Does anyone know what the position is with regards loads been strapped down in Germany. Most people say absolutely everything must be strapped but some of our drivers have loaded coca-cola in Germany for delivery to Eddie Stobarts in Sherburn in Elmet and were told not to strap the loads by the guys at the German end because it was wrapped and packaged in such a way and was thus exempt?
Obviously some stuff needs strapping anyway but I really resent loading 33 euro pallets of very light cargo weighing say 3 tons all together and then having to pull off the bay, open the sides and strap every one of them just to tick official boxes.
Any help and advice would be most welcome.
We load approx 15 loads per week of palletised goods from Germany.We only strap the last two pallets,or a load board placed at rear.Normally if you have side boards in trailer,ie a Euroliner you can get away with it as long as the rear pallets are restrained.Obviously if the pallets are heavy or irregular sizes then you should strap them.
I think because our loads have all the same size and weight per pallet it is classed as a unit load.
We have done this work for over five years and have had lots of controls in Germany,but we have never had a problem with the law over the way in which we restrain the loads.The goods we carry would be damaged if we were to strap them.
Like i say it depends mainly what the goods are,weight,height etc.
What he ^ said. 
Thanks for the responses,
I loaded steel out of Germany this week and obviously that would be strapped anyway but they did make a big deal out of having the right number of straps for single and double stacked items and afterwards took photos of ever section of the trailer etc to show it left them strapped properly. When I do UK work its generally ferry freight and most of that is to/from Germany and every so often they do the whole “every pallet must be strapped down for Germany” even though like as has been said, the pallets are all the same size/weight and fit nicely against the boards and probably weigh less than 500kg each and realistically are going absolutely nowhere.
Are hazardous goods treated differently, ie, do they always have to be strapped or is it again a common sense approach, because like anything else, some things just can’t be strapped for whatever reason.
eldor:
afterwards took photos .
Don’t you just wish digital cameras had never been invented? Normally, as well as photographing my load from 300 different angles, they then insist on doing the same to me.
Harry Monk:
Don’t you just wish digital cameras had never been invented? Normally, as well as photographing my load from 300 different angles, they then insist on doing the same to me.
And after ALL those photographs, the best you could do for an avatar was that one 
Ive heard of the urban myth that in germany it is a 50euro fine for every board missing god help me we dont used tilts or euroliners just plain curtian siders and most back loads are 66 euro palllets double stacked (obiviously)@ about 5 tonne touch wood not been checked YET
IF you look on the useful tips spot there are some
good sites to look at ,you have to secure your load
and also the firm who loads you must ensure that
the load is correctly secured,you will get fined and
also given points if found to be guilty of not following
the law as required for LOAD SAFETY:
they are very hot on this and i will have a look and
see if i can find the new fines and points they give out.
IT STARTS NORMALLY at 75€ and 1 point and then increases.
not sure of the exact laws.
i was fined 200 dms back in 2000 in germany
i had 4 ibcs of haz and had not strapped them,no need to do so in a tautliner
as far as i know now,all haz must be secured.
if i loaded the same tomorrow,i still would not bother.
why are all those straps built into the curtain of a tautliner?
the law is an ■■■
in some cases
Tautliner is a trade mark for Boalloy but the generic name for a curtain sided trailer. There are many different types of fastening systems but generally the curtains are not designed to be load bearing.
I came through Luxembourg last week and the parking was full of trailers being restrapped or restacked. The ministry had a mass purge and opened up almost every truck as it turned into the border.
It was very lucky that there was a nice man in the corner selling fire extinguishers and spansets 
greg50:
i had 4 ibcs of haz and had not strapped them,no need to do so in a tautliner…[and] …as far as i know now,all haz must be secured.
Hi greg50, There is a specific requiremet in ADR that all dangerous goods “shall be secured by suitable means.” Failing to secure dangerous goods is an offence in all ADR countries including the UK.
greg50:
if i loaded the same tomorrow,i still would not bother.
Then you are leaving yourself open to fines / prosecution every time you get stop checked. Your choice though…
greg50:
why are all those straps built into the curtain of a tautliner?
The straps are there to tension the curtains.
The curtains are there to keep the weather out, they aren’t usually designed to restrain the load.
greg50:
the law is an ■■■
in some cases
That’s true greg50, but does that mean that in the rest of the cases the driver is the ■■■ 
The new style “Flexo” curtains where the straps run right thru’ the curtains from the top rail to the bottom clip are indeed designed to restrain.
They don’t require tensioning lengthways much, just enough to take the slack out, as the strength is top to bottom, not end to end.
I never strap a load in Germany these days, or any where else for that matter. Mind you strapping 800 - 1200 loose loaded parcels would be a bit of a challenge. The other difficulty would be the fact a lot of our trailers have no load lock or floor rings so there is nowhere to attach straps.
greg50:
not sure of the exact laws.
i was fined 200 dms back in 2000 in germany
i had 4 ibcs of haz and had not strapped them,no need to do so in a tautliner
as far as i know now,all haz must be secured.
if i loaded the same tomorrow,i still would not bother.
why are all those straps built into the curtain of a tautliner?
the law is an ■■■
in some cases
Hi Gergg, I’ve heard that story before, is that you my old Irish buddy??
Roscoe.
Have alook here this is not a bad site for tips and help
this can also be viewed in english
j have DOT pdf on load restraint
i will look for the link this week
Ayup,I hope Greg50 doesnt come down my street.Pro. driver or what? Fined 200dm and would do the same again.!!!
Reading this thread makes me glad to drive in the UK.
Can you smoke in lorries in Germany?
I would guess at no. Please put me out of my misery somebody and tell me you can, legally.
ezydriver:
Reading this thread makes me glad to drive in the UK.Can you smoke in lorries in Germany?
I would guess at no. Please put me out of my misery somebody and tell me you can, legally.
In Germany you can smoke in trucks, service areas, truck stops, bars, cafes, in fact pretty much anywhere.
i loaded 26 pallets on tuesday morning near Celle and the would not load me untill i put 13 straps and rachets in the trailer ready to strap load (i only had 12 but a nice dutch man “lent me 1”)wasnt best pleased yesterday unstrapping my load to be tipped rolling um all up and putting away