Going off piste, but carrying on the above, in the late 1970's I had to deal with a fatal road accident involving a large 6-wheel flatbed lorry, owned by a nationally renowned company, carrying pallets of concrete building blocks. The only means of securing the blocks were three ropes passed over the top of them secured fore and aft, there was no means of preventing sideways movement other than gravity. Each block weighed 28lbs. At a narrowing of the road the rear nearside wheels clipped the kerb and the sideways jolt shot a pallet and a half of blocks straight through the windscreen of a Minivan travelling in the opposite direction. The driver would have died before he had time to register that his windscreen was breaking. As well as the lorry driver, I had to report the transport manager for using a vehicle with an insecure load, the only offence disclosed under the Road Traffic Act. Following this all loads of bricks or building blocks had to be either netted or carried in cages to prevent similar accidents. Even today when I see a lorry load of concrete blocks I cannot help but think back to that day.
David
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