Exhibit A of why you should always secure your loads in an open bed truck.

Redditor /u/pl00d shared dashcam footage from his wife’s car earlier this weekend showing a Chevrolet Silverado with an unsecured load spilling over a dozen boxes and packages all over the CA-91 to CA-71 interchange in Corona, California.

Check out the video for yourself below.

The video starts off showing OP’s wife, presumably in a Tesla judging by the video quality, entering the 91 to 71 interchange.

The CA-91 to CA-71 interchange.

In front of her is a Silverado with a load of boxes stacked above the truck’s roofline in the bed.

This is probably the first time this Silverado owner’s hauled a lot of boxes as, although his load is somewhat secured, it really isn’t.

While his attempt at a secure load with hastily wrapped plastic wrap, probably provided free by wherever he came from, is presumably OK for around-town driving, it’s nowhere near safe for freeway speeds.

Stick your hand out of the window at highway speeds and you’ll get an idea of what kind of forces unsecured loads can encounter in the back of a pickup truck bed.

As the Silverado reaches the speed of traffic, physics takes over, wind exerting force on the boxes.

Ironically, the stack of boxes, when secured together like that, acts as a lever in the wind, helping to topple his whole load over.

Thankfully, OP’s wife was fully aware of the potential disaster and was following at a safe distance so she could react when the inevitable happens.

The Silverado owner doesn’t even slow or stop to check his load as they’re probably unaware anything happened.

They’ll find out soon enough.

“Came from my wife’s dashcam, ” pl00d comments, “She said she pulled alongside him to notify him and he couldn’t be bothered to look up from his phone.”

Figures.

If you’re a new truck owner and know you’ll haul something sometime soon, it’s time to familiarize yourself with how to safely secure your loads.

This guide by Family Handy Man linked here is a good place to start to familiarize yourself how to properly use ratchet straps, cargo nets, and your truck’s tie-downs.

And if you live anywhere in the United States, there’s probably a Harbor Freight you can go to. They’ve got all sorts of affordable cargo nets and straps to secure all kinds of loads.

Affordable cargo nets available on Harbor Freight.

It might not seem like a big deal but, as OP’s wife’s video shows, an unsecured load means potential debris for other drivers to navigate around and avoid.

Your negligence with your load, losing your load aside, can mean the difference between life and death for someone else.

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