Belgium: Do not take 45-hour weekend rest in a truck

Belgian Official Journal of 11 June 2014 published the Royal Decree of 19 April 2014 amending the Royal Decree of 19 June 2000 relating to the collection and payment of fines for certain infringement in road transport.

From the 21st June 2014 Belgian Catalogue of Infringements and Fines is complemented by two new elements:

► increase the penalty for lack of CMR in transport
- A fine of 1500 Euro (previously 55 euro) - for both Belgian and foreign carrier

► new fine for the rest in the cabin of your vehicle by using a regular 45-hour weekly rest - a fine of up to 1,800 Euros (£1,440)

The Belgian government can enforce this prohibition through Regulation 561/2006 Article 8, which has previously been subject to a light-touch approach.

The law stipulates that when the regular weekly rest is due at the moment of the control and this is taken on board of the vehicle, it constitutes an infringement. The Belgian authorities should not require evidence documenting the place of spending the regular weekly rest for the previous period of 28 days. The evidence should be the data from the digital tachograph card or tachograph chart. According to the information from the Belgian authorities, the on-the-spot fine is € 1800 where an infringement is detected. In case there is no immediate payment, the authorities can block the vehicle, request a refundable deposit or if the fine is not paid within 96 hours, the vehicle can be confiscated. The case can also be presented to a judge where, in case of a guilty verdict, the fine can reach € 60 000.

The Royal Decree is applicable to vehicles under the AETR regime as the AETR Agreement is specifically mentioned in the text.

By SiR