Rules and Regulations Regarding Load Securement

Rules and Regulations Regarding Load Securement

Beaver County Peace Officers want to make the public aware of the rules and regulations regarding load securement.

Alberta has two Regulations regarding load securement:

Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation, Section 17, (Applies to Commercial Vehicles and Farm Vehicles)

Vehicle Equipment Regulation, Section 65. (Applies to all other vehicles)

Alberta law requires all vehicles on a highway to have ALL loads adequately secured.

Vehicle Equipment Regulation states:

65(1) A person shall not use a vehicle to transport goods unless,

1. The vehicle is constructed to carry the goods, and
2. There is equipment on the vehicle or attached to the vehicle that is capable of securing the goods to ensure that the vehicle can be operated safely when loaded and without danger of

1. Turning over the vehicle, or
2. The load shifting swaying, blowing off, falling off, leaking or otherwise escaping.

*Adequate tiedowns include ratchet straps, or chains. Do not use rope or bungee cords as they cannot be tightened.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Regulation

17(4) A driver, carrier or an owner of a commercial vehicle shall ensure that cargo transported by a commercial vehicle is contained, immobilized or secured so that it cannot

1. Leak, spill, blow off, fall from, fall through or otherwise be dislodged from the commercial vehicle,
2. Shift upon or within the commercial vehicle to such an extent that the commercial vehicle’s stability or maneuverability is adversely affected.

Section 17, also goes into more detail on how loads are to be tied down, linking to the National Safety Code Standard 10.

*Adequate tiedowns are defined in the NSC Standard 10

Common questions:

Are farmers exempt?
Class 2 farm vehicles are exempt from the provisions of sections 10 and 22 of the National Safety Code when carrying bales (if they do not exceed the posted speed limit or 80 km/hr, whichever is less, and the vehicle is not operated upon any highway or portion of a highway except to cross a highway is Schedule 7), they are NOT EXEMPT from Section 5(2) of the NSC Standard 10 which states you must secure each bale with a strap, with a marked Working Load Limit (WLL) of at least 20% of the weight or aggregate weight of each bale or stack of bales.

What about tractors?
Tractors are still a vehicle as defined under the Traffic Safety Act, to which is subject to Section 65 of the Vehicle Equipment Regulations. Any load hauled by a tractor must have equipment to adequately secure the goods.

What if I go slow?
There are no exemptions for speed, any speed with an unsecured load is very dangerous and can potentially cause damage to vehicles, infrastructure and even death.

What are the fine amounts?
A fine for a violation under S. 65 of the VER is $465
A fine for a violation under S. 17 of the CVSR is $776

Mitchell Knudson
Community Peace Officer
Reg # 14806