Guidelines to Enhance Your Safety When Operating a Tray Top Semi-Trailer
Posted on: 12 May 2020
Construction has evolved a lot over the past decade. One of the biggest evolutions that has enhanced and simplified construction is transportation vehicles. Tray top semi-trailers are some of the easy to operate yet powerful means of hauling construction materials from one place to the other. To have a smooth time with your construction project, especially when using the new trailer types, you should think about the safety of operation. Here are a few guidelines that will help you have the highest level of safety when operating a tray top semi-trailer.
Avoid Loading when the Trailer Is Tipping
Tray top trailers are open all around. If it leans on any side, the load falls over. Construction sites are never easy to work on, and it is normal to have situations where two legs of the trailer are inside a porthole. If the legs are resting on an uneven surface and the vehicle is leaning to one side, do not continue loading the vehicle. Manoeuvre the vehicle towards a stable ground, and then continue with the loading.
Keep Off Excavations
Another mistake that trailer operators do is being excessively confident about their driving skills. Excavation sites leave the earth all around them weak and vulnerable to sinking. If a heavy vehicle moves too close to an excavation, it weakens the ground, which might lead to a total collapse of the infrastructure that is being laid down to support the building. Additionally, if the walls collapse, they will take the trailer and the load down with them. Removing the trailer from such a mess takes time and money, and it could also cause thousands of dollars' worth of damage to the vehicle.
Avoid Jerky Movements
It is common to use jerky movements when trying to shake a sticky load off a trailer. This works well for dump trucks. Most of the time, when the jerky movement is applied, the load falls directly behind the trailer. However, the tray top trailer is difficult to deal with because the moment you use the sticky movement, the load falls on any side of the vehicle. If it happens to fall on the side of the vehicle and there are people or equipment there, it could cause injuries and damages.
These are simple yet highly effective instructions which you can follow to maximise safety when operating a tray top trailer. Take time and learn how to handle the trailer before operating one as this will minimise accidents for you.
For more information about tray top semi-trailers, contact a professional near you.
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