VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, German Engineer Association)’s guideline 2700 on lashing of vehicles on board car transporters is widely known and used in the industry. The guideline’s Part 8.1 ‘Securing of loads on road vehicles, securing of passenger cars and cargo minivans on vehicle transporters’ of April 2009 and Part 8.2 ‘Securing of loads on road vehicles, securing of trucks on vehicle transporters’ of December 2010 have been under review for the last few years.
The final draft (the so-called “green print”) of the new guidelines was published in December 2023 and is already available for purchase. Those parts of the guidelines relevant to vehicle transporters are: Part 8 on test requirements, Part 8.1 on securing of cars and LCVs and Part 8.2 on securing of trucks. The draft guidelines can be purchased on the Beuth Verlag website.
The final version of the guidelines (the so called “white print”) will probably be released in August 2024. It is important to note that when it is published the new guideline will be effective immediately. There will be no phase-in and no exceptions. The police will immediately start to check the trucks re. their equipment, certification and the lashings applied.
TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH’s advice is that LSPs contact their trailer manufacturers as early as possible to have a certificate attesting that their equipment conforms to the new guidelines. It is the manufacturer itself who ensures the process for certification. However, if the trailer manufacturer company doesn’t exist any more, TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH will be able to help with the certification process. In this case please contact Thorsten Ludwig directly.
TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH will offer training for both the trainers (“train the trainers”) and the drivers. These trainings will be provided in German by TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH. If any other language is needed, translation needs to be ensured by the participating companies. The one-day trainings can be held online or on site as well. The fee of the training is dependent on the location. If interested in such a training course, you can fill in the form here. We will share this form with TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH who will then group the interest of various ECG member companies together if possible.
TÜV SÜD Auto Plus GmbH has been working on informative flyers to inform LSPs about the changes to come and the way to prepare for them. They are available in German and English (March 2024).