Having secure cargo is essential when travelling, especially when going on holiday. Securely loading your vehicle can prevent goods from moving around in transit, as well as protecting your cargo from damage.
It is especially important for holiday trips and commercial loads, as loose or incorrectly loaded goods can not only cause potential hazards on the road but also lead to delays and losses in time and money. Secure Cargo is essential for ensuring safe travel and keeping goods intact during transit.
This article will provide hints and guidance on how to best load cargo into vehicles before a road trip and we’ll provide details on a short training course available here in WA.
With a little effort and skill, you will have the peace of mind of knowing your cargo is secure for the journey ahead!
Why Does This Matter for My Family Trip?
Create the perfect adventure by getting your vehicle ready for a family-friendly road trip!
Think ahead to ensure all items needed, from essential supplies to luxury comforts, are on board and properly packed. Consider how extra weight, bulky attachments or odd shapes will affect your journey; load up safely and in accordance with legal requirements to ensure you can make it out of town, and back, safely and stress-free.
Secure cargo is essential for every light vehicle when it comes to sticking to the limits set out by manufacturers and authorities. Excess weight can wreak havoc on your engine, but this is especially true during holiday trips when people are prone to loading their vehicles down with more cargo than usual. Drivers should be aware of the load limits meaning they don’t put themselves or other people in danger on the road. Securely loading and strapping down cargo remains the best option to ensure a safe trip no matter where you’re headed.
Learn to securely stow items without compromising comfort for you and your passengers during the long drive, everyone should have enough space which means more fun for everyone onboard!
What Could Go Wrong?
Ideally, nothing. Your family and all other road users have a safe, enjoyable trip.
However, if you haven’t prepared well, the best-case scenario is your poorly loaded vehicle is cramped and you and your family are uncomfortable for the duration of your trip. The worst case scenario is badly restrained cargo coming off your vehicle, causing damage or injury to your own family or others on the road.
Incorrect vehicle loading can wreak havoc on your comfort level and increase driver fatigue. From rough rides due to overloaded suspensions, to minor annoyances like a loose tarp vibrating in the wind or children complaining about cramped seating, any of these situations could cause serious weariness for even experienced drivers.
Secure cargo is an important part of towing safely. It’s easy to go over the Gross Combination Mass (GCM) when hitched up with a large caravan and everything in the back of a four-wheel drive, even when neither car nor caravan are individually overloaded.
It’s also essential to make sure your trailer does not weigh more than 750kg if it isn’t fitted with brakes, and the combined weight of the vehicle/trailer combination must never exceed the towbar and towball’s towing capacity. To ensure a safe trip, it is crucial to double-check your cargo weight limits before hitting the road.
When it comes to driving with a load, secure cargo, and safety, should always be the number one priority. It’s illegal to drive a vehicle carrying an insecure load making the vehicle unsafe or unstable. This includes anything sticking out of the vehicle, such as objects with the potential to injure people, block other road users or damage property if they fell, even if they don’t actually fall off.
Things fall off vehicles often. Main Roads WA reveals they receive around 50 calls each week related to objects left on the road by vehicles in the Perth area alone!
Take care when loading up your vehicle to ensure everyone else on the road can stay safe.
How to Restrain Your Load, and Enjoy Your Journey!
Secure cargo is crucial for maintaining your safety while on the roads. It’s best to carry the heaviest items low, between the axles, or directly above them in a trailer and avoid putting heavy items up high on the roof.
Those who are towing a caravan or trailer should also take care not to place heavy loads at the rear – this could cause trailer sway which will negatively affect braking and steering performance.
Each item needs to be restrained on the vehicle and tied down securely by an appropriate system rated for the load. The most common way to do this is with a ratchet strap made to hold a specific weight limit, although they may be unsuitable for light loads such as small items or bags.
Securely strapping down your boat cargo is an essential safety precaution for any boater, while transporting your boat. Without the proper security measure, items could easily be taken away by strong wind gusts. From water bottles flying out to coolers becoming danger hazards, taking the time to secure your items can save you from a wide range of potential issues; such as items being blown out of the boat and hitting cars going in either direction. To ensure the best onboard safety, take proper care to make sure your cargo is safely secured.
Weight Why It’s Important
It’s vital for your safety you know your vehicle’s towing capability and maximum axle load mass. These will be listed in your owner’s manual. The WA Department of Transport has issued a glossary of terms relating to vehicle loading plus advice and rules on towing.
Beware, A vehicle which is heavier than it should be over the axles, or overweight will handle differently than usual and may sway and be harder to control. If you need to check the weight of your vehicle, Main Roads publish a list of approved weighbridges in Western Australia.
Get Trained by the Professionals
To be certain you, your family and your vehicles are securely loaded, you should enrol on KI Training and Assessing’s Load Restraint Course. The six-hour course is nationally accredited and takes place at their Belmont facility, in Perth.
What Does the Course Cover?
The Secure Cargo course includes 4 main elements:
1. Prepare to secure cargo/containers
repare to secure cargo/containers
Securely lashing cargo and containers can be a complex and potentially hazardous task. To ensure an efficient process and operate in a safe environment, an individual should prepare correctly. This includes making sure the work area is set up in accordance with national standards and safety codes, using appropriate protective clothing and equipment, erecting formwork where necessary, and having a detailed lashing plan.
Make sure to notify the relevant personnel of any unsafe equipment or practices found during the preparation process.
2. Lash and unlash cargo
During lashing and unlashing operations to secure cargo, always ensure no injury or damage occurs to personnel, vehicles or cargo. Industry standards and statutory requirements must be followed carefully during the process to ensure proper procedure.
To secure the cargo, lashing points are identified and fittings plus lashing equipment are added for each lashing point; everything is securely attached and tensioned with approved tensioners.
When unlashing cargo, the same attention must be taken in order to release the necessary fittings, disconnect them from the cargo, and then store them away in designated storage areas or remove them from the area.
3. Protect cargo from weather
Secure cargo includes providing protection from the elements. This is essential for keeping your goods and equipment safe. By following national safety standards, workplace procedures and codes of practice, all required covering and lashing can be carried out in a way to guarantee safety during transportation.
This includes ensuring all cargo is fully covered, with rain or dust covers, and secured, to avoid weather damage.
4. Pack and unpack cargo
When securely packing and unpacking cargo, ensure the job is done correctly. You should identify the cargo, and sort and stack it all safely.
Additionally, it is imperative you handle it with utmost care to avoid any injury to personnel or damage to the cargo or equipment. In the event of damage, there should be procedures in place for reporting any damaged cargo.
What Will You Learn?
Upon completion of the course, you will have the skills and knowledge to safely secure cargo onto, and within, your vehicle.
You will learn how to properly and securely store cargo according to industry standards. This includes tying down items with appropriate lashing material, covering them during transit to protect them from weather damage, as well as packing/unpacking containers for loading onto vehicles or vessels.
You will be thoroughly ready to make sure you, your family and your vehicles are safe and comfortable the next time you need to secure cargo for a road trip!
KI Training and Assessing
KI Training and Assessing is a leader in the industry. Our dedication to quality ensures we offer only up-to-date courses at competitive prices, ensuring you can continue your professional development safely!
Our courses are designed to set the highest standard of safety in the workplace and equip you with skills for success. We provide nationally accredited training, mobile plant operation certification, verification of competency (VOC), site-based instruction delivered both locally in Perth and remotely at your own convenience as well as customised programmes tailored specifically to meet your organisation’s needs.
With an outstanding commitment to quality control in our courses – we take pride in ensuring your training and certification needs are met across all levels of Mining, Civil and Industrial sectors. Get certified with us today!