Talk to Me About Dry Van Load Securement

remember the golden rule CYA always. as you may or may not know as soon as you accept the load and drive off it is now your responsibility. if anything happens to the cargo it will come out of your check. always secure your load or make sure it is secure even if it is a transfer load with a seal ask the other driver or whoever is in charge of said load and get it in writing when you can with the persons name and some sort of info proving the person is who they say they are via id or license # make sure you see the id as well.
i think with d/h trailers there should still be a way to CYA even if you have to get qualcom confirmation it is secure. so if it isnt than it falls on the company or whoever said it was secured. but cant say for sure as i haven't drove van yet but i would always CYA

 

As far as I know the van itself is the load securement. If straps or load locks are required by the shipper its only so that stuff can't move around or break inside the trailer but as far as the DOT is concerned its secure because its inside a closed container.
If anything moves or breaks in a sealed unit I don't think they can blame you if you'r not the first driver picking it up or it was pre-sealed and not loaded properly by the shipper.

 

check with your company safety department

 

you posted this in the Roehl area. If you drive for Roehl then you will know that a lot of the loads we receive get sealed and counted by the shipper. If you never get inside the trailer to deal with the load, then how can one be responsible for how it was loaded. Im sure that many other companys deal with freight the exact same way.

 

Only time I use load locks or straps is if the customer requires it.Alot loads are heavy and will not move.If you have a relay,you ask your dispatcher where you can get straps.Or see if you can get the straps from the driver you're relaying with unless his straps are on his load.

 

If shipper requests straps to put in a empty or for live load I supply them. I have a load lock that I don't use, I won't ever use, and can't wait to dispose of. Trl sealed I don't open unless con instructs me to. I think you got the bad end of the stick. It's bs IMO

 

Can't use load locks in our dry vans anyway, you would just push out the thin walls. They are used in our reefer division.

 

Should be a law that drivers have should have right to break seals and inspect loads, its about safety you know

 

I have three straps but have only used them once when dropping half a load then driving 50 miles through Chicago to drop the rest. They had boxes stacked vertically to the ceiling with nothing to hold them so only made sense to throw a couple straps. Didn't like doing it...felt like flatbed work. Ha