29.08.2025 | Road Safety: Inside a Seminar on Cargo Securing

“How should lashing straps be used correctly, and what forces come into play when a fully loaded truck makes an emergency stop?”

Lea Henneboele, Press and Public Relations Officer

These and other questions were on my mind before the start of the load securing seminar in Selm. Together with 24 other participants, I was able to experience everything important about load securing over the course of two days—quite literally.

To ensure we can apply what we learned in everyday life, the seminar offered plenty of hands-on practice after the introduction to physics. On the second day, we had the chance to put our newly acquired load securing skills into action. I found the combination of theory and practice particularly valuable and memorable.

At the start, we dove deep into the theory. The laws of physics were presented in a very practical way—using a model truck that participants had to load and properly secure with miniature lashing straps. The theory sessions also covered how lashing straps should be tensioned at the optimal angle and how the forces during an emergency stop of a fully loaded truck can affect both the cargo and the driver’s safety.

“What mistakes should absolutely be avoided when tightening lashing straps? How do we properly secure our cargo?”

To answer this question, the seminar included not only illustrative diagrams with applied formulas but also photos of real-life examples. These often led to disbelieving headshakes from participants, who could hardly imagine that trucks were actually traveling the highways and roads in such conditions. But the focus wasn’t only on mistakes: the proven methods of proper load securing were also presented. To make the theory even more tangible, we went to the test track, where trucks with differently secured loads braked right before our eyes.

Next, it was time to put the knowledge we had gained into practice in small groups. Recognizing ready-to-use lashing straps or properly securing steel coils and bank safes were just some of the challenges that awaited us. It was up to us to choose the right load securing method and apply the products correctly. Finally, the results were reviewed together with the instructors. The experts offered improvement tips, as well as plenty of praise for correctly applying what we had learned.

Another exciting aspect of the seminar was the diversity of the participants. From professionals to beginners who had never held a lashing strap before, the seminar group was very heterogeneous. For this reason, the dialog between participants and instructors was particularly engaging and valuable. Everyone brought their own experiences to the table, contributing to the seminar in their own way. I was especially impressed by how the instructors managed to inspire and support all participants equally.

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