State Senator Kim Hendren has been, again, trying to pass a state law requiring trucks transporting gravel and sand to have a tarp covering the load. The rest of the story can be read here.
While the bill has been proposed regularly since 2001 and rejected by the state House, it is up again for Arkansas state Senate and House vote. The purpose of the bill is to protect cars behind trucks carrying large loads of small materials that can easily be blown away by the wind and hit passing or behind cars’ windows and cause scratches or worse damage – particularly if a car’s window is open.
One of the uses of a tarp is to protect a truck load and can easily be put on either manually or automatically by the truck itself. The tarp can be of any material, but it should be of a lightweight but still heavy duty material that all workers can lift. For materials that can be exposed to water, such as with sand and gravel in the case of this news story, a mesh tarp would be appropriate. If the transported material needs to be protected from water during travel, a vinyl or polyethylene tarp is a better choice for a truck tarp. In addition, a truck tarp needs to be of a specific size to fit the load of the truck, and a tarp being used on a truck should have an additional row of D-rings.
How should workers put on a truck tarp? The workers should grip onto the tarp and not just the ropes to apply it and remove it. When the tarp is put over the load, the winch straps are only over the load and the tarp is on top of the straps. The tarp shouldn’t be too loose, as it would experience wind whip and tear, but not too tight, either, as this will cause strain in the material. In addition, the truck tarp should be checked regularly for tears – as it would be useless then. To be checked for tears or holes, the tarp should be laid on a flat surface to be examined for holes, rips, and tripping hazards. Sharps corners should also be padded, with foam, cardboard, and carpet pads protection during travel.
To prevent flying gravel and sand particles during transport, a truck tarp is a logical solution to not only protect the transported materials from the elements but to protect the motorists from flying particles, as well.
