Taking trailers seriously

It’s said that driving a vehicle is one of the most dangerous activities people do on a daily basis – and pulling a trailer adds a further element of risk. That’s why PlaceMakers ensures all trailers leaving its branches are loaded safely

PlaceMakers is pleased to provide free loan trailers to customers and, according to Fletcher Distribution’s Head of Environment, Health and Safety Anthony Mitchell, its reasons for doing so are two-fold.

“Firstly, it’s good service to help a customer transport the goods they’ve purchased to where they need to go,” says Anthony. “Secondly we can avoid issues around overloading, as we can be clear about how they’re loaded when they’re ours.” 

Responsibility all round

Anthony says the tricky bit in the past has been when customers bring their own trailer, as they feel that means the responsibility only lies with them.

“The driver of the vehicle is ultimately responsible but, as a business, we have a part to play. It’s our product and they are on our site, so we’re part of the chain,” says Anthony.

‘She’ll be right, I won’t sue you!’ is a more common phrase then people might think. But, in addition to the fact that we want to protect our customers – not just our liability –
we do share the responsibility.” 

Anthony says there have been a few instances where a trailer has been overloaded and flipped, making the driver lose control and sending product everywhere. In those cases, even if no one is hurt and the customer owns the trailer, police become involved and ask where and how the trailer was loaded. 

“The police say we should take reasonable steps to ensure builders get to and from their destination as safely as possible, and we agree.”

Line in the sand

Ensuring trailers don’t exceed the maximum load limits is one way to do this.

Anthony has been working with branch staff to reiterate the importance of establishing the limit and sticking to it – even if the trailer belongs to the customer.

“It can be a tough conversation for some of them, especially when they have a good relationship with a builder, but they are committed to upholding this and it has made a real difference. 

“You used to hear about a trailer flipping once every 8-12 weeks; it’s now once or twice a year. “This is largely thanks to staff being on board with the stance and customers understanding instead of pushing back, which is fantastic.” 

Determining load limits

Anthony says most people know the towing capacity of their vehicle but, if the driver isn’t the vehicle owner, they might assume that all utes have similar ratings, which isn’t true – it could range from 750kg to 4.5 tonnes! (The tow rating can normally be found on the tow bar). 

“Trailers also have a maximum load capacity but, unlike vehicles, some come with a rating and others don’t. If in doubt, our staff will err on the side of caution or suggest you borrow one of ours, so that you, and the others on the road with you, can get home safely.” 

He added that most products list their weight online and, if customers are unsure how much the load they want to pick up weighs, they can always call ahead to ask. 

If a customer needs to move really heavy orders, they can use PlaceMakers delivery service instead.