Funny but Frightening House Moving Accidents
House moving is a complicated process, and even with an experienced moving company on your side, it can still be a hassle for Davie homeowners. There are quite a few things that could potentially go wrong, although hiring reputable house movers can greatly reduce the odds of an accident. Your armoire could get chipped at the corner, your computer could break, or your fine china could shatter. (Again, reputable moving companies rarely make these mistakes!)
These funny, but alarming, house moving accidents are a great example of what happens when movers, or questionable moving companies, don’t know what they’re doing. These kinds of things are why it’s so important to hire a good house moving company well in advance of your moving day.
1) What Happens When You Ignore the “Low Clearance” Sign
In Durham, North Carolina, there’s a notorious bridge that’s opened numerous large commercial trucks up like a can of sardines. With an 11’8” clearance, it’s the bane of all truckers who pass through that city. At one point, there was even a website completely dedicated to that particular underpass.
It’s destroyed its fair share of trucks over the years. In one such incident, drivers from a nationwide moving chain ignored the sign at their own peril. As you can see in this video, it didn’t end well for them. Despite the presence of flashing warning lights, they tried to pass beneath the bridge. The top of the truck was peeled off like a sardine can, causing the back to fall off.
For anyone driving a commercial vehicle, including a moving truck, it’s essential to pay close attention to clearance heights. Many underpasses with unusual measurements, like the 11’8” bridge in Durham, simply aren’t quite tall enough to fit the moving truck beneath it. As professional house movers, we’re always very careful about underpasses, for precisely these reasons. 11’8” isn’t 12’ — it’s just math.
2) Didn’t Strap Down the Piano
Moving pianos is surprisingly complex, and it’s often done by speciality piano movers rather than general house moving companies. In this video, a man attempted to move a piano in the back of a pickup truck. That’s risky enough on its own, but unfortunately, he didn’t strap it down to secure it. Unsurprisingly, the 600 pound instrument fell out while he took a turn.
If you need to move a piano, consult with a professional moving company. If they’re not comfortable moving it for you, they can refer you to a specialty piano mover. This heavy, complex, and expensive instruments aren’t something you can just stick in the back of a pickup truck.
3) The Power of the Wind
Wind resistance is another big reason why if you’re taking a DIY approach to moving something in your pickup truck, you need to secure it firmly with rope or bungee cord. In this video captured on a Dallas highway, an unsecured mattress flies out of a moving truck. This is hazardous for other drivers. Please don’t transport mattresses in a pickup truck without strapping them down.
4) Uhauls Aren’t Designed for Transporting a Car
When you think of vehicle transportation, you probably picture those specialized trucks that you see carrying cars on the highway. What you don’t picture is a standard Uhaul truck. In this video, a man tries to take an aged Civic into the back of a Uhaul. Unsurprisingly, it’s too heavy to make it up the ramp, and simply collides with the back of the truck. They would have been much better off either towing the car, or having someone drive it.
5) When Hoisting Heavy Objects Goes Wrong
One of the best reasons to hire professional house movers is that they know how to safely move heavy, cumbersome objects that might not be safe for the average person to move on their own. In this video, workers in a commercial facility try and fail to move an enormous spool of wire.
Hiring Professional House Movers Who Do It Right
These moving mishaps are all the more reason why you should hire a reputable local moving company. At Orange Movers, we have decades of experience helping Davie residents move into their new homes. To find out more, call us any time, or fill out our online contact form.
