A Hull man said he avoided a collision due to his daughter’s fear of a ‘Final Destination moment’ from an unsecure load
Sofa falls off vehicle in Anlaby Road, Hull
A Hull man says he was lucky his car was not struck by a sofa when it tumbled off the back of a vehicle on Anlaby Road. Brian Holmes, 53, from Bransholme, caught the hair-raising moment on his dashcam.
It was only because his daughter feared a ‘Final Destination moment’ – in reference to one of the horror films featuring a fatality from an unsecure load – that he maintained a cautious distance and luckily avoided a collision. He worries vulnerable road users, such as bikers, could be crushed and even killed if unsecured loads are not better policed.
He said his 19-year-old son said it was a “really heavy sofa” and another man helped him drag it to the side of the road because it was blocking traffic. He thought it might have a reclining mechanism inside, adding to the weight.
Brian told the Hull Daily Mail: “If that had hit somebody, young lads riding their motorbikes drive close to traffic, that would really have hurt and done some damage. You see it all the time in the city.”
On two other occasions within the past four years alone, Brian said he has seen unsecured loads fall into the road. Once was on Clough Road, and the other time was at the roundabout on Stoneferry Road.
“The first time was a mattress, as you can imagine, the wind got underneath it and blew it off the back. Luckily, I was a few cars off the back of that one. The next one was a single wooden dining chair.”
“If I have seen it three times, how many times does it actually happen?” he added. Brain said the drivers of the vehicles “seem to act with impunity” and just “sling it all on and hopes gravity keeps it on”.
He added: “I know they have got to earn a living, and good on ’em, they are doing a job, but most people that go out and do a job, they do it safely. They do it within the realms of the law and stick to the rules.”
Brian believes unsecured loads should be better policed, but appreciates it is a difficult thing to crack down on. He said: “How long is it going to be before somebody is actually killed or really hurt?
“And then something will be done about it, that is what it seems to take nowadays. It just seems a shame that somebody is going to end up in hospital or somebody is going to lose their life.”
Brian added: “When I take my daughter to work, we see a lot of these vehicles and she will always say to me, ‘Oh it’s a Final Destination moment, don’t drive too close to them.’
“She is always afraid of something coming off and hitting the car or going through the window. I have got into the habit that when ever I see one of those things, I always stay back a bit.
“Luckily this time I was back far enough to stop in time. That is my daughter’s doing, that. It is a good thing.”
All loads carried on vehicles must be secure regardless of what type of vehicle they’re on and the size or type of the load, according to the DVLA. “Even small, light items can kill someone if they fall from a vehicle travelling at speed,” it warns.