Cargo loading and securement - California

In California, vehicles must not be driven or moved on any highway unless the vehicle is constructed, covered, or loaded to prevent any of its contents or load from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing, spilling, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.

This requirement does not apply to:

• Clear water that may escape from the vehicle,
• Feathers from live birds that may escape from the vehicle, and
• Hay and straw as addressed in 49 CFR 393.100 et. seq.

Aggregate material (rock fragments, pebbles, sand, dirt, gravel, cobbles, crushed base, asphalt, and other similar materials) must only be carried in the cargo area of a vehicle.

The cargo area must not contain any holes, cracks, or openings through which material may escape, regardless of the degree to which the vehicle is loaded.

Vehicles transporting loads of aggregate materials are not required to cover their loads if the load, where it contacts the sides, front, and back of the cargo container area:

• Remains six inches from the upper edge of the container area; and
• Does not extend, at its peak, above any part of the upper edge of the cargo container area.