I think we should once again reach into the box of myths and legends.
Today’s topic is about a claim that at some point somewhere, it was said that we no longer need to carry delivery notes with us.
Since I also found serious sources that said this, I remained convinced that it was correct.
But is that really the case, and how did I even come to this conclusion?
Well, I had the pleasure of being stopped in a traffic control on Monday. The officer who stopped me apparently had a lot of time, because the control lasted over 2 hours, followed by a trip to the scale.
That was a control, if you don’t find anything, you search so long until you find something. Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m still one of those who say we need more controls in our area. So in that sense, everything was fine. Only the duration of the control didn’t have to be in that form. In the end of the day, I had to leave the truck at the customer’s place, because my time wasn’t enough to drive back home as planned. Doesn’t matter.
Delivery Note
Now I come to the realm of myths and legends. It’s about the delivery note. Or, as it’s properly called, the load certificate.
I was also of the opinion for years that as a truck driver, I didn’t need to carry a delivery note. Almost all of us believe this. But this officer was, as I now know, right in his opinion.
Because he wanted to see a load certificate from me. That is, what we call in jargon a delivery note or freight bill. Naturally, I told him, because I didn’t know better until then: “We don’t need to carry a freight bill anymore.”
With reference to the GüKG (Güterkraftverkehrsgesetz), he said: “Yes, you do. You must know where and what you are loading and where it’s going.” Okay, he was right, although in today’s time, you don’t necessarily need a freight bill for that. The possibilities of technology are today diverse, so that you can inform us on many ways about the new loading sites. Well, the wood I need to load, for that we have GPS coordinates. How the type of wood looks like, I also know. And where the wood is going, I don’t need a freight bill for that.
What does the GüKG say now?
Under §7 Abs. 1 we find the following:
Obligations to carry and hand over documents in commercial goods transport
(1) The entrepreneur must ensure that during a goods transport within the country, for which an authorization under § 3 or a permit under § 6 is required, the following documents and proofs are carried during the entire journey:
- the authorization or an authorization copy, a certified copy of the Community license or the Swiss license, a CEMT permit, a CEMT relocation permit or a third-country permit,
- the document proving the fulfillment of certain technical, safety and environmental requirements for the vehicle used,
- a consignment note or another proof, in which the goods transported, the loading and unloading place and the consignor are stated.
And what does that mean?
As you can see, the GüKG states that we do indeed need to carry a load certificate, on which it is stated what was loaded where and where it is going. If we really didn’t need a delivery note, or better said, a load certificate,
it would also be stated in the law, or the third point of § 7 Abs. 1 would not be there anymore.
Well, in the now almost 30 years I’ve been active in this industry, this was the first control where a control officer wanted to see it. However, 30 years, with the control density… Once is always the first time. You won’t be controlled that often again.
But if you look at it like that, we don’t need a delivery note. We need a proof that shows where we loaded what and where the goods are going. That doesn’t have to be a delivery note. A freight bill, order, etc. also suffices as a load certificate.
