| Timber! That's a sound you expect to hear in the | | | | both occupants of the car. The truck was totaled |
| forest as a tree falls; however, it's not a sound | | | | as a result of the accident but the driver survived. |
| you want to hear on the highway because a | | | | Also consider another highway accident where a |
| logging truck's load was not properly secured by a | | | | mother and her small child were killed after a |
| transport chain. The logging industry has many | | | | logging truck lost its load. There are various |
| dangers. Any industry that handles heavy | | | | reasons behind a lost load, one being the improper |
| equipment or product, such as fully matured | | | | use of logging transport chains. Another reason is |
| trees, is subject to hazards. But for a logger, | | | | that a properly loaded truck encountered |
| knowing how to use transport chains, forklifts, | | | | unexpected conditions on the roadway, such as |
| and other loading equipment correctly and then | | | | sudden braking, that caused the load to shift and |
| transporting their loads to the sawmill, pulp mill or | | | | become less stable than when first loaded. |
| plywood mill is a daily exercise in safety. | | | | Consider that a fully loaded truck travelling at 55 |
| Cutting down trees is just the beginning of the | | | | mph needs a minimum of 400 feet to come to a |
| journey for many of the wood-based products | | | | complete stop. Knowing this should make any |
| we use each day. Once those felled trees are | | | | driver of a non-commercial vehicle be more |
| properly loaded onto trucks they must be | | | | cautious when driving around loaded trucks. The |
| secured using tie down straps such as a logging | | | | driver of the truck must use defensive driving |
| transport chain. There are height and weight | | | | techniques and maintain full awareness when |
| guidelines dictated by the Department of | | | | driving the open road. Even so, it is difficult to |
| Transportation that must be followed to allow for | | | | anticipate the driving decisions of rushed |
| maximum safety. | | | | commuters. |
| Logging trucks are specially designed with cradles | | | | A secured load, using the proper grade 70 |
| and posts that further ensure minimal slippage by | | | | transport chain required for tying down a heavy |
| the loaded logs. However, even with all these | | | | load, could become destabilized if there is a |
| safety features in place, logging trucks can still | | | | sudden shift in the load. Care should be taken by |
| lose their loads once they hit America's highways. | | | | the loggers at the time of loading, when and how |
| For example, consider the auto accident in | | | | the load is secured, and at the time the load is |
| Washington State where, as a result of | | | | unloaded at its final destination. During the |
| equipment failure, logs fell off the truck's trailer. | | | | transport, both the truck driver and other drivers |
| Although the Saturn following the truck swerved | | | | sharing the road need to exercise caution in order |
| to avoid the falling load, the car was still struck by | | | | to minimize hazards on the road for log truck |
| some logs and shoved into timber and brush killing | | | | drivers. |