Inside Edition enlisted the help of AAA's Robert Sinclair to test the best way to secure a mattress to the top of your car. When transported improperly, it can lead to devastating consequences.
When not secured to a vehicle properly, mattresses in transport can soar off and turn into missiles. Several videos of flying mattresses show it happening so fast, that some cars can’t get out of the way in time.
In one instance, a mattress that fell off a vehicle led to a fiery road wreck on the highway. In another 2019 incident, Briana Beasley says a flying mattress shattered her windshield on a North Carolina highway.
“It scares me still,” Beasley told Inside Edition.
To illustrate how improperly secured mattresses can wreak havoc on the road, Inside Edition “First you have to realize, this is what the store gave us to tie the mattress to the vehicle,” Sinclair said, as he held up a piece of twine.
To test it out, we tied the mattress on top of a roof rack using the string and rented out the track at New Jersey Motorsports Park. When the car hit just 40 mph, the mattress lifted up and flew off and onto the race track.
“That's just how it can happen,” Sinclair said.
So what’s the right way to transport a mattress? Sinclair says it’s important to use ratchet straps to secure the mattress to your car.
“This is on super tight. This mattress isn't going to go anywhere. I don’t care how fast you drive,” Sinclair said.
And when we hit the track again, he was proven right. With an Inside Edition producer behind the wheel, the mattress secured with the ratchet straps stayed securely atop the vehicle — even as the car reached 60 mph.
“If not done right, these things can fall off and create a tragedy on our roadways,” Sinclair said.
Another incentive to tie your mattress securely — in some states, the fine for something flying off your car onto the road is as much as $5,000.
