On a chilled body, a 600 kg pallet produces a forward force of about 4.7 kN when the vehicle slows at 0.8 g, the same push as a 480 kg weight acting forwards. If the floor is smooth and frost is forming on it, friction does not hold that force; the lashing and the anchor points do. Article 65 of Law 2918 now names this condition in the definition of the offence.
What the subparagraph forbids
Article 65(1)(h) prohibits loading in such a way that the load touches the road, falls, spills, scatters, seeps, leaks, slides, makes noise, overturns or upsets the vehicle's balance, when it is not properly lashed and secured. Law 7574, Article 18, rewrote the subparagraph; the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr marks the change at the subparagraph heading.
Fines and the ban on continuing
Under the second paragraph of the same article, a breach of subparagraph (h) carries an administrative fine of 3,000 TL. If the vehicle is used for dangerous goods transport or carries containers, the fine is 20,000 TL. The same paragraph does not allow vehicles that are used in breach of these subparagraphs, including (h), to continue until the necessary conditions are met.
| Case | Fine | Continuing |
|---|---|---|
| (h), general vehicle | 3,000 TL | Banned until the conditions are met |
| (h), vehicle carrying dangerous goods or containers | 20,000 TL | Banned until the conditions are met |
The amounts are the figures in the text of Law 7574; the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr shows them as of 12 October 2026. Law 2918, however, raises its fine amounts every year by the revaluation rate set under the Tax Procedure Law, effective from the start of the calendar year. Read the table with its year in mind; the 2027 figures are calculated separately.
How the loading arrangement is set up at the dock is covered under the cold chain at a distribution centre.
Worked example: a 600 kg pallet
Assumed inputs, for illustration only: a 600 kg pallet in a chilled body, looking only at the lashing requirement. The method is simplified: the required lashing force is F = m × g × (c - µ). Here g = 9.81 m/s², c is 0.8 forward and 0.5 sideways (the design accelerations in the IRU guidelines), and µ is the friction coefficient of the body floor. The IRU guidelines use µ = 0.45 in their own example; 0.20 is our assumption, not a measurement on a frosted floor.
| Direction | c | µ = 0.45 | µ = 0.20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward (braking) | 0.8 | 2.06 kN | 3.53 kN |
| Sideways | 0.5 | 0.29 kN | 1.77 kN |
The table shows that as friction in the forward direction falls, the lashing load rises quickly. Moving µ from 0.45 to 0.20 takes the forward load from 2.06 kN to 3.53 kN, about 1.7 times. This is a first estimate. A real check adds the lashing angle and the safety factor from EN 12195-1: 1.25 for forward and 1.1 for sideways and rearward.
Recording at the start of the trip. Article 65 does not require the lashing to be recorded. A record is still useful: which pallet was tied to which point, how many straps were used and at what tension, which part of the body was left empty. On a multi-drop route the load is half empty after the first delivery and nothing is left in front of the remaining cargo; the record shows that moment before the trip starts.
The strap should not rest against the insulated side wall. The anchor points are set out in the body instructions; before each trip, check that the straps are fixed to those points and record it.
