What to use Securing Concrete Lintels?

[jagracer]

I came off the M11/N Circ at Redbridge roundabout today and had to avoid driving over some wood and bits of steel laying in the road on the slip to the traffic lights. Carried on forward a bit and just crossing the lights and entering the roundabout is an artic with a load of large 20ft concrete lintels, stacked about four high in bundles of 2 separated by wood bolsters. The entire load had shifted forward breaking the steel headboard and pushing it into the back of the cab. The driver was looking puzzled as head board rubbing on cab was making a lot of noise but he seemed oblivious as to what had happened until he finally decided to stop. He would not have been able to negotiate the roundabout as no doubt any turn would have caused the cab mounts to break under the force.
Not a good day for the driver, probably fked cab, fked trailer and fked load, every lintel had broken.
The thing about all this is that he only had two fabric straps, which were both broken and dragging along the road, holding down what I would think is about 20-25 tons of concrete, same size straps as I use 4 of to tie down my one ton race car.
So what should would you use? I used to use chains for steel and I would use the same for concrete or have things changed since I last did general 35+ years ago?

[jagracer]

chilistrucker said:

i've never pulled concrete lenghts like you describe, but 2 straps
i'd use as many as poss strap wise, makes sense, and if the police/vosa had a nose if they were passing, more likely to leave you alone. if it was 25 tonne, and i had 5 tonne straps, i'd go for 6-7 at least.
would chains be better?

I would be very surprised if the police weren't involved, I don't see how he could have done anything but driven in a straight line. He came to a standstill so I didn't bother myself stopping or interfering as It's very busy and imo a very dangerous roundabout so didn't want to hang around. He may have had more than 2 straps but that's all that were left dangling on the road as I drove past him.

chilistrucker said:

on a side note, was in tilbury last night, just entering my details to pull on the grid to get my loaded box on. heard an almighty noise, looked up and saw a lorry up in the air, hanging off the bottom of a straddle
straddle was trying to lift the box off, but the truck driver had forgot to open the twistlocks.
oops.

I've seen that before. One that always sticks in my mind was in 43 or 45 berth, a straddle had an overheight open container with one of those American alloy Airvane caravans on. He put it on a trailer, lifted the frame up but there wasn't enough clearance under the overheight frame and as he moved off he opened both sides of the caravan roof up from one end to the other like a tin opener.

Edited by jagracer on Wednesday 6th February 15:12

[jagracer]

I would fully expect that a moron in a car has cut across in front of him and stood on the brakes, It's a ball ache of a road and roundabout and I try and avoid it if possible. As Martin and spaceman say, he was probably not driving according to the load and paid the price. Would he have been better to have them tight against the headboard so they can't pick up any momentum (they may well have been anyway) The other thing about the straps was that the concrete appeared to be very rough and with general movement on the road could have cut the straps but as I said they didn't look very heavy duty, just the sort we use for car transporting on my car trailer, only about 2 ton certified.

Edited by jagracer on Wednesday 6th February 18:37

[jagracer]

cahami said:

I also saw this but must have been a bit after you, He had managed to get it round the roundabout and on to the A12 towards london when i saw it. It was pulled over to the side of the road. I did wonder what what he would have to do with it?.

I'm surprised he managed to negotiate the roundabout, the steel headboard was resting on the back of the cab so he must have done more damage doing the first right hander.