Revised rules for securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles

Earlier this year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) updated their guidance on securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles. The new regulations help vehicle operators, drivers, and consignors safely load, unload, and transport goods.

The code of practice covers six key areas – from troubleshooting hazards to loading different vehicle types – and shares detailed best practice on load security, compliance checks, and legal requirements.

1. Responsibility for load security

Unsecured loads can affect vehicle handling, increase rollover risks, and cause road accidents or obstructions. Everyone involved in vehicle loading or transport operation is responsible for ensuring the load is safely loaded, secure during transit, and safely unloaded.

As a vehicle operator, you're responsible for:

• Ensuring vehicles are suitable for their intended purpose
• Maintaining roadworthy vehicles
• Making sure your drivers are qualified, trained, and competent
• Providing drivers with training, equipment, and instructions if they secure loads
• Supporting drivers who raise concerns about loading or load security practices

As a driver, you're responsible for:

• Making sure equipment is in serviceable condition and strong enough to prevent load movement
• Checking the security of consignors' loads before driving
• Reporting safety concerns to your employer or load consignor
• Checking load restraints regularly during the journey

As a load consignor, you're responsible for:

• Ensuring goods are in suitable condition for transport and packaged to be secured
• Providing training, equipment, and instructions for onsite loaders
• Finding the driver a safe place to wait
• Potentially sharing a load plan with weight, position, security measures, and precautions
• Agreeing a system with the vehicle operator to keep the load secure throughout the journey

2. Load securing: the basics

The method you use to secure the load depends on the load type and vehicle. Elements of your load securing systems might include lashings, friction matting, and physical barriers like coil wells and internal bulkheads.

As a minimum, your load securing system should withstand forces equivalent to:

• The entire weight of the load in the forward direction
• Half the weight of the load to the sides
• Half the weight of the load to the rear

The load should be:

• Placed near the vehicle's centre line, with its centre of gravity as low as possible
• Spread out to achieve an even weight distribution
• Positioned with lighter items near the sides of the vehicle
• Distributed using load spreading devices for small but heavy loads
• Secured with the heaviest items on the lower deck for multi-deck trailers
• Entirely supported by the load bed if transporting wheeled loads
• Clear of the driver's field of vision
• Stacked with larger and heavier items at the bottom

3. What to do if a load becomes unstable during a journey

If your load shifts during your journey but remains on the vehicle or trailer, slow down gradually, avoiding sudden braking, and find a safe place to stop and resecure the load.

If the load leaves the vehicle and is likely to obstruct traffic:

• Stop in a safe place as soon as possible
• Call 999 and report the incident to the police
• Wait until the emergency services or highway authorities arrive

4. Ways to secure a load in an HGV or goods vehicle

There's no single load securing solution that works for all vehicles. Your options might include:

• Attachment points
• Buckle straps and internal nets
• Bungee securing systems and kites
• Chains
• Coil wells, chocks, and cradles
• Friction and friction matting
• Headboards and bulkheads
• Positive fit
• Ropes
• Sheeting and netting
• Vehicle mounted equipment
• Webbing ratchet straps

5. How to load different HGVs, light goods vehicles, small vans, and cars

Bulk tippers

• Use a tarpaulin or net if the load sits below the height of the vehicle sides
• Opt for a tarpaulin if the load sits above the height of the vehicle sides
• Use a rated sheet or solid cover for divisible loads higher than the vehicle's sides

Flatbeds and low loaders

• Load against the headboard or within 30cm of it wherever possible
• Use securely mounted blocks, chocks, or timbers to stop goods moving forward if necessary

Drop and fixed-sided flatbeds

• Don't rely solely on the sides to secure a load
• Secure individual items using lashings wherever possible
• Cover the load bed with a net or tarpaulin
• Place items against the headboard or within 30cm of it
• Keep side gates and anchor stanchions in good condition

Multi-deck trailers

• Consider additional work at height and falling object risks
• Ensure items in the upper deck are loaded in a single layer, stable, and weigh less than 400kg
• Secure palletised goods to the pallet and each other before loading
• Use a ground-operated internal net to protect workers from falling items

Vans

• Load items against a bulkhead
• Group smaller items together within a box or container
• Secure large or heavy items to the vehicle
• Fit a bulkhead between the load compartment and the cab

6. How to carry different types of loads in HGVs and goods vehicles

Construction products

• Secure construction products to the vehicle, loading them against the headboard or within 30cm of it
• If the load is higher than the headboard, use at least two frictional lashings over the front row
• Ensure lashings go around the load and attach to the vehicle's chassis

Pallets

• Ensure the load cannot slide on the pallet
• Check pallets for damage and reject them if they're not strong enough
• If you can't achieve positive fit, fill gaps with packing material or use extra lashing
• Position pallets as close to each other as possible, loading front to back