Unsecured Loads

[big bubba]

As hay season progresses i see at least 1/2 of the round bale loads on the well traveled 2 lane state highway are being transported unsecured, the top tier merely resting on the bottom one. the transporter will no doubt say everything is safe & secure...i have yet to ask the HP here, but in your area what does the law say about moving unsecured loads like that 50-60 mph on a State hwy? if the driver were to lose control or brake suddenly, one of those 5x5 bales would make quick work of me & my compact suv if i were coming in the opposite direction..... thx in advance.

 

[Baby Grand]

Years ago, I drove for a building supply company. We delivered everything from bricks to boards, plywood, windows, and shingles. The driving was a real mix - on interstates at speed and on paved-over cow paths thru the hills and valleys. After we loaded the trucks, we had to pass inspection by the dispatcher. He was a real scary guy with a hair trigger temper from one of the darker hollers, up in New Hampshire. Nothing got him more agitated than seeing a truck with a poorly secured load. He'd just lose it and go ballistic on a driver. And he was scary. Plus the law enforcement here, both state & local, would whack you hard if they saw anything loose on your rig. So I am shocked whenever I see what you're describing, and I actually see it quite a bit. My favorite is a car with a mattress on the roof being "held on" by the drivers left arm & hand out the window.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

If i was moving down the county road from the field to the barn with a single stack of bales I might only strap the front and rear top and bottom bales. I have stand up ramps that hold the bottom rear bales on. Anything else, every row of bales gets strapped down end of story. Its not worth ending up in jail because i couldn't throw some straps on.

 

[George2615]

Here in my state anything on a trailer or even in a pick up bed must be secured. Stiff fines for unsecured loads. But for some reason landscapers / lawn mowing services hauling their Zero Turn mowers apparently ignore the law. Too much trouble to secure the ZT's on the trailer between mowing jobs. I see them on a daily basis with nothing tied down. If I tried to haul something unsecured on my trailer I wouldn't make it to the end of my road before getting pulled over.
There's not much farming in my immediate area so I don't see people hauling round bales.

 

[big bubba]

hey thanks for response. been thinking, maybe i should have put this in safety forum... but thinking hay right now, like those unsecured 1200 lb bales hurling @ me doing 60 with tired, or worse... boozed drivers at the helm.
aside from that, they still need to be secured... is it all about county good ol' boy politics & the local law? going down county dirt roads is one thing, state hwy, another.
just asking

 

[EddieWalker]

I think you guys are talking about my dad!!! He is terrible about tying, or strapping anything down. I think he finally learned his lesson when he took the trailer to Lowes to pick up a bathtub for his house. While driving back, the wind caught it just right and it flew off of the trailer, up into the air in front of traffic, the for some reason, it turned and went off into the ditch on the side of the road. It must of gone fifty feet easily!!!

Nobody was hurt, several people stopped to help him load it back onto the trailer, and nothing was broke.

Since then, he's been really good about it.

Eddie

 

[Rustyiron]

I lost one off the truck Sat. **** gravity.

 

[big bubba]

secure all loads unless going from outhouse to barn. & don't hurt someone on the way.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Here's a story from my local paper:


Farmer cited in Warren hay accident | EastBayRI.com

His hay trailer broke free and ran over a jogger on the other side of the road. He was cited -- for an unregistered trailer!

 

[BWfarms]

Here's a story from my local paper:


Farmer cited in Warren hay accident | EastBayRI.com

His hay trailer broke free and ran over a jogger on the other side of the road. He was cited -- for an unregistered trailer!

Ha! That knucklehead farmer was lucky. I'll admit I don't strap if I'm hauling round or square bales around a mile from the barn. I do strap at my fields that are 10 miles away. Naturally I drive faster and don't want to deal with the headache of liability or lose my precious hay.

I have seen guys go by with the top round bales bouncing around. I know a guy just uses one strap, yes one strap, to secure 17 bales.
I can't fathom that. I see bales in the ditches too often.

I've got a buyer that use 2 straps and throws them from the front of the trailer to the back. As he goes down the road I watch the bales teeter totter left and right.