The road is long, the load is ginormous
On December 22, a white pickup truck overburdened with sundry items found itself upside down next to the N12 off ramp.
Within the first 18 days of the 2018/2019 festive season, nearly 800 South Africans had lost their lives due to road traffic accidents on our roads. eMalahleni was not immune to the carnage.
On December 22, a white pickup truck overburdened with sundry items found itself upside down next to the N12 off ramp.
“I suspect he lost control of the vehicle because it had been packed to maximum capacity,” a tow-truck driver on scene said, “it happens every year. These pickup trucks are carrying huge loads, usually comprising of household items that they want to take over the border and every year this type of mentality causes accidents.”
Despite the visceral reaction one might have to images of the incident, miraculously it has been reported that none of the passengers who were transported by ambulance to hospital were seriously injured.
The driver was scarcely injured, and did not need medical attention and thus remained on the scene to supervise the gathering of the mountain of goodies which had fallen off of his vehicle.
There are several issues that can occur when cargo is not properly loaded onto a ‘bakkie.’ If a pickup truck is overloaded with cargo, it may have mechanical issues because of the extra weight.
These mechanical failures could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle and get into a catastrophic accident.
Even if the weight does not lead to a complete mechanical failure, the extra weight could still make it difficult for the brakes to properly stop the truck.
People who are loading items onto a bakkie’s bed must pay attention to how much cargo is loaded and also how it is loaded.
If the items are not loaded correctly on to the bakkie, it could still cause problems even when it is well within the acceptable weight range. The cargo must be evenly loaded on both sides of the pickup truck.
If one side is heavier than the other, simple manoeuvres such as changing lanes or turning could be deadly.
The uneven distribution of weight could cause the entire bakkie to turn on its side, as it did in this case, putting the driver and other drivers in grave danger.
Motorists are urged to be mindful when loading their bakkies with cargo; two trips instead of one might save your life.
