Load Securing
Load securing questions test whether you understand the forces a load experiences, not whether you can count straps. Under emergency braking a load pushes forward with most of its weight; in a swerve it pushes sideways.
The rules the exam applies
- The load must not shift, fall, leak, or touch the ground, and it must not obscure lights, plates, mirrors or the driver's view.
- Restraint must resist roughly 0.8 g forward and 0.5 g sideways - the figures used in recognised load-securing standards.
- Use rated straps, chains and tensioners with the tag legible. Rope and knots are not rated equipment.
- Lashings work best at shallow angles; above 45° from the deck they lose much of their capacity.
- Fill gaps, load against the headboard, use dunnage and anti-slip mats to raise friction.
- Re-check tension after the first 10–20 km and at every rest stop; loads settle.
- Loose aggregate must be sheeted so nothing spills onto the road.
Worked example
A 12 t palletised load, six 2 t pallets. Straps rated 2.5 t lashing capacity. Reasoning: forward restraint needed is about 0.8 × 12 t = 9.6 t. Friction at 0.2 supplies only 2.4 t, so straps must give 7.2 t. At an angle near 45° each strap is roughly 70% effective (about 1.75 t), so at least five straps are needed, two per pallet at the front. Angle them forward and down to the deck anchor points.
Traps that cost marks
Counting straps instead of rated capacity; trusting a tarpaulin as restraint; knots that cut strap rating in half; never re-tensioning after the load settles.