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When people think about freight safety, they usually picture the jobsite. Not the road.
But the reality is that construction freight comes with risks before the truck even starts moving. Whether it’s steel beams, concrete blocks, lumber, or insulation, hauling construction materials means handling weight, movement, and exposed edges. If you’re not properly protected, even simple tasks like tightening straps or stepping onto a site can lead to serious injury.
This is where personal protective equipment (PPE) comes in.
Let’s break down what it means in the context of freight, why it’s often overlooked, and how it protects everyone involved in the delivery process.
Before You Deliver, You Suit Up
You don’t need to be standing on a construction site to need PPE. In freight, the risk starts the moment a driver steps out of the cab — whether they’re checking in, inspecting a load, or getting ready to offload on-site.
Heavy cargo can shift. Straps can snap. Pallets can tip. Even on flatbeds, exposed edges and unsecured materials can cause serious injury.
That’s why PPE like steel-toe boots, hard hats, safety glasses, and high-visibility vests isn’t just for crews waiting at the site. It’s for the ones delivering the load too.
According to OSHA, protective equipment is required whenever there’s a risk of injury on the job. That includes while loading at a yard, securing materials onto a flatbed, or stepping onto an active site during offload (OSHA Education Center, 2023).
And having the gear isn’t enough. OSHA’s 2024 update to its PPE standard emphasizes that equipment must actually fit the worker wearing it. Ill-fitting PPE can be just as dangerous as having none at all (Federal Register, 2024).
“Over 40% of accidents on construction sites happened because workers weren’t using PPE correctly. Not because they didn’t care, but because no one showed them how” (Alolabi, 2019).
PPE Is Part of the Service
For flatbed drivers, site crews, or anyone handling construction freight, PPE is not a nice-to-have. It’s a basic requirement.
And it reflects on the entire operation.
We’ve said it before — we take pride in working with a vetted network of carriers. While others might promote the size of their network, we focus on who’s actually showing up. Safety matters to us, and we work with delivery partners who take it seriously too. That includes showing up properly equipped, understanding site expectations, and handling materials responsibly.
Here are a few things we recommend every time we handle construction freight:
- Confirm PPE expectations with the receiving site ahead of delivery
- Ensure that all personnel handling the load are properly equipped
- Brief drivers on potential risks specific to the material being hauled
Freight Is More Than Transport
Protective equipment for drivers matters just as much as it does for builders. And in our work across Canada, the US, and Mexico, we’ve seen how simple habits can make or break a safe delivery.
This blog is part of a growing series where we share what we’ve learned in the field. From loading best practices to communication tips, our goal is to make freight just a little more transparent, one post at a time.
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