|
|
Secure Your LoadWhy Should you Secure your Load?Across North America, over 25,000 accidents are caused each year by litter that is either purposefully dumped by motorists or that falls out of vehicles with unsecured loads. Nearly 100 of those accidents are fatal. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, road debris causes about 350 accidents every year on state highways. Even if you are going a short distance and not driving on a highway, you are still required by law to secure your load. Is your load secure? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Recent incidents involving unsecured loads that caused serious injury or death:
Unsecured loads will cost you:In response to the public outcry over the Maria Federici case, the Washington legislature increased the penalties for failing to secure a vehicle load and littering. These laws, Chapter 70.93 RCW (Revised Code of Washington) and RCW 46.61.655(1), established minimum fines for littering, illegal dumping, and unsecured loads. As of July 2005, the fine for transporting an unsecured load is $216. If an item falls off a vehicle and causes bodily harm, the driver now faces gross misdemeanor charges and penalties of up to $5000 and/or up to a year in prison. Since 1994, King County Code 10.12.040 (PDF) has required an unsecured load fee to be charged for vehicles arriving at transfer stations that do not have secured loads. These fees are in addition to any penalties or fines for unsecured loads by law enforcement officers. What can you do?Follow these tips for securing your load:
Do your part to make sure no one else is injured or killed by unsecured loads:
Learn more about litter prevention and securing your load:The Department of Ecology has developed a video as part of their "litter and it will hurt" campaign. The "Securing Your Load" video features real stories (including the Federici story) and examples of how litter can hurt, offers tips on how you can prevent such incidents and highlights recent changes to state law. Watch the video now (Windows Media file - 9:43 minutes, 16.3 MB. Note: This is a very large file and may take several minutes to download, depending on connection speed. You will need the Windows Media Player plug-in - which you can download for free.) For more information about the Secured Load education program, contact the program manager online. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
King County Solid Waste Division
King Street Center 201 S. Jackson Street, Suite 701, Seattle, Washington 98104
Solid Waste Information Line: 206-296-4466, Fax: 206-296-0197, TTY Relay: 711,
800-325-6165 ext. 64466 (outside the local calling area M-F 8:30 am - 4:30 pm)
Send us your comments online.
Updated: Mar. 31, 2009
Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County.
By visiting this and other King County Web pages,
you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site.
The details.