Troopers Urge Drivers to Secure Loads
Jun 8, 2019, 10:50 PM | Updated: 10:59 pm
FARMINGTON, Utah – Utah Highway Patrol troopers want drivers to be sure any loads they are hauling are properly secured.
“Hazards are a big issue, especially in the summertime,” said Trooper Brayden Smith. “Whether they’re trying to dodge the item in the road or whether they’re hitting it and causing damage to their vehicles. It’s a very, very big issue we have.”
Saturday, a mattress that flew off a trailer on I-15 caused a four-car crash. An SUV behind the trailer hit the mattress and lost control. It hit another SUV and they both spun out. A fourth car hit the mattress again. No one was seriously injured. It was one of several debris incidents today.
“Today we’ve had cones in the lanes, we’ve had a canoe in the road and we have also had another mattress that we had to pull out before somebody hit it,” Smith said.
In May, a woman dodged serious injury when a five-foot metal beam crashed through her windshield along I-15. It’s a good reminder to always be ready for the unexpected and for anyone who’s hauling something to take extra care.
“Double, triple-check your loads, making sure everything is strapped down completely where it’s not going to come off, where it’s not going to injure another vehicle or injure another person that’s driving on this roadway,” Smith said.
