The 50 percent rule
The general rule under 49 CFR 393 is that the aggregate working load limit of all tiedowns securing an article of cargo must be at least 50 percent of the weight of that cargo. That is the floor for every load, including the OCTG, drill pipe, tanks, and machinery oilfield trucks carry. Tiedowns must be in proper working order, with no damaged or weakened components, and manufactured to the referenced standards for chain and synthetic webbing.
Pipe loads are their own discipline
Commodity-specific rules add requirements on top of the general rules for the loads that cause the most disagreement between industry and enforcement: logs, metal coils, concrete pipe, heavy equipment, and machinery. For pipe, the rules are precise: bottom tiers immobilized at each end, groups formed by diameter, tiedowns running at no more than 45 degrees from the horizontal where practicable, and enough tiedowns through the front and rear of the load to hold every pipe in contact with its neighbor. A pipe that can roll is a pipe that will roll.
The inspection view
Inspectors check securement on every level inspection, and cargo securement consistently ranks in the top vehicle violation categories at CVSA's annual International Roadcheck, alongside brakes, tires, and lights. The questions are predictable: does the aggregate working load limit cover the weight, are the tiedowns at a legal angle, is the load blocked against forward movement, and are the tiedowns free of cuts, kinks, and corrosion. Edge protection where webbing touches sharp metal is a routine finding on oilfield loads.
Securement is a field discipline: the load list, the tiedown count, and the walk-around are decisions made by the crew at the yard and the driver at the scale. The same dispatch record that assigns the load can carry the securement check, the same way the ELD record carries hours and the dispatch plan carries the schedule. Fleets that capture the check at the point of loading catch the violation before the inspector does. If securement checks still live in the driver's head, an operations audit will show where the load paperwork is thin.