At a meeting of the ECG Quality Working Group we found that many operators were using out-of-date instructions for the storage of vehicles. Therefore it was agreed to contact all OEMs to establish the parking requirements for their vehicles. We asked them about the position of the hand brake and the gearbox, as well as the provisions for the placement of the keys. The document is now in its fifth version and was last published in June 2024.
The purpose of this document is to inform FVL operators about every OEM’s parking requirements so that no outdated provisions are in place. It has also prompted some standardisation in the sector and as you can see the majority of OEMs require the gearbox to be left in 1st/Park position and the handbrake to be off. For the placement of keys the most common requirement is to place them in the door pocket of the driver’s door but this is still much more varied across the industry.
If you are aware of any inaccuracies in this document, or perhaps local instructions that differ in some way, please inform the ECG Secretariat in writing as soon as possible so we may validate with the OEM concerned.