Purpose
To provide guidance on the proper restraint of cargo in Company vehicles.
Scope
This guideline applies to all Company staff including- contractors, sub-contractors, apprentices, trainees, work experience students or volunteers.
Guidelines
Vehicle loads and loading
An improperly loaded vehicle is a safety hazard. Unsecured loads and cargo can become projectiles in the event of a sudden stop or crash.
To ensure the safety of the vehicle occupants and other road users, it is recommended that all loads and cargo:
- are transported in a cargo area and not transported unrestrained within the cabin of a vehicle
- do not exceed the legal carrying capacity of the vehicle or trailer
- are positioned in a manner that does not affect the vehicle’s balance or stability, thereby reducing its steering and braking performance
- are properly restrained so that they do not move under any driving conditions, including emergency braking
- do not become dislodged and fall from the vehicle or trailer.
Carrying capacity
Motor vehicles, including trucks and light commercial vehicles, are designed with a specific maximum carrying capacity known as the vehicle’s Gross Vehicle Mass or GVM. A vehicle’s GVM can be found on its compliance plate, in the owner’s handbook, and may also be found on a sign written on the side of larger vehicles.
Carrying capacity includes the weight of the driver, passengers, accessories, fuel, tools and equipment, and the vehicle body. It can be checked by weighing the fully loaded vehicle and ensuring that the total weight does not exceed the GVM.
Drivers must ensure that they do not exceed the GVM of the vehicle as this is illegal and may compromise the safety of the vehicle.
Vehicle trays
Slips, trips or falls can happen when accessing the tray of a utility or a heavy vehicle. These risks can be reduced by:
- using access ladders or steps
- not jumping from the tray to the ground
- working from the ground where possible
- wearing appropriate safety footwear with serviceable non-slip soles
- cleaning mud from footwear before climbing onto a tray
- ensuring the tray is clear of objects a person might trip over
- specifying vehicles with non-slip trays and steps.
- Passengers must never ride on the tray of a vehicle.
It is just as important to ensure that the cargo carried in the tray of a utility cannot injure the vehicle’s occupants or other road users. The occupants are protected to a certain extent by the sheet metal which forms the rear panels of the utility’s cabin. The key areas of risk are:
- impact damage to the tray headboard and to the rear of the cabin from unrestrained heavy objects loaded in the tray
- impact injury to the occupants from unrestrained objects which can smash through the cabin’s rear window glass
- danger to other road users from cargo falling from utility trays.
These risks can be managed by:
- ensuring that the loads carried in the utility tray are properly restrained to prevent their movement
- fitting the utility tray headboard with approved mesh infill panels to prevent unrestrained objects from smashing through the cabin’s rear window glass.
Projecting loads
A projecting load is a load which is longer, wider or higher than the vehicle that is carrying the load. Drivers should familiarise themselves with the legislation for maximum vehicle load dimensions by referring to the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ Projecting Loads information.
Key points include:
- A long load cannot extend the past:
- the front of a vehicle by more than 1.2 metres
- the rear of a vehicle by more than 1.2 metres without a warning flag during the day and a red light at night.
It is good practice to:
- use a warning flag on projecting loads less than 1.2 metres in length when the load is difficult to see
- be aware of the increased dimensions of the vehicle and drive with additional caution, particularly when in confined spaces.
Scrap and demolition materials
Scrap and demolition materials can be challenging to load and transport safely and have the potential to present a hazard to other road users.
Loads incorporating scrap and demolition material may comprise many different objects and substances including a paper that is subject to the effects of wind and airflow over the vehicle.
To ensure the safety of all road users, loads comprising scrap and demolition materials must be restrained and covered by a tarpaulin or a cargo net.
Cargo Netting
Cargo netting provides a physical barrier that separates the passengers from the cargo. Some examples of unrestrained cargo often found in vehicles include:
- heavy cargo in a goods van
- camping gear, car fridges and loose spare wheels in the rear of a 4WD wagon
- luggage, sporting equipment, office equipment, laptops or groceries in the rear of an SUV or a station wagon
- tools, hardware and gas cylinders in the tray of a utility.
The safest outcomes will be achieved by positioning cargo against the barrier or as close to it as possible. Placing the cargo well away from the cargo barrier will increase the impact energy that the barrier must dissipate in a crash.
The fitting of a cargo barrier does not negate the need for good load restraint practices. For a cargo barrier to provide the best protection, heavy objects should still be restrained and loaded against the barrier. For maximum occupant protection it is recommended that the cargo barrier is:
- manufactured to comply with AS/NZS4034.1:2008 – Motor Vehicles – Cargo barriers for occupant protection
- installed by a suitably qualified person approved by QFleet
- not modified or transferred to another vehicle
- not used as a hanging rack and not fitted with other items of equipment
- used in accordance with the safety information on the plaque(s) fitted to it.
Cargo Barriers and Side Curtain Airbags
It may not be possible to fit a cargo barrier to some new vehicles because the cargo barrier may interfere with the operation of the vehicle’s side curtain airbags (and sunroof in some cases). The vehicles most affected are usually seven-seat SUVs fitted with side curtain airbags.
Cargo barrier manufacturers are working to overcome these problems. However, there may be some instances where an engineered solution is not possible and an approved cargo barrier may not be available for a particular vehicle.
Where a cargo barrier is fitted to an SUV or station wagon with side curtain airbags it is usual for the cargo barrier to have clearance gaps in the uppermost corners. The gaps are there to provide clearance for airbag deployment. Extra care must be exercised when loading this type of vehicle to ensure that no small items are placed adjacent to the gap. The instruction plaque should provide further information about this.
Cargo Barrier and Passengers
The purpose of a cargo barrier is to provide a physical barrier to separate passengers from cargo. It is for this reason that passengers should never be seated behind a cargo barrier.
There are also other safety issues relating to the safe egress of passengers, particularly in the event of a rear-end crash. It is extremely unwise to seat passengers behind a cargo barrier.
Documentation
- Vehicle Inspection Checklist
- Load Restraint Checklist
Legislation
- https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011
- Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011