A grass-roots movement launched in the US looks set to go global in a bid to cut down on the number of injuries caused by unsecured loads.

Cars and trucks can regularly be spotted on the highways of Bahrain with items dangling over the sides, attached by rope with an occasional piece of cloth warning vehicles behind.

A Secure Your Load Day movement has been established by Robin Abel, a Washington mother whose daughter was severely injured by an errant piece of debris that came from a moving trailer.

Her 24-year-old daughter, Maria, was injured when a piece of particle board escaped from the back of a trailer and broke her windshield. She was nearly decapitated as the debris crushed every bone in her face.

Maria’s recovery has been long and painful. She has had seven operations and needed to learn to swallow, talk and walk again. She was also left blind. “When you see what someone has to live through and what they have to endure because of such a simple thing - securing a load on a car - it’s very heart-breaking,” said Abel.

Education is also a big part of her crusade. Using the slogan: ‘Secure your load as if everyone you loved were in a car behind you’, she successfully petitioned to have an educational module added to driving lesson courses.

A recent study by a motoring organisation found that about two-thirds of crashes related to debris were caused by unsecured loads.

Offenders in Bahrain can be stopped by traffic police in Bahrain and face fines.

Editor’s note: Is it time Bahrain had a ‘secure your load day’?

Write in to editor@gulfweekly.com and we will publish a selection of your comments.

 

Tips for securing vehicle loads include:

Tie down load with rope, netting or straps.

Tie large objects directly to the vehicle or trailer.

Cover the entire load with a sturdy tarp or netting.

Layer your load: put lighter items at the bottom and heavier items on top to help keep them in place, then secure the heavy top items.

Don’t overload your vehicle (take multiple trips when necessary).

Always double-check your load for secureness.