| Photo of the month – December 2025 – Christmas special |
[German version] |
To round off the year, we’re going to show you some photos that we have received on the subject of load securing but which didn’t make it into the Photo of the Month column, either due to a lack of time or because not all the data was available.
Special 1 – Christmas
Figure 1 [Raymond Lausberg]
In this case, AI gave the right answer. Figure 1 provides proof of just how unwieldy this type of load can be. This cargo had all the appearance of a moving tree; it’s impossible to make out the truck at all.
Figure 2 [Raymond Lausberg]
Extract from a newspaper report published in “LA LIBRE” (our translation):
“And on Saturday, the traditional Christmas tree, which was intended to decorate the city square, was confiscated by the police on the E40 motorway near Battice. It had been felled near Francorchamps (it’s hard to believe!) and loaded onto a trailer ready to be set up in the capital [Editor’s note: Brussels]. But no one had reckoned with the possibility of an alert police officer stopping this unusual convoy because it was traveling without its escort, which was stuck in the snow. According to RTBF, doubts had already been expressed as to whether the tree would make it through the narrow streets of Brussels because it was not secured correctly.”
Special 2 – Scraping the bottom of the barrel!
The truck you can see in the photo stopped at a loading point in a beautiful part of the country. It was loaded with over 20 tonnes of copper wire stowed in plastic barrels. These were fixed to the pallets by film – and nothing else. When the driver put his foot down hard on the brake pedal, the load started to slip. Just as loads always do when the acceleration or centrifugal forces acting on them are greater than the forces retaining them. A request to unload the cargo was refused. The police were notified and made sure that this load no longer used any roads that you (and we) also travel on.
Figure 1 [Felix Schmitt]
Special 3 – Straight through the end wall
The truck and trailer you can see in this photo were traveling along a motorway in southern Germany, up to the point when the traffic forced the driver to brake on a downhill stretch. The 23 tonnes of steel loaded on the trailer, which were secured by a totally inadequate total of eight tie-down lashings, crashed through the end wall and damaged the compressed air brake line. At the scene of the accident, the resulting damage was estimated at over €50,000. The motorway had to be completely closed for several hours to perform the clear-up operations.
Figure 1 [Felix Schmitt]
We do not have the detailed information that would enable us to suggest ways to improve the situation. At first glance, and without conducting any in-depth examination, we think the following measures might help:
- Formation of load units (inspected in accordance with DIN 55415)
- Use of anti-slip material
- Securing by means of direct or loop lashings, tie-down lashings only used as a complementary measure
It hardly seems too much to ask that professionals in the logistics field should think about how their goods need to be secured before sending them on their way. All too often, drivers are left to handle this task by themselves.
Special 4 – Lost for words!
Figure 1 [Thomas Length]
Your load securing columnists from KLSK and GDV wish you and your loved ones a peaceful New Year without any of the experiences we’ve described above. Please stay safe and healthy and we look forward to welcoming you back to our column in 2026!