Load restraint is one of the more commonly failed areas of transport compliance, and one where failure has consequences well beyond an infringement — an unrestrained load that shifts or falls causes serious crashes.
The obligation is shared
The driver is responsible for the load they carry. So is the operator, and in practice so is the party who loaded it.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, where more than one PCBU has a duty in relation to the same matter, each must consult, cooperate and coordinate. A business that loads a vehicle influences the safety of what happens next, and holds duties accordingly.
The practical implication: a consignor who loads badly and hands the vehicle to a driver has not discharged their obligation by saying the driver should have checked.
What restraint actually has to do
Restraint must prevent the load moving relative to the vehicle under the forces of normal driving — braking, cornering and acceleration — and in an emergency manoeuvre.
The forces involved are larger than intuition suggests. A load must be restrained against substantial forward force under emergency braking, and lesser but significant forces sideways and rearward.
That is why a load that seems secure standing still can move in a way that surprises the driver.
The recurring failures
- Insufficient lashings for the mass being restrained.
- Damaged or worn webbing, which loses rated capacity. Cuts, abrasion and UV degradation all reduce it.
- Relying on friction alone without blocking or direct restraint.
- Loads that shift during the journey, particularly with settling loads or partial unloading.
- Not re-checking after the first stop, when lashings have bedded in.
- Unsuitable anchor points, or lashings run over sharp edges without protection.
- Loose items in the cab or on the deck, which become projectiles.
Partial unloading is worth specific mention. A load restrained correctly when full may be inadequately restrained after half is delivered, and the driver needs to re-secure rather than continue.
Specific load types
Logs are high mass with a high centre of gravity, and log transport has its own restraint requirements. Rollover risk is elevated on rural roads.
Machinery requires direct restraint at designated points, with any articulated parts secured and, where relevant, hydraulics locked.
Steel and pipe can roll or slide and generally requires blocking as well as lashing.
Palletised goods need the load secured to the pallet as well as the pallet to the vehicle. Shrink wrap is not restraint.
Dangerous goods carry additional requirements around segregation and documentation, and undeclared dangerous goods are a separate and serious offence.
Where it connects to the wider safety picture
Ministry of Transport data records 195 road deaths to date this year, and driving for work is the largest single source of work-related death across the economy.
After a serious crash, the investigation examines more than the immediate cause. Scheduling, rates, whether the run could be completed legally within work time limits, and whether the driver could realistically decline are all assessed.
A schedule that leaves no time to secure a load properly is the operator’s problem. Work time includes loading and unloading, not just driving.
What operators should have in place
- Equipment rated for the loads carried, inspected and replaced when damaged.
- Training for drivers and for anyone who loads, covering the actual loads you carry rather than generic content.
- Time in the schedule to secure and re-check.
- A pre-departure check that includes load security, recorded.
- A re-check after the first stop, and after any partial unload.
- Clear authority for a driver to refuse a load they consider unsafe, backed the first time it is used.
For consignors
If you load vehicles, you are part of this. Provide safe loading areas, train the people who load, give drivers time and a safe place to check, and do not pressure a driver to leave with a load they have raised concerns about.
NZTA publishes load restraint requirements and guidance, and WorkSafe publishes vehicles-at-work and loading guidance. Both free.
Figures: Ministry of Transport road safety statistics, updated August 2026. General information only. Confirm current requirements with NZTA.
