Protect Cab Occupants from Sliding Loads
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THE result of an accident which we witnessed 1, recently brought prominently to the fore the need for providing more adequate protection in drivers' cabs from the possibly drastic effects of the sliding forward of heavy loads. Experience in road-testing many vehicles has shown how dangerous loose loads can be. It is, of course, essential to ascertain minimum stopping distances when the brakes are applied, and large blocks of concrete and iron pigs have been known, in these circumstances, to move with such force as to crash into the rear of the cab, or, in the case of a chassis, into temporary seating, much to the discomfort of those concerned. Care is now always taken to make certain that all test loads are adequately restrained from movement. In instances where vehicles are in service, it is quite possible, and often probable, that this precaution is neglected, and in the accident to which we have referred, a heavy load of pre-east building slabs had advanced about a foot and had all but squashed the driver against his wheel. This was not caused by a head-on collision, but by a glancing one, in which both cabs had been seriously damaged at the off side. Thus the rate of retardation imposed upon each vehicle was not so high as it might have been, otherwise more serious effects would have been caused, possibly fatal.
The difficulty is that additional strength would normally be accompanied by extra weight, and the tendency is all towards a demand for lighter vehicles. However, it is essential that drivers and their mates should receive adequate protection, even at the expense of more solid construction where it is really necessary.