Safety Policy

This page describes how we work: the regulatory framework we drive under, the procedures applied to every vehicle entrusted to us, and what happens when something does not go to plan. It is public because an owner has the right to know what happens to their car between two doors.

One clarification up front, which is not a caveat: this document commits us to procedures, not to a result. The repair of damage and its compensation fall under our terms and conditions and the insurance policy described there. Here, it is about what we put in place so that there is nothing to compensate.

The framework we drive under

We operate under road haulage licence for hire and reward no. 16639, issued by the Belgian authority. That licence is not a decorative title: it presupposes professional capacity, financial standing and good repute, all of them checked — and it can be withdrawn.

To it are added the rules that frame every mission, and that are not up for negotiation:

• CMR Convention — the liability regime for the international road carrier, and the consignment note obligation that comes with it.
• Load securing — the highway code requires securing that meets the state of the art, for which the European standard EN 12195-1 is the reference.
• Driving and rest times — European regulation 561/2006, monitored by tachograph. A tired driver is not a fast driver, and the law settles that before we do.
• Driver qualification — directive 2003/59: certificate of professional competence and 35 hours of periodic training every five years.
• Roadworthiness testing — our tractors and trailers pass the statutory test, independently of our own maintenance.
• Dangerous goods — a complete vehicle in normal condition is not subject to them. A damaged or suspect traction battery, on the other hand, falls under ADR: it changes the nature of the transport and must be declared before collection.

The people

Transport is carried out by our own crews, employed by the house. That is not an organisational detail: it is what lets us train the same people on the same vehicles, year after year, and know who loaded what.

Every driver holds the licence for the required category, the certificate of professional competence and up-to-date periodic training.

Every mission has a single point of contact, reachable throughout. They are the one who informs you at collection, on the road and at delivery — and the one who calls you if something changes.

Discretion is part of the job. We comment neither on the vehicles carried, nor on the addresses, nor on identities, including between clients.

The vehicle entrusted to us

This is where most of it is decided. An exceptional vehicle almost never gets damaged on the road: it gets damaged at five kilometres per hour, during loading.

Before loading

We ask about what cannot be seen: ground clearance, width, weight, manufacturer’s tie-down points, starting and cut-off procedure, immobiliser and battery cut-off, parts removed, bodywork particularities. A lowered vehicle, carbon bodywork or a width over 1.95 m change the equipment mobilised.

The vehicle is then inspected and photographed in the client’s presence, from every angle, and the record is drawn up with them. That document protects both sides: it establishes the condition at departure, and it alone allows anyone to say, on arrival, whether something has changed.

Loading

Shallow-angle ramps, ground clearance plates, and a winch as soon as the vehicle does not run or must not be run. Nobody pushes a car up a ramp by hand, and nobody fires up a cold engine to save two minutes.

The vehicle entrusted to us is driven only for its loading and unloading, over the strictly necessary distance, by a member of the crew. Never outside that.

Securing

The vehicle is secured by the wheels, with ratchet straps and soft protections — never by the suspension arms, the steering or the chassis, which are not designed to take a securing load. Chocking matched to the model, wheel chocks, brake and transmission set according to the model. The securing is checked after the first few kilometres, then at every stop.

The box

Enclosed transport is carried out in a closed rigid box: sheltered from stone chips, gravel, weather and prying eyes. For an exclusive mission, the vehicle travels alone in the trailer.

On arrival

A fresh record, against the departure photographs, with you. Keys and documents are handed over against signature of the consignment note. What we ask of you at that moment is simple, and it is in your interest: look, and write your reservations on the consignment note before signing it. Our terms and conditions explain why the deadlines matter here.

The trucks

The fleet follows a planned maintenance programme, independent of the statutory roadworthiness test. Securing equipment — straps, ratchets, protections, chocks — is inspected and replaced on wear, not on failure: a marked strap costs less than a wing.

Ramps, winches and tail lifts are subject to periodic checks. Every vehicle carries its fire extinguisher and its first-aid kit.

On the road

The route is prepared before departure, based on the actual dimensions of the rig: headroom under structures, weight limits, traffic restrictions, low-emission zones, roadworks.

Driving and rest times are respected — it is the law, and it is also the first safety measure in this trade. The stops a long journey requires are planned before departure, not improvised at the end of the day.

En route, the vehicle does not leave the box. No unnecessary stop is made with a vehicle on board, and the rig is not left unattended where it could be.

Storage

Stored vehicles are kept in a closed, clean and monitored building — between two transports or over the quiet season.

Access is by appointment, during office hours. No third party has access to a vehicle without its owner’s written agreement: not a potential buyer, not a journalist, not a family member.

During the deposit, we provide no servicing, no repair, no roadworthiness testing and no road testing. Battery charge maintenance is a service to be ordered, not an improvised gesture.

When something happens

An incident, here, is not only an impact: it is also an immobilisation, a theft, damage found on arrival, a truck breakdown with a vehicle on board, or a near miss to learn from.

What happens then, in this order:

1. Making safe — the crew, the vehicle entrusted to us and other road users.
2. Informing the client through their contact, the same day. We call; we do not let damage be discovered at delivery.
3. Written and photographic record, on the spot, with the third parties concerned and with the police where the situation calls for it.
4. Declaration to our insurer and follow-up of the investigation, which we report back to you.
5. No repair before assessment — a repair undertaken too early prevents the damage from being evaluated.
6. Internal review: what allowed the incident, and what changes in the procedure so that it does not happen again. The file is kept.

What we do not do

A safety policy is also read through its refusals.

• We do not load a vehicle whose actual condition does not match what was declared, without having spoken to the client first.
• We do not carry a vehicle containing goods, luggage or valuables.
• We do not take on a damaged or suspect traction battery without specific conditions agreed in advance.
• We drive no vehicle on track and take part in no event, whether testing or competition.
• We do no mechanical work, no bodywork and no detailing: we are not a replacement for a workshop, and we say so rather than improvise.
• We do not entrust a mission to a carrier we have not assessed.

Telling us something

A doubt about a manoeuvre, about behaviour behind the wheel, a remark after a delivery — write to info@e-motion.be or call +32 2 347 40 30. A report gets an answer, including when it does not come from a client.

Review

This policy is reviewed periodically, and after any incident that warrants correcting a point in it. The date of the last update appears at the top of the page.