Loading Your Car Safely
How to pack without endangering your passengers
Whether you're taking a student back to university, visiting the DIY superstore or making your annual motoring holiday, a few simple rules followed when you pack the car will help ensure you get home safely without endangering yourself, your family or other road users.
Check the handbook and adjust tyre pressures if necessary to suit the heavier load. Remember to adjust them back again after the trip.
Drive defensively – handling and performance will be affected by any load and stopping distances will be increased.
Don't exceed the Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) / Maximum Permitted Weight (MPW) – this is the technically permissible maximum weight of the vehicle based on the capability of tyres, suspension, etc. It includes everything in/on the car (the payload), the driver and passengers and is normally shown on the VIN plate and/or in the handbook.
Inside the car
- Make sure everything's secure
- Stuff sliding around or tipping over whenever you brake or turn will be irritating at best, dangerously distracting at worst – a box, bag or plant for example may be better wedged into a rear foot well rather than being left sliding around in the boot.
- Empty boxes or plastic crates can be useful in the boot to stop smaller loads sliding around or shopping bags spilling at the first corner.
- Keep the parcel shelf clear - loose items such as a first-aid kit or golf umbrella left on the parcel shelf will fly forwards in a crash potentially causing serious injury to car occupants. In fact any loose item can become a dangerous projectile in a crash.
- Keep the front foot-well clear – loose items rolling about on the floor are distracting and potentially very dangerous if they get caught under the driver's feet or the pedals.
- Keep larger/heavier stuff low down
- Not only does this make packing easier – put the bigger stuff in first and then pack the smaller items around it – but it also helps to keep the centre of gravity lower to minimise the affect on handling.
- Heavy items in the boot (cases of wine/beer, DIY materials) should be pushed tight up against the back of the back seat to reduce the risk of them bursting through in a crash. Pushing heavy items as far forwards as possible gives better weight distribution and handling too.
- Can you still see?
- Try to avoid packing above the line of the seat backs so that you retain a clear view to the rear – anything packed higher than this is at risk of flying forwards in a crash anyway.
- Consider using a roof rack or roof box for lighter / more bulky stuff to leave more room inside.
- Passengers come first
- If you have to fold seats to get a large or awkward load in the car then leave passengers and collect them later rather than risk carrying them unrestrained.
- Install child restraints first – it might be more difficult once you've packed everything else.
- Leave plenty of room for children – stuff packed in tight around them is sure to make for an unhappy journey.
- Keep a bag handy for things you might need during the journey.
- Plan for a puncture
- Think about how you will get to the spare in an emergency – using a small number of soft bags rather than throwing everything in loose for example will make it much easier to get to the spare wheel if you or an AA Patrol needs to in an emergency.
On the roof
Roof racks are a great way of carrying very large or awkward items but take care:
- Check the handbook to make sure that the load, including the weight of the roof rack itself, doesn't exceed the maximum permitted roof load – generally limits are low and easily exceeded for example by a couple of items of flat-pack furniture.
- Ensure that loads are securely attached – the Highway Code states simply that "you must secure your load and it must not stick out dangerously".
- Once you're underway the airflow will be trying to lift the front of any long load so a secure fixing holding the front of the load down is important.
- Under heavy braking the load will tend to slide forwards – secure fixings to the rear will help prevent this.
- Fixings will work loose – stop, check and re-secure regularly.
- Don't forget the extra height
- Take care for example when entering covered car parks, particularly if you've loaded an already fairly tall people carrier.
- Distribute weight safely
- If you can, try to put bulky but lighter items on the roof and heavier items low down in the car as this will help to keep the centre of gravity down and reduce the affect on stability.
Booze cruises
AA Patrols are called out regularly, especially around Christmas, as overloaded cars break down on their return from the Continent.
Remember, carrying five cases of wine is equivalent to having another passenger in the car. If you overload your car you could pay more in repair bills than you saved on your shopping. Overloading can cause breakdowns through the following problems:
- damage suspension
- burn out the clutch
- cause punctures or uneven wear on tyres