France on a Sunday.

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Just a quickie, can you drive on a Sunday in France with an empty fridge?

2

Harry Monk:
Just a quickie, can you drive on a Sunday in France with an empty fridge?

You can run up to 150 km empty, with some distance and Department restrictions.

Art4.1 Vehicles transporting, to the exclusion of all else, live animals or perishable goods or foodstuffs, provided that the quantity of goods constitutes at least half of the truck’s payload or occupies at least half of the loading surface or volume of the vehicle. In the case of multiple deliveries, these minimum loading conditions no longer apply beyond the first point of delivery provided that further deliveries occur within a zone restricted to the region of origin of the first delivery point and the neighbouring departments or the region of origin of the first delivery point and adjacent regions within a distance of 150 kilometres.

The vehicles concerned are not subject to minimum load conditions and may travel empty if their movements consist of loading operations restricted to a zone consisting of the region of origin and its neighbouring departments or the region of origin and adjacent regions within a distance of 150 kilometres.

Empty return is authorised within a zone restricted to the region of the first delivery point and the
neighbouring departments, or to the region of the first delivery point and adjacent regions within
150 kilometres of the first delivery point.

3

Ta, that’s maybe a little ambiguous for my small brain, can I shop out empty and run to Lille? I would be loading frozen food, but there’s no need for them to know that if I’m stopped.

4

Harry Monk:
Ta, that’s maybe a little ambiguous for my small brain, can I shop out empty and run to Lille? I would be loading frozen food, but there’s no need for them to know that if I’m stopped.

Legally no.

5

If I have read the post above correctly, you cannot enter France with an empty fridge and if your journey within France starts with an empty fridge you still can’t drive.

EDIT…as I am sure you know, if the cargo is frozen the Sunday ban applies anyway.

Regards,
Nick

6

Yes, I know you can’t run with frozen on a Sunday, was wondering if you could theoretically run empty if you are going to load fresh food, as I recalled something about running empty for a backload but you gents seem to have cleared that up.

Theoretically, I suppose I could ship out today and park at all4trucks at Transmarck if I claimed I was going to Belgium to load if stopped? Am I required to carry evidence of wher I am going to load?

7

Switch it on and hope you don’t get stopped :smiley:

Adds a little spice to it don’t ya think? :grimacing:

8

Thetaff:
Switch it on and hope you don’t get stopped :smiley:

Adds a little spice to it don’t ya think? :grimacing:

I reckon that about half the fridges running on a Sunday in France are running illegal, especially though’s heading south towards Spain.

9

thetourist:

Thetaff:
Switch it on and hope you don’t get stopped :smiley:

Adds a little spice to it don’t ya think? :grimacing:

I reckon that about half the fridges running on a Sunday in France are running illegal, especially though’s heading south towards Spain.

I am shocked by that statement :laughing: :laughing:

10

I don;t think anyone knows the law really but having worked with French hauliers in our game- corporate-music-exhibition etc; they have often said they can legally run empty on a Sunday from A to B if they are collecting a load but if they get stopped i suppose they can explain themselves better! We have run loaded on a Sunday in the past & have been stopped but never parked up ut wouldn’t try it empty!