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In 2023, over 12% of out-of-service violations during roadside inspections in the US stemmed from cargo securement issues. A poorly secured load isn't just a violation waiting to happen—it's a potential disaster on wheels. Whether you are a CDL driver or manage a fleet of carriers, ensuring secure loads is non-negotiable for safety and compliance. Let's break down the most common violations and practical solutions to avoid them.

Understand the Common Cargo Securement Violations

Before you can prevent violations, it’s crucial to understand the recurring issues. Familiarizing yourself with these common pitfalls is the first step to improving your safety protocols.

• Insufficient Tie-Downs: One of the top causes of violations is simply not using enough tie-downs to secure the cargo to the vehicle. Every piece of cargo must have enough restraints to handle the maximum forces of acceleration, deceleration, and the wind.
• Inadequate Tie-Downs: Using worn-out or inappropriate tie-downs is a critical error. Ensure all straps and chains are in good condition and rated for the weight they are securing.
• Wrong Anchor Points: Improper placement of tie-downs is another common issue. Ensure that anchors are used correctly, suitable for the specific type of cargo, and applied to all potential movement directions.
• Poor Load Distribution: Incorrectly balancing a load can make the truck unstable, leading to violations and potential accidents.
• Lack of Edge Protection: Sharp or rough cargo can cut through tie-downs if edge protection isn't used, leading to load shifts and violations.

Actionable Steps to Avoid Cargo Securement Violations

Improving cargo securement starts with implementing strategic steps designed for everyday practice:

Use the Right Equipment

It all begins with having the right tools for the job. Ensure that all equipment, from winches to tensioners, are suited for the cargo type and weight:

• Regular Inspections: Check all securement equipment for wear and tear before every trip. Replace damaged or inferior quality components immediately.
• Quality Control: Invest in high-quality materials that meet industry standards to avoid unnecessary breakdowns and ensure longer lifespan.

Calculate and Apply the Correct Number of Tie-Downs

Calculating the correct number of tie-downs based on the cargo weight and the length is crucial for compliance:

• Rule of Thumb: Apply one tie-down for every 10 feet of cargo length. However, always use more if the regulations require it.
• Securing Heavy Loads: Use at least two tie-downs for any cargo shorter than 10 feet and weighing over 1,100 lbs, regardless of length.

Remember, more is always better. When in doubt, add another tie-down to ensure safety.

Load Distribution and Balance

Improper load distribution not only leads to violations but also compromises the truck's handling. Here's how to ensure your load is evenly distributed:

• Proper Centering: Keep the weight balanced evenly, both along and across the vehicle. Side-to-side balance is particularly crucial.
• Axle Loads: Stay within axle load limits to maintain vehicle control and prevent uneven tire wear.

Training and Regular Updates

Technology and regulations are constantly evolving. Regular training can keep your team updated:

• Regular Workshops: Conduct periodic training sessions for your drivers and staff on the latest securement techniques and regulations.
• Use Real-World Scenarios: Encourage simulations of real-world scenarios to understand potential equipment failures and mishaps.

Keep Track with VAU0 LLC: Ensuring Compliance and Safety

Securing cargo is a fundamental part of your safety responsibility in trucking. VAU0 LLC offers resourceful solutions like the ERETH ELD that help monitor cargo securement practices in real-time. With built-in compliance checks, VAU0 ensures your crew is alerted to potential securement oversights before they lead to costly violations.

Whether you're adjusting anchor points or verifying tie-down conditions, the VAU0 Portal provides you with a comprehensive view of your operational safety, making sure you stay ahead of any means of noncompliance.

Stay vigilant, stay compliant, and let VAU0 help you keep your cargo – and your business – secure.

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In 2022, we were running a small fleet and spending approximately $400 per truck per month on software. TMS license, ELD subscription, e-sign service, separate accounting integration. Four different logins. Four different monthly invoices. Four different support teams to call when something didn't work.

None of it talked to each other without manual data entry.

The software evaluation that changed everything

We spent three months evaluating every major TMS and fleet management system on the market. AscendTMS, McLeod, Motive, EZLogz, KeepTruckin, TruckingOffice, Axon. We signed up for demos, trials, and in two cases, paid for actual subscriptions to test them properly.

What we found was consistent across almost all of them: the software was built by people who had never dispatched a truck. You could tell immediately. The terminology was slightly wrong. The workflows assumed steps that no real dispatcher would take. The ELD and TMS were always separate systems that "integrated" — meaning they sometimes shared data, if you configured things correctly, and the configuration broke whenever either vendor pushed an update.

"The best way to evaluate trucking software is to use it under real pressure. Not in a demo. Not in a test environment. On a real load, with a real deadline, when a broker is calling every 30 minutes for an update."

The specific things that were broken

Without naming specific vendors: one major TMS required five screen transitions to update a load status. Not five clicks — five full page navigations. On a mobile browser from a truck stop, that meant 45 seconds to tell a broker the truck was loaded. Another system had beautiful analytics dashboards but couldn't tell you, in real time, how many hours of drive time your driver had remaining without navigating to a separate compliance module.

The ELD market was worse. Most ELD systems were designed to satisfy FMCSA's technical requirements — which they did — while making the user experience as painful as possible. Drivers hated them. When drivers hate their tools, they find workarounds. Workarounds create compliance risk.

The moment we decided to build

The decision was made on a Tuesday afternoon when our dispatcher spent 40 minutes re-entering data from a rate confirmation PDF that our ELD had already captured in a different system. The information existed. It was digital. It lived in three different places that didn't talk to each other, and a human was manually transferring it between systems.

That's not a technology problem. That's a lack of ambition problem. Nobody had decided to solve it because the existing systems were profitable enough without solving it.

What we decided to build instead

One platform. ELD and TMS as the same system, not integrations. AI that reads rate confirmation PDFs so dispatchers don't have to. A dispatcher — eventually an AI dispatcher — that covers nights and weekends so loads don't get missed. E-sign built in, not bolted on.

And priced at zero through 2026, because the goal was to prove the product worked before asking carriers to pay for it.

Two years in: did it work?

The Rate Con AI has a 95%+ accuracy rate on standard broker formats. ERETH ELD passed FMCSA's technical certification. Our AI dispatchers book real loads for real carriers after hours. The carrier dashboard still occasionally has a minor bug — we fix them the same day they're reported.

Would we have been better off just using an existing system and focusing on freight? Financially, in the short term, probably yes. But we would have kept paying $400 per truck per month for software that we knew was mediocre. And we would have missed the opportunity to build something that actually works the way the industry needs it to work.

We don't regret it.