Any weekend spent at my in-laws house in Parry Sound will undoubtedly end with my wife Jennifer's poor Honda Civic being laden down with an excess of "new" items for our new house. Whether it's a "decorative" rusty old milk jug or an eighth gravy boat for those you-just-never-know-when-you'll-need-it occasions, my in-laws have been more than generous when it comes to unloading any extras kicking around their basement. This past Easter weekend was no different - though I must say we got some great stuff this time 'round.

Once the car was packed nearly to the roof at the end of the Easter holiday - with the wet/dry vacuum, the pressure washer and a couple of old propane tanks mingling with our usual weekend gear - I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy as we made our way to the highway. Though my father-in-law and I had done our best to at least secure the propane tanks, in reality, I was one hard-brake away from having the "Shop-Vac" logo permanently emblazened on the back of my head.

So when I was on CBC.ca this morning and read about a 25-year-old girl who was killed when her unsecured laptop became a projectile during an car crash in Surrey, B.C., I couldn't help but get a knot in my stomach. Investigators have said she would have survived the crash had it not been for the laptop. As someone who tends to leave whatever items he has rolling around his backseat chronically unrestrained, I had a definite "That could've been me" moment when reading the CBC story.

Which brings me to an upcoming article in Motortruck Fleet Executive, titled "Beware the UFOs (Unrestrained Flying Objects)." In it, frequent contributor John G. Smith warns truckers to properly stow away loose gear to help avoid injuries in the event of an accident. I learned some interesting stuff in this article. For example, did you know that a 50-lb refrigertor packs 750 lbs of intertial force at a crash of only 15 mph? At 30 mph, that number quadruples. That's scary stuff. Other safety spec'ing tidbits offered by Smith include the proper choice and use of inverters to protect against cab fires, sizing cables properly, and even spec'ing your dashboard with a design which isn't too overwhelming. You can check out this article, and several others from the Technology and Maintenance Council, in the March/April edition of Motortruck Fleet Executive. Until then, keep those cabs safe and secure!