Improperly secured cargo is a major but often overlooked cause of serious truck accidents in Indiana and across the country. When commercial trucks are loaded with goods, state and federal regulations require drivers and trucking companies to ensure that the cargo is properly placed, balanced, and tightly restrained before the trip begins. When these safety rules are ignored or taken lightly, heavy or shifting cargo can lead to serious accidents.
Victims hurt in these crashes can seek compensation if a company or driver failed to follow loading guidelines. Consulting an experienced Indianapolis truck accident lawyer can help you understand your rights and navigate the legal process after such a dangerous incident.
Types of Cargo That Pose Serious Risks
Certain types of cargo hauled by trucks present greater dangers on the roadways due to their size, weight, or potential to shift or spill. Some of these types include the following: Logs and Lumber These heavy loads, if not properly fastened, can roll off a flatbed or stake truck and cause serious crashes, blocking roadways or striking vehicles and pedestrians.
Hazardous Materials
Chemicals, fuel, and other dangerous substances raise the potential for hazardous spills, toxic exposure, fires, or even explosions when containers leak or cargo is not strapped down to prevent falls.
Steel Coils, Machinery, and Heavy Equipment
Oversized, dense items such as large coils of steel, construction machinery, or other industrial equipment can lead to serious injuries if they aren’t loaded properly. They can come loose and strike other vehicles, leading to fatalities.
Consumer Goods or Boxed Freight
Even ordinary boxed cargo, like electronics, packaged foods, or office supplies, can become unstable if not loaded properly. Boxes that slide inside a trailer can cause the truck to rock, roll over, or drop cargo onto the highway.
Loose Bulk Materials (Gravel or Sand)
Smaller materials easily spill if the bed isn’t fully enclosed or tarped, creating road hazards that can cause skidding, reduced traction, and crashes for unsuspecting motorists behind the truck.
Trucking companies and drivers have a duty to pay special attention when transporting these high-risk loads. When they fail, everyone else on the road can be put in serious danger.
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Overview of Loading Rules For Trucks
Truck loading is governed by strict safety rules to help prevent cargo from shifting or falling while in transit. The following are some of the important FMCSA guidelines that must be followed:
Securement Device Requirements
- Only use chains, straps, webbing, or other tiedowns that are in good condition and meet current standards; worn-out devices increase the chance of failure.
- Tiedowns purchased before 2004 can still be used if they originally met safety regulations.
- Devices must be tightly attached at both ends and used with edge protection to prevent them from getting cut or frayed in transit.
- If straps, chains, or other equipment aren’t marked with strength ratings, the lowest standard rating must be assumed for that tiedown, per federal rules.
Unmarked tiedowns be considered to have a working load limit equal to the lowest rating for that type in the table of working load limits.
General Securement Rule
- All cargo must be immobilized to prevent movement:
- Use vehicle anchor structures, wooden blocks (dunnage), shoring bars, and/or tiedowns, often using several of these strategies together.
- Items prone to rolling (like pipes or logs) need separate restraints such as chocks or wedges that can’t move during a trip.
Articles of cargo that are likely to roll must be restrained by chocks, wedges, a cradle or other equivalent means to prevent rolling. The means of preventing rolling must not be capable of becoming unintentionally unfastened or loose while the vehicle is in transit
Tiedown Minimums
- One Tiedown: Use for cargo 5 feet or shorter and weighing under 1,100 pounds.
- Two Tiedowns: Needed for loads longer than 5 feet (up to 10 feet), or if a shorter item weighs over 1,100 pounds.
- Long Items/Public Highways: If the cargo goes beyond 10 feet, you must use at least two tiedowns for the first 10 feet plus one extra tiedown for each additional 10 feet (or part of it) afterward.
There must be – one tiedown for articles 5 ft or less in length, and 1,100 lbs or less in weight; two tiedowns if the article is –
- 5 ft or less in length and more than 1,100 lbs in weight; or
- Greater than 5 ft but less than 10 ft, regardless of weight.
When an article of cargo is not blocked or positioned to prevent movement in the forward direction, and the item is longer than 10 ft in length, then it must be secured by two tiedowns for the first 10 ft of length, and one additional tiedown for every 10 ft of length, or fraction thereof, beyond the first 10 ft. An example of this is provided below. If an article is blocked, braced or immobilized to prevent movement in the forward direction by a headerboard, bulkhead, other articles that are adequately secured, or other appropriate means, it must be secured by at least one tiedown for every 10 ft of article length, or fraction thereof.
Neglecting these rules isn’t just a violation of the law – it puts everyone on the road at risk of harm.
Who Is Liable When Improper Cargo Causes a Truck Accident?
When a truck accident happens because of improperly secured or loaded cargo, responsibility rarely falls on just one person. Liability can involve several parties throughout the trucking operation, making complete investigation crucial for anyone harmed by these crashes. Potential liable parties include:
Truck Driver
Drivers are responsible for inspecting their loads, double-checking tiedowns, and making sure the weight and stability meet federal safety standards before getting behind the wheel.
Trucking Company
Transport companies can be liable if the accident results from lack of training, weak enforcement of safety policies, failing to do periodic load checks, or creating delivery schedules that pressure drivers to cut corners.
Shippers or Third-Party Loaders
When outside businesses (like warehouses or distribution centers) or contract workers load the truck, they have to do so safely and according to legal requirements. Mistakes here, like balancing cargo incorrectly or using inadequate supports, can directly contribute to accidents.
Manufacturers
If tiedowns, straps, chains, chocks, or other securement tools snap or come loose due to manufacturing defects, the equipment maker could be accountable as well.
Identifying every party involved is vital to ensuring victims can pursue full compensation, not just from the driver or carrier, but from any party whose negligence helped cause the crash.
How to Prove Cargo Securement Negligence
Uncovering how improper cargo security triggered an accident and proving it in your claim isn’t simple. That’s where an Indianapolis personal injury lawyer comes in. Here’s how they can help you prove this:
Reviewing FMCSA Inspection Reports and Driver Logs
Your lawyer will analyze federal and state trucking inspection results, as well as the driver’s travel and load logs, for violations.
Obtaining Cargo Loading Records
Pulling paperwork from the shipper or loader provides insight about who loaded the cargo and what steps (if any) were taken to make it safe.
Examining Police Accident Reports and Crash Scene Evidence
Photos, debris, cargo scattered on the road, and diagrams in police reports can point to what happened and how the accident occurred.
Consulting Accident Reconstruction Experts
Professional accident investigators examine all vehicles, securement devices, and other evidence to determine what happened and who caused the accident.
An experienced lawyer will investigate the accident thoroughly and make sure they do everything possible to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
