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When transporting goods or cargo, doing so safely is of paramount importance. You wouldn’t want your cargo to get destroyed or damaged or receive complaints from your customers about same.. One of the biggest safety concerns your cargo can face during the transportation is when the truck or the trailer is at rest. The vehicle might suddenly roll back or forward and get into an accident. This is especially true when the vehicle is at a slope.
There are several ways of preventing this from happening and protecting your cargo as well as yourself from harm. Here are the best five tips to follow.
1. Remember to apply your parking brake
Forgetting to apply your parking brake is one of the biggest reasons for vehicles rolling and causing an accident. Make it a habit to always apply your parking brake as soon as you bring the truck or trailer to rest. This prevents your vehicle from suddenly rolling and causing an accident.
2. Use wheel chocks when the vehicle is stationary
Another excellent way to stop a truck from rolling is by using wheel chocks. Wheel chocks are essentially wedges made up of solid and sturdy material, usually plastic, that can be wedged around a vehicle’s wheels to stop it from moving.
When on a level road, these wheel chocks can be placed in front of the front wheels and behind the rear wheels. If you have brought the vehicle to a stop on a hill or a slope, these wheel chocks only need to be placed behind the rear wheels. This way, even if you haven’t applied the parking brake, there is little or no risk of the vehicle suddenly rolling back.
Safeload provides durable wheel chocks which you can purchase through our online store www.safeload.co.za
3. Use Hill-Start Assist
Many modern vehicles come with the hill-start assist feature that uses intelligent driving assistance technology to prevent your vehicle from rolling.
This Hill-Start Assist feature works by maintaining brake pressure while you switch from petrol pedal to the brake pedal and vice versa. When beginning to go up a steep hill or going down a slope, all you need to do is switch on this Hill-Start Assist function.
4. Shift your gears to park
Other than applying the parking brake, it is also a good idea to shift your vehicle’s gear to park. Doing so adds an additional layer of protection to your vehicle and ensures that it stays in a state of rest unless you decide to move the vehicle. Shifting your gear to park is a habit that you need to practise and learn over time, so make it a point to remember to do this always.
5. Turn your wheels towards the sidewalk
When you park a truck or a trailer loaded with cargo, one can easily forget about the alignment or positioning of the vehicle’s wheels. The vehicle accidentally begins to roll back because the wheels have been turned in a straight alignment. If you are looking to avoid this, make it a point to turn your vehicle’s wheels towards the sidewalk. This way, even if the vehicle begins to roll backwards, it won’t go down the road but only hit the curb or the sidewalk.
