Police are reminding drivers who are required to carry loads on any type of vehicle of the importance of ensuring those loads are securely restrained.

This follows a two vehicle truck crash on Ridgley Highway about 5am this morning, approximately 1km south of Ridgley.

Police attended and observed that a south bound Kenworth truck towing a wood chip trailer had impacted with 6 metre lengths of irrigation pipe, which were being carried on a north bound Hino Heavy rigid flat tray tipper truck.  The crash occurred when the lengths of irrigation pipe, which were insecurely fastened to the vehicle, came loose and moved sideways off the tray of the carrying truck and into the path of the oncoming truck.

As a result of the movement of the pipe, one of the pipes impacted with the windscreen of the oncoming Kenworth truck.  Luckily the impact caused the pipe to break in such a manner that it was forced back out of the cab and down the side of the truck, where it impacted heavily with the front of the wood chip trailer.  The impact forced open the rear tray on the truck carrying the pipe as the pipe was pushed backwards into the securely fastened tray.

The wood chip truck driver sustained only minor injuries.

Police stated that there was literally millimetres separating this crash from being the minor injury crash it was and a fatality crash that it could well have been.

All loads are required by law to be restrained to prevent movement forward, sideways, rearward or upward and failure to secure loads can result in death, serious injury or at the very least, serious charges and significant fines.

As a result of the crash, Burnie Uniform Police, Western District Crash Investigation and Department of State Growth Transport Inspectors attended the scene.

Traffic flow was limited to one lane for approximately 2 hours while investigations were conducted.

Investigations into the crash are still ongoing.