State Patrol: Unsecured Loads Can Be Deadly

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Every day in Minnesota a state trooper responds to a call for debris on the road. Most of that debris comes from the back of a pickup or flatbed trailer.

Since Jan. 1, troopers have responded to almost 3,000 calls of debris on the road. Statewide, that number is over 5,000.

That's why there is a push to make sure people know how deadly lost loads can be.

It is the law to secure any load on a vehicle or trailer, but some people are not making sure what they transport is properly tied down.

That's why the State Patrol is doing its part to keep people safe by getting them to do the right thing.

It happens more often than you can imagine.

Mattresses, backyard furniture and the like, not strapped down properly on the back of a truck, flying directly into the path of another car.

"A 20 pound object at 55 miles per hour has an impact of half a ton on a vehicle if it strikes it," said Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer Tiffani Nielson.

Typically the end result of a lost load is damage to the vehicles traveling behind.

"But there are cases where people are seriously injured or killed, either trying to retrieve it or having to stop in a lane of traffic and getting struck by a vehicle that doesn't know what's happening in the front," Nielson said.

"The damage can be small -- a cracked windshield, a dented car -- or it can be catastrophic," said Robin Abel of Seattle. Abel knows all too well how an unsecured load can impact a family.

"Eleven years ago my family's life was changed forever because someone lost a piece of furniture on the freeway," Abel said.

Her daughter lost her sight when an object flew through the windshield of the family car.

She started a grassroots effort that has spread to Minnesota. "Secure Your Load Day" is an effort to raise awareness to the dangers of traveling on highways with loads that are not tied down.

"We see bungee cords, we see twine and rope, like I said minnow bucket rope. People don't realize, I think, the risk that they are taking," Nielson said.

Nielson says ladders are the most commonly lost load.

"Because those are put on and off vehicles pretty often and maybe not with good securement devices," she said.

Nielson says people should use ratchet straps or toe straps to make sure things are secure. She also suggests stopping along the way to make sure the load is still secure.

If you see something unsafe on the road and it is a risk to the public, please call 911.

Police say if something does fall on the highway, don't stop to pick it up or move it -- wait for a trooper to help you.