Bussines Conduct Policy

European Best Practice Guidelines on Cargo Securing for Road Transport

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENERGY AND TRANSPORT

Preface by

Mr Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner in charge of transport

Road freight transport is the backbone of European transport and logistics. Europe needs not only efficient, but also safe road freighttransport. Securing cargo properly is essential to achieve even safer road freight transport. It has been estimated that up to 25% of accidents involving trucks can be attributable to inadequate cargo securing. Rules on cargo securing exist in several Member States, but they often differ in content and scope, making it very difficult for international transporters to know what the minimum cargosecuring requirements are for a given cross-border transport operation. Starting end of 2002, industry, Member States and the Commission took a practical step towards more road safety by developing the guidelines on cargo securing, which I have the pleasure to present in the current form. The present document is the result of the experts’ collective work over three years and I thank all experts involvedin this exercise for sharing their expertise and dedicating much time to what I think is a useful and practical reference book. It deserves to be read all over the European Union. In this context, I am grateful to the International Road Union (IRU), for their valuable support in translating this book into a maximum of Community languages. May the Guidelines be read and applied all over Europe, tohelp our common goal of making traffic safer.

Signed

Notes
1. These best practice guidelines have been prepared by an Expert Group created by the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport and comprising experts designated by the Member States and the Industry. The document was presented to the Road Safety High Level Group, which gave a positive opinion concerning its content and scope.These best practice guidelines can be a reference for all public or private parties directly or indirectly concerned by cargo securing. This document should be read and used as a help for the application of safe and tried practices in this area. It is not binding in the sense of a legal act adopted by the Community. It simply presents the accumulated knowledge of European experts in this field. Itwas developed with and received the agreement of Member States’ government experts and other concerned parties. These best practice guidelines are intended to ease cross border transport operations in so far as cargo securing is concerned. Adherence to the principles and methods described in these guidelines should be recognised by enforcement authorities as leading to the adequate safety levelrequired to perform international transport operations. When using these guidelines, one must ensure that the methods used are adequate for the particular situation at hand and where appropriate take further precautions. It is important to bear in mind that Member States might have specific requirements relative to cargo securing not covered in these best practice guidelines. It is therefore alwaysnecessary to consult the relevant authorities to enquire about the possible existence of such specific requirements. This document is publicly available. It can be downloaded free of charge at the European Commission website1. Inevitably, as a result of further experience and a continuous development of cargo securing systems and techniques, these guidelines will need to be periodically reviewedand amended as necessary. It is not possible to give an agenda for this revision process at the time of writing. The reader should refer to the web site of the European Commission for information about the latest available edition of the Guide. Any suggestions for improving or adding to its content are very welcome and should be sent to the address in footnote2. General enquiries regarding these...