Dangerous goods report is not welcomed

The European Parliament has adopted a report on harmonising the rules for the transport of dangerous goods. John Loughran reports.

The new proposals, have been greeted with dismay by the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the umbrella group for road haulage associations across Europe.
The new proposal sets out to integrate the existing rules into one piece of EU law which will cover the land transport modes road and rail and include inland waterway transport.
The House adopted an amendment, which stipulates that Member States may still lay down specific requirements for the national and international transport of dangerous goods within their territory as regards vehicles, wagons and inland waterway vessels not covered by the new directive

A broad majority of MEPs believe that the proposals will contribute to the objective of legislative simplification and that these simpler rules would also mean safer transport. The current EU laws on the transport of dangerous goods already covers road and rail transport but these rules are complicated and difficult to implement for citizens, transport operators and national authorities, according to MEPs

In including inland waterways, the new legislative format will be much easier to understand and apply than the current legislation. So far, no EU rules for inland waterways exist. Taking into consideration that the impact of this sector is growing, it is felt that an accident in inland waterways might have serious consequences and that one single set of rules would reduce this risk.
The total amount of dangerous goods transport in the EU is about 110 billion tonne/kms a year, of which 58% by road, 25% by rail and 17% by inland waterway. The share of dangerous goods transport in total freight transport is 8%.
The current international agreements regulating international transport of dangerous goods are based on UN Recommendations, which have been implemented in the inland transport sector in Europe by means of three instruments:

- European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR);
- Regulations concerning international carriage of dangerous goods by rail (RID);
- European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by inland waterways (ADN)

ADN is in the process of ratification and is expected to be in force in 2009 at the latest. According to Commission information, nine of the EU countries are signatories of ADN. Two other ADN-based systems (ADN-R and ADN-D) are currently applied in the areas of the Rhine and Danube.

But for historic reasons, the existing EU legislation on the transport of dangerous goods is rather complicated. The Commission says that, if nothing is done, the current complex rules will become even more complex with changes in international agreements. Obsolete rules would remain and confuse the sectors and the risk of non-compliance would increase.

The new proposal would repeal four existing directives and two Commission decisions. MEPs also take the view that this simplified Community legislation would also simplify the transposition into national legislation. Administrative procedures for consignor and consignee, will be easier with simplified and harmonised rules. Documentation of transport operations and vehicles is also expected to be simpler with harmonised rules, as would be the training of persons involved and the work dangerous goods safety advisors.
Although welcoming the proposal, the Parliament endorsed amendments including several of technical nature which permit Member States to regulate for safety reasons the transport of dangerous goods not yet covered by the Directive and especially in passenger trains. Based on the two-year rhythm of the international agreements ARD, RID and ADN the period of renewing the authorisation is brought to six instead of five years.

However, the proposals according to the IRI would give Member States the possibility to impose not only the use of prescribed routes, but also to prescribe modes of transport for dangerous goods.
The IRU says its is totally against imposing on business the mode of transport to be used. Besides being anti competitive and therefore questionable vis-à-vis European law, this will would gravely penalise the entire chemical goods industry, its competitiveness and especially the carriers of dangerous goods themselves.

Paul Wauters, President of the IRU’s Expert Group on Dangerous Goods (GEMD) and CEO of Wauters Tanktransport n.v stated that, "imposing modes of transport is something we would have expected from the former Soviet Union, not from the EU which is all about creating a single free market! For all ADR transport, it is imperative that the consignor, carrier and consignee maintain freedom of choice for the means of transport used.”

He continued; “If we start to dictate such measures for our dangerous goods sector, we are certain to see the Chemical industry leave its European production plants to produce in countries outside the EU, hence impacting employment.
“All that will be achieved by the imposition of a prescribed mode of transport on prescribed routes, will be a huge penalty on the end customer, and on Europe’s productivity and competitiveness.”
Earlier this year the IRU Union set out its stall on how best to harmonise rules for the haulage sector, and another EU directive wasn’t in the melting pot. The (IRU) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA), organised an the international seminar ‘The Future of Enforcement for Commercial Road Transport in Europe’

The seminar identified targeted and harmonised controls on road transport, from compliance with driving and rest time rules to vehicle roadworthiness, as crucial elements to ensure smooth and competitive operation of road transport throughout the EU.
Attending the seminar were representatives from the European Institutions, Member State Governments national enforcement bodies, industry associations and operators, who all agreed on the need to achieve targeted and harmonised enforcement of EU legislation affecting road transport.

Hubert Linssen, IRU General Delegate to the EU, said: ‘’For too long the road transport industry has been subject to European rules enforced according to non-harmonised national practices. I am pleased that the EU, national governments and enforcers are aware of this problem and are committed to relegate it to the past by working together with the IRU and its members such as the FTA, in a genuine public-private partnership.’’
Areas identified for improvement by transport operators included:- targeted roadside enforcement based on company profiling and risk assessment, to focus on potential rogue operators
- roadside controls limited to checks important for road safety only, while detailed examinations take place at company premises
- Member States to agree quickly on a system of harmonised penalties and fines across the EU.