A 3-minute lesson from the South Carolina course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Anything you haul, whether furniture, yard waste or a dog, can fall or blow onto the road and cause a crash. Driving with an unsecured load is both illegal and extremely dangerous.
Know the rule
A driver who fails to properly secure a load is guilty of a misdemeanor and may face a fine plus the cost of cleaning up the load.
Picture the worst moment of the trip, like a hard stop, a pothole or a fender-bender. A load that looks fine while parked has to stay put through all of those.
Put it into practice
You're hauling loose mulch in a pickup bed. Mulch can sift out and blow onto the road, so cover the whole load with a sturdy tarp and tie it down to the truck before leaving.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
A load is only considered secure when:
It is covered with any material
Nothing can slide, shift, fall, sift, or become airborne
It weighs less than 500 pounds
It is tied with a single rope
Answer: Nothing can slide, shift, fall, sift, or become airborne
A load is only considered secure when nothing can slide, shift, fall, or sift onto the roadway or become airborne.