by on a trailer. My wife noticed a burned out taillight, I noticed he was just using gravity for his tiedown.

 

[WinterDeere]

Apparently there is rarely a need to tie down a mower. I saw a large zero turn go by on a trailer. My wife noticed a burned out taillight, I noticed he was just using gravity for his tiedown.

I'm fine with that on the enclosed-side or fully-boxed trailers most of the landscapers use, around here. They're driving neighborhood to neighborhood, and short of flipping the trailer onto its back, that light mower ain't escaping.

 

[RandyT]

Some landscapers use wheel locks to secure the mower to the trailer. So unless somebody is paying attention would miss it.

 

[dodge man]

This was the type of trailer that has the short rail sides. Yes some mowers have trailers with taller sides and I’m ok with them not having tie downs. The one I saw today was not ties down in any way. We were on bicycles and he was slowing down for a corner so I got a good look. I’m sure he had the brake set.

 

[WinterDeere]

I'm always hesitant to recommend legislation, we need less laws and regulations, not more. But one exception I'd make would be to have reasonably-designed tie-down hooks on all mowers and CUT's, made into law. I use the John Deere name in vain, everytime I have to strap my CUT to my trailer. They almost could not have made it more difficult, to strap that thing down in a way that won't cause any damage to the machine, if they had tried.

 

[grsthegreat]

Funny…..today, while driving to Sandpoint to get some steel tubing, i saw a dump trailer carrying an excavator. From what i could see looking into it from my truck, it was unsecured. I guess he figures the sides will keep it secured.

 

[RjCorazza]

There's no substitute for straps or chains. I'd bet 99% of those wheel locks are just bolted down to the screwed down decking.

 

[4570Man]

I've never hauled a dozer, but I suspect the metal tracks on a metal deck was a factor in addition to not being adequately chained down.
I am assuming the rollback was a metal deck, but I don't think that its been established what the transport vehicle was.

Steel tracks on a steel deck are like ice. You might get by without securing rubber track machines but moving a steel track rig without proper chains is a terrible idea.