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Calgary driver blames damage to ‘dream car’ on an unsecured load

Click to play video: 'Calgary man wants drivers to remember to secure loads after striking paint can on Stoney Trail'
Calgary man wants drivers to remember to secure loads after striking paint can on Stoney Trail
WATCH: A Calgary man says his “dream car” was badly damaged after hitting debris he believes was from someone’s unsecured load. Joel Senick explains why his plea to drivers is important for more than just Calgarians – Dec 1, 2017

A Calgary man’s dream car is banged up after he says he struck a paint can on Stoney Trail on Thursday morning while driving to work.

Martin Lins said in an interview Friday that he believes the can was part of a pile of debris that fell off of someone’s vehicle due to an unsecured load.

“I just want people to be aware of what’s in their vehicles and make sure they’re secured,” Lins said Friday.

“[In] this city it’s quite common to have debris on the roads.”

Lins’ bumper was cracked and paint stained parts of his sports car, which he bought only five months ago.

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“It’s heartbreaking,” Lins said.

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READ MORE: Over half of commercial vehicles inspected during 3-day blitz deemed unsafe: EPS

Unsecured loads are an issue in more places than just Calgary, according to Andrew Barnes, the director of compliance and regulatory affairs with the Alberta Motor Transport Association.

“People need to understand that this is a real problem,” Barnes said.

“If a couch falls off of a pickup truck or whether a piece of cement falls of a commercial vehicle, that is potentially a life threatening incident on a highway.”

This past summer, inspectors from the United States and Canada with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance undertook their annual enforcement event and found that cargo securement was the second most common vehicle violation recorded.

“Whether you’re operating a commercial vehicle or whether you’re operating a half-ton, all the contents of the vehicle, whether it’s in the back of a half-ton or whether it’s on a flat deck trailer, need to be secured,” Barnes said.

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