1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
COMMENT TAKE THE STRAIN
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• It seems incredible that load restraint straps which fail at less than half of their rated capacity can be legally sold in this country. Why has nobody independently and properly tested the straps before they reach the shops?
Lorries shed their loads every day. Tune into any national radio station which carries traffic flow reports and some city somewhere will have a blocked road strewn with spilt cargo. The driver always gets the blame — but perhaps it is time we looked elsewhere for the culprit.
If you do not claim that your product conforms to British Standards, you do not have to meet the guidelines. Why not? If straps are holding 18 tonnes of timber in place, they certainly ought to conform to some sort of legally enforceable performance standard. There is probably not a single haulier or driver in Britain I'ho thought that the situation was otherwise.
The Transport and General Workers Union makes a valid point in our report this week. Loads frequently take to the road with too few securing straps or ropes in the first place, usually because the driver concerned has not been properly trained in roping. Combine too few straps with the fact that they will snap or peel under half-pressure, and you have a lethal cocktail of incompetence and shoddy workmanship.
The Association of Webbing Load Restraint Equipment Manufacturers should be praised for its tenacity in carrying out the tests and encouraged to press for some legally enforced standard. Let's hope that it forces the Trading Standards Department to move quickly to take these straps off the market. If you feel annoyed, contact your local Health and Safety Executive office and pester it to prosecute the offending manufacturers under section six of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Potentially lethal straps must be withdrawn from the market — and withdrawn soOn.