Load Security and the Truck Loading Code: Duties, Evidence and Your Cover

A load that shifts, spills or falls is one of the few heavy vehicle incidents where the law, the client and the insurer all start by asking the same question: was it secured properly before the truck left? The answer usually decides who pays, and it is often settled in the minutes before departure rather than on the road.

This article sets out what the law actually requires, what the official loading code says, where workplace safety duties come in, and how load security connects to the covers most operators carry. It is general information drawn from the primary sources linked below, not advice on any particular policy.

The legal duty sits with the operator and the loader

The starting point is section 9 of the Land Transport Act 1998, headed "Loads transported by vehicles to be secured". It says a person operating a motor vehicle on a road, and any person loading that vehicle, must ensure that any load carried on it, or on a vehicle it is towing, is secured and contained so that it cannot fall or escape from the vehicle.

Two things in that wording matter for operators. The first is that the duty is shared. A forklift driver at a customer's yard who loads your trailer has a legal duty of their own, and so does your driver. The second is that the standard is an outcome, not a process. The test is whether the load could fall or escape, not whether someone followed a checklist.

The NZ Transport Agency's Truck Loading Code page describes the offences as strict liability for insecure loads and loads falling from vehicles. In practice that means the prosecution does not have to prove carelessness. The same page states that an individual faces a fine of up to $2,000 and possible disqualification for a period the court considers appropriate, and that the maximum fine for a body corporate is $10,000.

What the Truck Loading Code is, and why courts look at it

The Truck Loading Code is a code of practice published by the NZ Transport Agency. It is not a rule in its own right, but the agency's page explains that in a prosecution the court must have regard to the code when deciding whether the operator or loader was at fault. Methods other than those in the code are acceptable, as long as they meet the same conditions.

The code puts the burden on the person being prosecuted. Its page says the defendant must be able to show that the load restraint system was capable of preventing movement of the load. Its general requirements explain that a load must be restrained against the forces created by road undulations, changes of direction, and braking or acceleration, and that tests may be needed to confirm a restraint system meets the criteria.

For an operator, that turns the code into a practical evidence standard. If a load moves, the questions will be what restraint was used, whether it was rated for the load, whether it was in good condition, and whether anyone can show it was checked. A driver who can point to a method that follows the code, and to a pre-departure check, is in a far better position than one who can only say the load looked fine.

The code also sets minimum methods for specialised loads. Logs, steel, machinery, containers, livestock crates and bulk materials each behave differently under braking and cornering, so operators carrying these should work from the specific sections rather than a general rule of thumb.

The workplace safety side: loading is work

Securing and covering a load is also work under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and that brings a second set of duties into play. WorkSafe's quick guide, Keeping safe while securing and covering loads on vehicles (September 2023), points operators to the Truck Loading Code and Land Transport Rules for the technical standards and concentrates on the people doing the work.

The guide identifies hazards such as musculoskeletal injuries from handling heavy tarps, curtains and gear, being struck by curtain sider buckles or pillars in wind, crush injuries from loads that are poorly placed or unbalanced, falls from height when climbing on loads or standing on a deck, and being struck by other site traffic. It recommends controls including vehicle access platforms, sheltered and level work areas, exclusion zones around the vehicle, automated tarping covers where they can be used, pre-trip checks of gear, and enough workers for manual tarping. It also states that PCBUs cannot contract out of their responsibilities to manage risk.

Loading often happens on someone else's site, which is where WorkSafe's overlapping duties position is relevant. It says businesses that share duties must, so far as is reasonably practicable, co-operate, co-ordinate and consult with each other, and should agree which business is best placed to control each risk. For a carrier, that means having a clear understanding with regular customers about who loads, who restrains, who checks, and what happens if a driver is not satisfied with how a load has been put on.

Where load security meets your insurance

Load security touches almost every part of a typical heavy vehicle programme. How each policy responds depends on its wording, so the points below are questions to check rather than statements about any particular cover.

Goods in your care

Contracts for carrying goods by road are governed by the carriage provisions of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017. Under a contract at limited carrier's risk, the carrier's liability for lost or damaged goods follows the statutory scheme. Section 260 of the Act provides that the carrier is not liable where it proves the loss happened without fault on its part and resulted directly from one of a short list of causes, such as inherent vice of the goods or seizure under legal process. A load that falls because it was not restrained properly is unlikely to fit any of those. That is exactly the kind of loss carriers liability cover is designed to respond to, so it is worth knowing your limit, the basis of your contracts and any conditions about how goods must be carried. Our guide to carriers liability explains the cover in more detail.

Damage to other people and property

A load that comes off on the open road can damage other vehicles, injure people and close a highway. Damage to third-party property is normally the territory of the liability sections of a motor policy or a separate public liability policy, and it is worth confirming which one applies to a spilled load and whether loading and unloading activities are included. Our page on public liability covers the basics.

Clean-up and road clearing

Spilled loads also generate clean-up and traffic management costs. Check whether your programme includes road clearing or debris removal cover and what limit applies, because a serious spill on a busy route can be expensive to clear. Our explainer on road clearing and reinstatement costs sets out what to look for.

Conditions about vehicle condition and care

If your wording contains conditions about keeping vehicles in a safe or roadworthy condition or taking reasonable care, whether an insecure load engages such a condition is a matter for the specific wording and the facts. The practical point is that a documented loading process is evidence of reasonable care, while the absence of one leaves an insurer, a client and a court to draw their own conclusions.

A practical load security routine

None of the following is a legal standard in itself, but each step produces the kind of evidence the code and the insurance questions above tend to turn on.

• Train drivers and loaders on the sections of the Truck Loading Code that apply to the freight you actually carry, and keep a record of who has been trained.
• Inspect straps, chains, binders, gates, headboards and curtains before each trip, and retire damaged gear rather than nursing it through another week.
• Agree in writing with regular customers who loads, who restrains and who checks, and give drivers clear authority to refuse a load they are not satisfied with.
• Have drivers recheck restraint after the first few kilometres and after any heavy braking, when loads tend to settle.
• Photograph restrained loads at departure for high-value or unusual freight. A time-stamped image is cheap evidence.
• Record and investigate near misses, such as a load found to have shifted on arrival, the same way you would an actual spill.
• Tell your broker or insurer if you start carrying a new type of freight, because restraint risk is part of how a load is underwritten.

Questions to raise at renewal

When you next review cover, it is worth asking how your carriers liability, motor and public liability policies respond to a load that shifts or falls; whether loading and unloading activities are covered and by which policy; what limit applies to road clearing and debris removal; and whether any condition in your wording refers to securing loads, roadworthiness or reasonable care. Our article on fatigue management takes a similar approach to another compliance area where good records support a claim.

If you would like a specialist to look at how your programme handles load-related incidents, you can Get a Quote and we will pass your enquiry to a Registered Financial Service Provider with heavy vehicle experience.