Don’t use gravity to secure your load…
When I was a kid, my dad and I would play wrestle. We would spend Saturday afternoon watching wrestling on TV and after, we would try out the moves on each other. It was a lot of fun until my dad would win by sitting on me. I couldn’t move. Well, that is until my mom came to my rescue. I learned a lot from those episodes when it came to securing items so they would not move, especially when it came to securing loads on trailers or the back of trucks.
On my daily commute while listening to the traffic reports, I often hear of items found on the expressway or city streets, which have fallen from vehicles. The most common item I hear reported to be laying on the road would be ladders. You would think someone who uses ladders on a daily basis would secure them on their vehicle prior to driving away. I understand mistakes can happen, but we should never be in a hurry to get to our destinations. And the heavy equipment some commercial drivers may be 
towing on a trailer, they too need to be secured. Just because they are heavy, you can’t rely on gravity to keep them on the trailer. They need to be secured as well. Take those extra few minutes to ensure the load is secured before driving away. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short trip or if the items are small. Secure your load.
I recently bought outdoor furniture for my backyard. Luckily, my son has a pickup truck so I did not have to pay or wait for delivery. When he showed up at the store to meet me when I went to buy it, he had heavy duty straps at the ready to ensure the load was secure before driving away. Any sudden swerve or a bump in the road or a quick stop could send any unsecured load off the truck or trailer.
Now, I know tires are pretty heavy, but gravity is still not a good way to secure the load. Any loose item can become a projectile during any sudden swerve or stop. Sometimes those projectiles can go through the cab of the truck and injure or kill the occupants. Other times they can crash into innocent road users. Could you imagine being hit by one of those tires? Why take the chance of that happening? Secure your load.
Some drivers do make the effort to secure their load. Using bungee cords are not a good idea as they provide too much give if the load shifts during transit and can come loose. 
Some drivers have used a twine they got from the lumber yard, however the weight of a large load of lumber is too much for the twine to keep secured. Using some form of ratchet strap is a better option. Ratchet straps allow the straps to tighten with each click. Even rope can’t get as tight as you may want. Ratchet straps can also hold up to 5000 pounds with a break strength rating of 15000 pounds, and that’s per strap. A strap with a break strength rating of 1000 pounds can easily secure a 300 pound load. Ensure you match the strap with the load you’re securing. And you can always go bigger than you need just to ensure your load is safe and secure.
Road safety takes a commitment from everyone. As a driver, we know it’s your responsibility to ensure you and your passengers arrive at your destination safely. However, this now includes ensuring your load gets there too. Secure your load.
Good read. Tiedown straps are really great to use, especially if you’re hauling/transporting oversized items. I also used the straps to keep my Toyo all terrain tires in place and prevent it from rolling over the truck bed. I was able to fit a lot of stuff onto the truck bed when we moved some stuff from my brother’s garage to my home.