TIME:14:55
DATE: 03/07/2009

LOCATION: A3 Northbound between Cathedral and Dennis's turnoff
SCENARIO: Loaded Curtainsider rolled on a two lane stretch of a major A road blocking the road completely

SOLUTION: This is an extremely challenging task for our major incident team and not something that is usually attempted. The decision was made to proceed with a loaded upright as this would keep the total job time to a minimum for the motoring public. Our first vehicle on scene winched the rear of the trailer clear of the slip road to allow the trapped traffic to pass the rear of the vehicle. It's loaded with packets of sheet paper which could blow across the carriageway if unloaded so the decision is taken to right the vehicle loaded. We utilised our rotator heavy recovery vehicle to do the winching with our air cushions lifting the vehicle from underneath and supporting the load inside the vehicle. Once upright, a small amount of the load (about half a pallet) escaped through the damaged curtain but was quickly dealt with by our load management team before towing the vehicle clear of the scene and allowing the road to be reopened for the motorists of Surrey.