Load Restraints
There is a range of equipment that a driver could choose from when securing a load. Your examiner may ask you to choose from the following equipment and demonstrate how it should be used. You will have to make your selection according to the type of load specified by the examiner.
Rope is no longer acceptable for load securing. This is because skill is needed to tie effective knots and there is no easy way of verifying their strength, or the strength of the rope.
Telescopic load-restraining bars are used to restrain roller cages that are used in retail distribution. The bars are either fixed into specially designed rails on either side of the vehicle, or are kept in place by being tensioned against the walls of the load compartments. The vehicle should have been specifically designed to allow restraining bars to be used.
Chains are used to restrain heavy equipment. They are also used to restrain steel plate or tube due to the weight of these loads and the tendency of steel to cut into webbing straps. Chains are tensioned by using a ratchet load binder.
Ratchet straps are very versatile and are suitable for most loads, with the exception of very heavy items of machinery and steel.