Driver & Vehicle Requirements

Driver Requirements

There are many driver and vehicle requirements when carrying goods by road or rail involves the risk of traffic accidents. If the goods carried are dangerous, there is also the risk of an incident, such as spillage of the goods, leading to hazards such as fire, explosion, chemical burn or environmental damage.

Whereas most goods are not considered sufficiently dangerous to require special precautions during carriage. Some goods, however, have properties, which mean they are potentially dangerous if carried and therefore endorse the requirements for drivers of ADR to be fully trained in their role.

Dangerous goods are liquid or solid substances and articles containing them, that have been tested and assessed against internationally-agreed criteria – a process called classification – and found to be potentially dangerous (hazardous) when carried. Dangerous goods are assigned to different Classes depending on their predominant hazard.

There are regulations to deal with the carriage of dangerous goods, the purpose of which is to protect everyone either directly involved (such as consignors or carriers), or who might become involved (such as members of the emergency services and public). Regulations place duties upon everyone involved in the carriage of dangerous goods, to ensure that they know what they have to do to minimise the risk of incidents and guarantee an effective response.

Carriage of dangerous goods by road or rail is regulated internationally by agreements and European Directives, with biennial updates of the Directives take account of technological advances. New safety requirements are implemented by Member States via domestic regulations, which – for GB – directly reference the technical agreements.

Driver and vehicle crew (Documents)

The driver is in immediate control of the vehicle and fulfils the driving function. Crewmembers also have responsibilities and all crewmembers must have appropriate training in line with their duties and responsibilities.

Drivers and/or crew members must in particular:

• Carry their ADR driver-training certificate (drivers) and photo identification (all crewmembers)

• Ensure they have read and understood the transport documentation in advance of the transport operation, raise, and rectify any issue prior to driving the vehicle

• Keep written emergency instructions (ADR instructions in writing) readily available in the cab

• Check all vehicle safety equipment and personal protective equipment is provided and raise any deficiency or missing items with the carrier

• Check the vehicle is properly plated, placarded and marked. Orange plates, placards and marks should be kept clean and removed or covered when not required

• Ensure damaged or leaking packages are not loaded

• Ensure they do not drive a vehicle they suspect is not in compliance with national legislation or the ADR and raise and rectify any issues prior to driving the vehicle

• Not carry passengers (apart from members of the vehicle crew) when carrying dangerous goods

• Know how to use fire extinguishers

• Not open a package containing dangerous goods

• Ensure any torch or lighting apparatus used does not exhibit any metal surface liable to produce sparks

• Ensure smoking is prohibited during handling operations in the vicinity of vehicles and inside the vehicles

• Ensure the engine is shut off during loading and unloading operations, except where required to drive the pumps or other appliances for loading or unloading the vehicle and the laws of the country in which the vehicle is operating permit such use

• Ensure vehicles carrying dangerous goods are parked with the parking brakes applied and that trailers without braking devices are restrained from moving by applying at least one wheel chock

• In the case of a transport unit equipped with an anti-lock braking system consisting of a motor vehicle and trailer, ensure the electrical connections connect the towing vehicle and the trailer at all times during carriage

• If responsible for tank filling or emptying, ensure as may be appropriate (for example, for flammable liquids) that there is a good electrical connection to the earth prior to the emptying or filling operation

• Ensure no dangerous residues of the filling substance adhere to the outside of the tank being filled or emptied

• If involved in the loading operation, initially or during the transport operation, ensure dangerous goods are properly secured to the vehicle. If released to unload part of the shipment, remaining dangerous goods must be re-secured to the vehicle

• Ensure that vehicle supervision provisions are adhered to

Training

Chapter 8.2 of ADR covers driver training. The table below summarises the requirements.

Vehicle /load	Driver training	ADR Reference
All vehicles except those carrying packages under the small load threshold.	General training plus ADR Training certificate The certificate may be endorsed for different classes of dangerous goods or different modes (in tanks or other than tanks.)	8.2.1
Any vehicle carrying packaged dangerous goods under the small load threshold.	General training	8.2.3 (refers to chapter 1.3) ADR 1.1.3.6
Vehicle with small tank (up to 1 m3)	General training	8.2.1.3 8.2.3

ADR chapter 1.3 gives the details of the “general training”. The requirements for carriers to keep a record of training is in ADR 1.3.3. ADR 2011 clarified the requirements that training should be carried out before a person assumes responsibilities in relation to dangerous goods. Otherwise, duties should be carried out only under the direct supervision of a trained person (see 1.3.1).

Drivers are required to carry their training certificates by ADR 8.1.2.2. From 2011, the training certificates followed a standard “credit card” format as shown in ADR 8.2.2.8.5.  It includes security features (8.2.2.8.3) and a photo of the holder.

Information on the training schemes may be found on DfT’s website

Enforcement

When checking a driver’s training certificate, Inspectors should ensure that:

• it is in the same name as the driving licence
• the expiry date has not passed;
• the certificate is valid for the class of dangerous goods being carried, and for the mode of carriage – ie “in tanks” or “other than in tanks”;
• the certificate number matches that on the holder’s driving licence, where possible

Inspectors considering a prosecution for an apparent breach involving a training certificate will need to check whether a certificate has been issued to the driver concerned. This will need to be done through the DVLA as with other licence matters.

Other matters

ADR 8.3 covers a number of simple and obvious precautions. These duties fall on the carrier and the crew (usually the driver, but in some cases a second person).

ADR 8.4 includes supervision of vehicles. This applies where special provisions S14 to S21 appear in column 19 of Table A.

Obtaining an ADR Certificate

To become a dangerous goods (ADR) vehicle driver you need to:

• train and pass exams to get an ADR driver card
• complete any additional training you need depending on what dangerous goods you want to carry

If you want to transport dangerous goods in a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) as the main part of your job, you need to be qualified as a HGV driver and have a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

If you qualify as an ADR driver, you will be able to transport one or more of these dangerous goods:

• explosives
• gases
• flammable liquids
• flammable solids
• oxidising substances
• toxic substances
• radioactive substances
• corrosive substances
• miscellaneous substances

If you need access to fuel terminals, where petroleum products are loaded into tankers, you also need a Petroleum Driver Passport.

You can qualify as an ADR driver even if you have a criminal record – check with your employer what dangerous goods you will be allowed to transport.

There is no minimum time that you need to have had your full HGV driving licence before you can start training for an ADR licence.

If you’re qualifying for the first time

To become a dangerous goods (ADR) vehicle driver you need to:

• Find out how to qualify for different types of dangerous goods.
• Book a training course.
• Take the training and pass the training tests.
• Wait to get your ADR card after you have qualified – you must have your card to drive any dangerous goods, and keep your details up to date.

Take refresher training and tests to stay qualified – your qualifications only last for 5 years.

Your card will show what dangerous goods you are allowed to carry. You can add extra dangerous goods classes to your ADR driver card at any time by taking optional training modules and tests.

You can update the details on your ADR card, or replace a lost, stolen or damaged card if you need to.

Types of training

All training providers offer training in:

• Class 2: gases
• Class 3: flammable liquids
• Class 4: flammable solids
• Class 5: oxidising substances
• Class 6: toxic substances
• Class 8: corrosive substances
• Class 9: miscellaneous substances

Some training providers also offer specialist training in:

• Class 1: explosives
• Class 7: radioactive materials

Vehicle Requirements

Part 8 of ADR covers most of the matters that the carrier has to deal with, and includes:

• Driver training
• Equipment to be carried, including fire extinguishers, wheel chocks, pocket lamp, warning signs, warning vest
• Documentation

CDG Regs

Regulation 5 is the basis for implementing ADR’s requirements in this matter. Regulation 6 requires GB vehicles on national journeys to use Emergency action codes rather than Hazard Identification numbers when carrying in tanks or bulk.  For tank carriage, there is also the requirement to display a telephone number. Details are in Sch 1 of CDG Regs.

ADR

The relevant part of ADR is part 8. In principle, this is not complicated, but there are some intricacies, which this manual discusses. Virtually all of the carrier’s duties are set out in this part of ADR.

Transport unit

Some duties refer to “transport unit” and some to vehicles. The transport unit may be one vehicle or may comprise a tractor unit and semi- trailer (articulated lorry) or a rigid lorry and trailer (drawbar combination). A vehicle most obviously is a lorry or van but it also includes a trailer. Accordingly, an articulated lorry or drawbar combination is two vehicles, but one transport unit. Vehicle is defined in Article 1 and in part 9 of ADR

Equipment and documentation

5ADR chapter 8.1 covers equipment and documentation. This is grouped in three main parts:

• Documents (8.1.2)
• Placarding and marking (8.1.3)
• Firefighting equipment (8.1.4)
• Miscellaneous equipment (8.1.5)

Documents

There are cross references to other parts of ADR where the details of documentation are given (ADR 5.4.1).

The vehicle should be carrying:

• “Transport documents”, details of which may be found in “Consignment procedures“
• “Instructions in Writing” (IiW), which contain basic information for use in an emergency.

There is now a standard format for IiW, which is not affected by the goods carried. It is the carrier’s duty, to ensure the driver has the IiW in a language he/she understands.

The IiW specify equipment to be carried and some of this is determined by the nature of the goods carried. A summary of the requirements is included in the tabular enforcement guide in “operational strategy and enforcement“

Placarding and marking

ADR para 8.1.3 refers to ADR Chapter 5.3 in respect of placarding and marking. More details may be found in Consignment procedures.

Fire extinguishers

ADR para 8.1.4 concerns fire extinguishers. The table below sets out a summary of the minimum requirements. Note that dry powder extinguishers are specified because it is known that they are suitable for tackling fires of class A (solids such as wood, paper etc),  class B (fires involving liquids) and class C (fires involving gases).

Vehicle (max permissible mass)	Minimum dry powder fire extinguisher provision
Up to 3.5 tonne	2kg for cab plus 2 kg
over 3.5 tonne and up to 7.5 tonne	2 kg for cab Total 8 kg (usually one 6 kg but other provision is acceptable as long as there is one 6 kg)
Over 7.5 tonne	2 kg for cab Total 12 kg (including at least  one 6 kg)
Any vehicle carrying dangerous goods under the” small load” limit or carrying only infectious substances	One 2 kg  only

Miscellaneous equipment

Para 8.1.5 refers to “miscellaneous equipment”. The most common problem is in the wording of subparagraph (a) about wheel chocks. Under ADR, the transport unit has to carry at least one suitable chock for each vehicle (which means at least two chocks for articulated Lorries and drawbar combinations). There is no prescription as to where wheel chocks are to be carried. A discussion on enforcement issues is in para 8 of Annex 3.2 in Operational Strategy.

Under this heading also, come:

• Two self-standing warning signs
• A suitable warning vest or warning clothing for each member of the crew
• A pocket lamp for each member of the crew. Note that special provision S2 (Table A column 19) means that the “pocket lamp” has to be suitable for use in a flammable atmosphere in certain circumstances.

The equipment that is needed according to the load carried, summarised below

Nature of  load (by danger label)	Equipment
Labels 3 – 9	Eye rinsing liquid
Labels 2.3 and 6.1	Emergency escape mask
Labels 3, 4.1, 4.3, 8, 9	Drain seal   Shovel Plastic collecting container

Source – DVSA, Dft and HSE