In just a few years, Belgium has risen to the leading group of countries with the best regulations regarding cargo securing. However, the practical results are still pending, according to a recent report by Vias. That is why we map out the strengths and weaknesses of cargo securing in Belgium.
In Europe, cargo securing is covered by the European Directive 2014/47/EU, which concerns the technical inspection of heavy commercial vehicles, but also imposes obligations on carriers and shippers regarding the safe securing of loads. That directive was first transposed into Belgian law and then regionalized in the context of the sixth state reform. In addition, there is a non-binding European standard (EN 12195-1:2010), on the basis of which codes of “good practice” have been published.
The risks of regionalization
In Belgium, the European directive was included in Article 45bis of the Highway Code. Since then, each region has been able to give its own interpretation to this. Flanders has amended ‘its’ Article 45bis and clarifies that it is the carrier who is responsible for securing the load, while the shipper guarantees the distribution of the load on the loading platform, unless other agreements have been made in writing in advance. However, the shipper can be held liable for improper packaging of the goods, incorrect use of a suitable vehicle or incorrect application of the rules regarding cargo securing. Wallonia and the Brussels Region have abolished Article 45bis and replaced it with another text that adds additional force.
“A few years ago, Germany had the best regulations in Europe,” Geert Frans explains. Since 2017, Belgian regulations have been even better, in my opinion even the best in Europe.” However, he fears that these regulations are now going in the wrong direction: “The sixth state reform has placed the authority with the regions and we have to conclude that in Flanders lobby groups such as VOKA are trying to water down the text. That is very unfortunate. Road safety should be the only priority.”
Too many trucks in violation
In that context, Vias published a very in-depth study on the state of cargo securing at the end of 2025, at the request of the Flemish MOW department. “That is a European first,” Geert Frans acknowledges. “The only downside is that it is mainly based on police checks, but is based on solid data. Within EUMOS we have been asking for such a study for three years. We already knew a lot, but now that knowledge is substantiated with facts.”
The results of the Vias study are striking: in 2024, 44% of the vehicles inspected were found to be in violation of load securing. These were targeted checks: the federal highway police stopped vehicles that were suspected of being in violation. Half of the violations identified were also committed by vehicles registered outside Belgium. Random checks were also carried out afterwards, during which drivers voluntarily completed a questionnaire: 33% admitted to having driven at least once in the past year with an insufficiently secured load. These infringements occur more often among less experienced drivers and among people who find the training inadequate.
In Belgium, checks on cargo securing have been greatly increased since 2020. The number of breaches identified increased by more than 85% in 2021, but has been gradually declining since then. “However, load securing has been taught in the context of Code 95 for almost 20 years, but there are still too many drivers who are not aware of good practices,” acknowledges Geert Frans.
Too many or too few checks?
The Vice-President of EUMOS points out another weakness in the system: “We have highly professional specialists within the federal police, but there are too few checks. In Belgium you run the risk of being checked once every five years. In Germany you are checked on average five times a year! France has also stepped in, with fines starting at 900 euros.” Ultimately, among Belgium’s neighboring countries, it is only the Dutch that remain relatively lax when it comes to controls.
The UPTR approaches the control issue in a completely different way. Faced with the above-mentioned intensification, the professional federation went to the Council of State, where it won a legal victory (confirmed by the European Commission in January 2025), on the grounds that since regionalization, the texts of the load securing standards are not available in the three national languages and are therefore unenforceable. As a result, checks continue to take place, but the fines are considerably lower, as a specific fine catalog can no longer be used. “We have dropped from a few thousand euros to a few hundred,” UPTR Secretary General Michael Reul tells us. He also notes that since the decision of the Council of State, there has been no increase in accidents linked to a lack of cargo securing and that a carrier in any case has no interest in allowing a truck to leave with poorly secured goods and thus risking an accident.
Shippers in the dock
There is also still a lot of work to be done on the shippers’ side. There are good students, such as the chemical industry, stimulated by the European federation ECTA (European Chemical Transport Association) and Cefic (the European forum of the chemical industry). According to Geert Frans, the poor students should mainly be sought in the food industry, especially because large distribution chains are exerting pressure to reduce tertiary packaging. In general, own transport fleets are also less precise (in which case shipper and carrier are often the same legal entity).
Different forces
The load securing system must enable the goods to withstand different types of forces resulting from the accelerations and decelerations of the vehicle:
• in the direction of travel of the vehicle: 0.8 times the weight of the load;
• in lateral direction: 0.5 times the weight of the load;
• against the direction of travel: 0.5 times the weight of the load (on both sides);
• 0.2 times the weight of the load in other directions (only for Wallonia and Brussels);
• for unstable loads, such as objects that can tip over, an additional roll factor of 0.1 times the weight of the load is applied.
Shared responsibilities
• the shipper is responsible for the distribution of the load over the loading floor, the way in which the goods are loaded, respecting the maximum permitted mass and the axle loads. He must also provide the carrier with all necessary information regarding the weight of the cargo, the position of the center of gravity of each loading unit if it is not centered, the external dimensions of each loading unit and any other information essential for correct cargo securing;
• the sender, if applicable, provides all required documents containing the description of the goods, the total loading weight and all information necessary for correct packaging;
• the carrier provides a suitable vehicle for the entrusted cargo, clean and free from structural damage; he is responsible for securing the container to the chassis and is responsible for securing the load;
• Finally, before departure, the driver must check that the load is correctly secured and in particular check that the center of gravity of the load is centered on the vehicle as much as possible.
