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136 
P INTERNATIONAL HAULAGE
Page 12
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Belgium tightens up its load laws
FOLLOWING SIMILAR moves made in Germany. Belgium has issued new and stricter regulations on securing loads. Shippers are now responsible, and, as a result, Belgium is training its police forces for more competent checks on loaded trailers.
The Belgian regulations are important because it is a transit country for freight moving between the UK, France, Holland and Germany, and the new rules will apply to all foreign-registered trucks as well.
Shippers have to provide their logistics partner or haulier with a document detailing the type of cargo, the weight and the kind of pallets used. They are also obliged to provide safe packaging, while the complete load has to remain stable even when tilted to an angle of 26 degrees.
Belgian law dictates that hauliers are responsible in cases of accidents, while drivers are obliged not to set off on a journey with a trailer that has been improperly secured.
Fines for offences in Belgium could be as much as €2,750 (£2,479). while driving bans vary from five days to eight years, depending on the offence.
Police are allowed to force drivers to stop and reload or unload part of their cargo in order to comply with the new requirements.
• The Dutch government has proposed replacing road tax and vehicle purchase tax with a charge per kilometre travelled within the Netherlands.
The proceeds from the charges would not exceed the combined proceeds from the 'old' taxes, and would go into a fund to build roads and railways.