Secure
Your
Load

Robin Abel is a Northwest native whose life was altered by an incident that nearly killed her daughter Maria. She would prefer to live a quiet life in her garden with her dogs, Mac and Jane, but is compelled to share this story in order prevent future tragedies caused by unsecured loads and road debris.

In 2010, Robin joined forces with Paul Reif, an Arizona resident, after Reif's son Matthew was killed by an unsecured load on June 6th. Bonded by grief, Robin and Paul have supported and encouraged each other in an effort to save other families from unnecessary pain caused by these preventable incidents.

Since her daughter's collision in 2004, Robin has changed two Washington State laws and passed "Maria's Law," making an unsecured load that causes significant property damage, injury, or death a crime with possible jail time/fines while enabling victims to apply for Crime Victim's Assistance. She also worked to pass legislation in Alaska with a young woman who had been seriously injured by an unsecured load.

On a national level, Robin has implemented authorization language into multiple transportation bills. The first bill included a stipulation allowing the GAO to conduct a national study on unsecured loads. Successive bills acknowledged the safety issue of unsecured loads and encouraged the states to act accordingly. The FAST Act funded grants to educate the public on the importance of load securement, and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included unsecured loads, continuing the issue's eligibility for addition to State Highway Safety Programs.