Rolling logs get new code
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• Timber haulage leaders are due to meet tomorrow (7 July) to discuss revising a code of practice following a spate of accidents in which loads have rolled off the rear of lorries.
This issue was brought to a head in April by an accident involving a timber carrier on the Al in Scotland in which two people died.
The meeting of the Timber Hauliers' Forum in Carlisle will be under pressure to reject cross-loading, where logs are piled at right-angles to the road on flat-beds, even though this will increase haulage costs.
Marjorie McCreadie, secretary of the Al Action Group, says there have been numerous cases of timber loads slipping, and she hopes self-regulation will solve the problem.
Alistair Baxter, managing director of Midlothian-based James Baxter & Sons, and a Scottish representative on the forum, says loads become more prone to slipping because modern machinery tends to remove the bark from logs, making them more slippery.
"The timber trade is governed by what is known as the hauliers' code of practice which permits cross-loading, provided netting is used," he explains. "It is a pretty serious situation and will have to be seriously re-thought" He adds that the alternative to cross-loading is to place timber lengthways in special trailers without floors, but this is more expensive because these specialised trailers are not suitable for backloading.