Mitigating risk for abnormal loads

Against a background of

growing concern over road

safety issues – particularly

with regard to abnormal load

transport – risk mitigation is

always high on the agenda.

“Abnormal loads cannot

be moved on

public roads

without

exceeding

legal

limitations

set within

the National

Road Traffic

Act – and as

an abnormal

load cannot

be broken

into smaller

portions this

brings with it significant risk

with regard to road safety,”

said Escorts for Africa’s Gail

Cathcart-James.

According to the Western

Cape Department of

Transport and Public Works,

abnormal loads and vehicles

can obstruct the vision of

other vehicles because of

their dimensions, resulting

in higher risks of road

accidents.

Which is why the provision

of escorts who drive with

the trucks

in order to

warn other

motorists

that an

oversized

truck is on

the road or

on its way is

crucial.

Escorts

for Africa

provides

drivers and

vans to

the abnormal truck sector to

escort them to and from pickup

and drop-off destinations

to lessen the risks involved in

transportation and protect

cargoes.

However, Cathcart-

James said that road safety

risks were definitely not

eliminated by the use of

escorts and the industry still

faced many challenges.

“We’ve been in a couple

of hairy situations where

there’ve been accidents

because people were

impatient,” she said. “When

there’s a great big abnormal

truck in front of them and

they want to get past, people

do stupid things.

“People on the road just

don’t see the escort vehicles

that are there to warn

the public that there is an

abnormal truck coming or

they just ignore them,” added

Cathcart-James.

Road safety has become

a critical issue, especially

in South Africa, with the

Road Traffic Management

Corporation (RTMC)

reporting an increase in fatal

crashes from 10 367 in 2014

to 11 679 in 2016.

This year, for the first

quarter alone, the RTMC

recorded 2 365 fatal crashes

on SA roads.

Additionally, Cathcart-

James pointed out that while

there were also security risks

faced in the transportation

of goods due to hijacking and

theft, the company had not

experienced any incidents

of that nature as they

consciously looked for safe

places to stop over during

trips, such as garages and

truck stops.

“As we feel that there is

safety in numbers we will

always try and stop where

there are other trucks and

our escorts always park

close to the trucks,” she said.

“However, we don’t carry any

firearms and to date have not

had the need for them.”

She considers South Africa

and Zimbabwe as regions

with the highest risks in

all aspects of the industry,

with Botswana and Namibia

considered the safest.

INSERT

We’ve been in a

couple of hairy

situations because

people were

impatient.

– Gail Cathcart- James