Message from the Claims Desk 6.7.16

stewartms • June 7, 2016

Good Morning Stewart Family,

Last night tropical storm Colin made landfall on the Westside of Florida. Overnight, this storm swept across our southeastern service area with gale force winds knocking down trees, powerlines, and damaging many homes. This storm is continuing to move northeast, however it has diminished to a mere band of heavy rain. So just as you would think about where to position yourself to stay safe from the storm, think about how to position the truck to keep our customer’s items safe as well.

This week, I would like to talk about the importance of proper truck positioning during the loading and unloading process. Now, I cannot stress enough the importance of checking for low hanging branches when pulling to the side of the road or avoidance of driving a truck through anyone’s lawn. However, I am primarily referring to how the truck is parked, for loading or unloading, when on a hill.

When loading or unloading the truck should almost always be parked downhill. This means that the front of the vehicle will be at the lowest point. This will help items stay in your load and aid them from falling. Essentially this will give your tiers stability and prevent unnecessary damage from occurring whether loading or unloading. This is especially important when you did not load the shipment yourself and must be weary of the dreaded “traps” in the load.

So watch for those low hanging branches, avoid people’s yards, and park the truck down hill.

Cheers,

Robert Wright – Claims Manager

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