It’s July 1st, Canada Day, so it’s a great time to publish the very first guest post on this blog. My good friend Charissa Steel is a fantastic green professional. And last week she had a close call and, as she vented her rage on social media, I thought it would make sense to publish it as a guest post on this blog.
Think Twice – by Charissa Steel
It’s been a long day outside and the job took a lot longer than you expected. You’re finally done and you just want to get out of there. You and your crew load the backpack blower, line trimmers, gas cans, and other equipment into your pickup truck or trailer. You think to yourself “I’m not going far and my gear is heavy, so I can’t be bothered to tie it down or tarp it.”
Think again. Yesterday, I was riding home on my motorcycle, over the Golden Ears Bridge in the centre lane. A trailer in the fast lane a little ahead of me suddenly lost a 6’ long 2×8’ board that started rolling into my lane. Before I could decide which way to go around it, the trailer then lost a Stihl chainsaw! Forever burnt into my brain is an image I only expected in a movie or video game: the image of a CHAINSAW BOUNCING TOWARD ME AND MY BIKE AT 90km/hr!!!
I’ve been in the landscape industry for more than 10 years and I have seen and heard of many other vehicle mishaps. I personally had a trailer pop off the ball and drag behind the truck on its chains. A colleague lost a large fertilizer spreader (which, thankfully, a skilled welder was able to repair). Various crews have lost tarps full of grass, ladders, trees…and now a chainsaw.
Not only is it very dangerous for other motorists (especially motorbikes), but that chainsaw is likely now scrap metal. As the lead hand, how would you explain that kind of damage to your boss? Who would be forking out another $700 for a backpack blower because you were too tired to hook up a bungee cord? You may also have to explain the terribly unprofessional advertising of your nicely logo’d company vehicle recklessly dropping projectiles.
I have yet to even mention the legal ramifications of unsecured loads. If you’re pulled over in British Columbia fines start at $288 for businesses and go up to $598. I imagine if you have been trained to secure your loads, your boss would agree that you are responsible for the fine.
Whatever reason convinces you to secure your gear, be it company policy, safety, financial or legal, please just do it….every time…no matter how hard it’s raining or how close you are to the next site.
Happy Canada Day!!
