Cargo trucks to face Bt50,000 fine if container twist locks not applied

[snoop1130]

Cargo trucks to face Bt50,000 fine if container twist locks not applied

By The Nation

 

file photo

 

Cargo trucks that fail to fasten shipping containers' twist locks before going on the road will be fined a maximum Bt50,000 from September 1, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) said.

 

The DLT regulation in the use of twist locks, which was announced on Wednesday, is to prevent accidents where cargo trucks' containers dislodge and fall onto others, resulting in injuries and deaths or property damage.

 

On Monday, a 34-year-old Thai woman was crushed and killed by a fallen container on Ayutthaya roadside. The truck driver claimed that a car cut in front of his vehicle and he swerved to the left to avoid it, causing the container to fall on the victim who was standing nearby.

 

Land Transport Federation of Thailand head Apichart Prairungreung said the issue stemmed from the truck drivers' carelessness. 

 

He said the federation had proposed that the DLT issues a regulation to require a cargo truck to be installed with a light signal system to warn other motorists of a hazard if the truck has not used a twist lock.

 

Out of the country's one million cargo trucks registered with the authorities, 200,000 trucks were under the federation, he said. 

 

He urged that all trucks apply the light signal system - which required approximately Bt1,000 for installation - so police could notice offenders and impose fines.

 

Factory owners and industrial estates could participate by not allowing trucks to leave their premises if they do not have twist locks, while the authority could impose a harsher fine on the truck owners and seize the truck drivers' driving licence.

 

Federation adviser Thongyoo Khongkhan, who owns a 30-truck fleet, said some truck drivers who weren't the federation's members mistakenly believed that the use of twist locks would cause more damage to the truck and containers in an accident. 

 

Thongyoo welcome the stricter action against those who failed to fasten the twist locks. 

 

He said the action came after several previous attempts by related authorities to ensure all cargo trucks had their containers locked for better road safety, such as the Expressway Authority of Thailand which currently imposed a Bt1,000 fine on such violators.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30371861

[dcnx]

Yea. Sure.

[Wiggy]

Won’t be enforced. Next.....

[tompelli]

mistakenlybelieved that the use of twist locks would cause more damage to the truck and containers in an accident. 

Do something to cure this ignorance. They are a safety device for other road users...use them.

[legend49]

How will authorities know if they are used? We will have to wait for the next accident then they have an answer. Who will pay the 50,000 baht fine, no driver has that amount of cash.

[LennyW]

How about all the trucks transporting excavators......never a chain in sight, and there have been a few of them slid off on top of vehicles over the years!!

[samjaidee]

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

[colinneil]

5 minutes ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

On each corner of the containers there is a hole, on the trailer there is a lock, which when twisted the lock comes up into the hole, and then the lock is twisted, locking the container in place.

Maybe somebody better informed than me can provide some photos.

[bluesofa]

17 minutes ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

It's a misprit - it should have said 'twit lock': It's a way to try and teach common sense to those who are hard-of-learning.

[lesmac]

How about 50,000 for the company and a 1 year ban for any unsecured load, because it's not only containers that kill.

[Cadbury]

Long overdue changes to laws which might save lives if enforced. Pity no one thought of it before; after all twist locks have been around forever. But how many are ever used no one would know.

But now there are 50,000 good reasons for rigid enforcement. This incentive should provide police with a limitless new revenue source for the on ground and upstream RTP officers.  

 

 

[30la]

Almost all of these drivers are potential murderers and if you don't do something more drastic, MURDERS on the road will never end!

[malt25]

33 minutes ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

Me thinks your avatar is asking that question.

[longball53098]

http://www.pacificmarine.net/marine-deck/cargo-securing/container-twistlocks.htm

 

edit to add locks for trailers

http://www.chassisking.com/products/twist-locks/twist-lockInsert other media s-for-container-chassis/

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

He said the federation had proposed that the DLT issues a regulation to require a cargo truck to be installed with a light signal system to warn other motorists of a hazard if the truck has not used a twist lock.

A light system requires a working bulb.. we all know how that works out in the LOS

[Henricus]

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

Plenty of images and descriptions on the internet. All you have to do is search.

[AhFarangJa]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

He said the federation had proposed that the DLT issues a regulation to require a cargo truck to be installed with a light signal system to warn other motorists of a hazard if the truck has not used a twist lock.

Which will be disconnected as soon as the truck leaves the garage.

[essox essox]

13 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Won’t be enforced. Next.....

after NEXT you should have wrote NEVER......

[essox essox]

surely COMMON sense to apply any locking system....but where ARE WE????

[MaxYakov]

5 hours ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

Google is your friend (excepting for Donald Trump, of course):

 

Twistlock Wiki (link).  What is a link? Google it!

[Justgrazing]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

said some truck drivers who weren't the federation's members mistakenly believed that the use of twist locks would cause more damage to the truck and containers in an accident. 

Borrocks .. They do not damage the container or truck and the whole point of them is to lock the container on to the trailer .. The twist type of lock has been used for years around the world with no problem .. 

 

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

He said the federation had proposed that the DLT issues a regulation to require a cargo truck to be installed with a light signal system to warn other motorists of a hazard if the truck has not used a twist lock

Warning systems on the trailer  frame and within the motive unit ( cab ) have long been fitted to modern trucks and trailers and usually have lights and sometimes a buzzer warning the trailer is not locked in position .. 

Trailer twist lock .. The handle ( blue arrow ) is turned thru' 90° to lock .. 

 

[ibtg68]

7 hours ago, samjaidee said:

What is a "twist lock"? It would have made sense to include a photo in the article to get some understanding of what it was about.

I also had the same question and here are two photos which should help explain it.

 

 

[natway09]

No No NO

Land Transport Dept wake up.

A blatant act of omission by a lazy  indolent person endangering hundreds by this action should have his licence revoked

Get a grip & stop pussy footing around

[PETERTHEEATER]

When I worked in the Middle East I was called by an employee who said that they had difficulty lifting a container from a truck bed using  a 45 ton crane. When I got to the scene the entire container and the semi-trailer were off the ground and swinging. No, they hadn't forgot to release the 'twist locks' they were not engaged but someone at the dispatch end and stitch-welded the container to the truck bed!????

[NanLaew]

Virtually all of the container transporters on the roads in Thailand are assembled in Thailand to international specifications as a lot are also exported. Thus most come standard with these container cam-locks, the concept of which is unknown and thus the correct use is ignored.

 

...a bit like zebra crossings actually.

[Thongkorn]

There are some twist locks that will fall down if not locked,  Making it impossible to not twist and lock them, If the driver does not then the container would fall off or move forward at the first brake or corner.