Safety of loads is of paramount importance to all road users; after all, failure to safely secure a load could result in a catastrophic incident. Load safety is a key issue for transport operators and HGV drivers. Understanding the legislation and best practise surrounding the safety of loads is something every road user should be aware of.
A question we always get asked is if a driver can be prosecuted for an unsafe load?
It should come as no surprise that the answer is YES. Even if a driver hasn’t loaded their own vehicle, they are still responsible for the safety and security of their load.
HGV drivers who fail to make sure their load is safe could receive a graduated fixed penalty, be prosecuted for an unsafe load, receive a penalty up to a maximum of £5000, receive three penalty points on their driving licence and possible disqualification from driving or, worse still, be found guilty of dangerous driving and face imprisonment for up to 2 years.
If a driver was found guilty of causing a death through dangerous driving, they could face up to 10 years imprisonment.
You can see how vital it is that any member of staff involved in loading vehicles know the principles of load safety. How to do it and why it is done in that way to protect your company.
Load safety is not a topic that should be ignored and forgotten about. It’s a key part of road safety and is the responsibility of both operator and the driver.
To help operators provide continuous professional development to their drivers and ensure they provide clear training on load safety, we have developed an online course called The Ultimate Professional Driver Programme; in this programme, we cover over 20 topics that are essential to drivers. In addition to this course, we also have a series of free training videos that operators can use as training aids in their business.
Please click here to learn more about the ultimate professional driver programme.
Click here to get access to our FREE training videos now.
Speak to our team about keeping your transport operation and HGV drivers confident, competent and compliant by clicking the live chat widget now. We are here to help and guide you and ensure you have robust training programmes in place to keep your organisation safe, legal and on the road.
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