cooper1203:
sorry please dont think i was being argumentative the point i was trying to make was that if i had a vehicle marked up as carrying a corrosive it could be almost anything that is corrosive. might just be citic acid or it might be high strength and purity nitric acid. it would need further investigation by any person wishing to steal it. however if it was marked up as 5.2 its a far gamble and doesn’t need any further research to know what it is. same as if it was marked up as class 1 or 7. I just wondered if there was a reason they did that
I’ve had to pump Nitric Acid, omg that is bloody awful stuff, I was ■■■■■■■■ myself even when I was wearing a full chem suit!!!
Was there no option to blow it off? ^^^^ I used to hate pumping anything really but especially acids because of the obvious.
Stephenjp:
cooper1203:
sorry please dont think i was being argumentative the point i was trying to make was that if i had a vehicle marked up as carrying a corrosive it could be almost anything that is corrosive. might just be citic acid or it might be high strength and purity nitric acid. it would need further investigation by any person wishing to steal it. however if it was marked up as 5.2 its a far gamble and doesn’t need any further research to know what it is. same as if it was marked up as class 1 or 7. I just wondered if there was a reason they did that
I’ve had to pump Nitric Acid, omg that is bloody awful stuff, I was [zb] myself even when I was wearing a full chem suit!!!
i only did packages but some of the places i used to deliver to i was never sure what they made or used the stuff for… was never brave enough to ask
dieseldave:
G’day to you too SDU,
Blimey!! 
Given the 20yrs since your last DG course, your knowledge of DG is quite something, if you don’t mind me saying so. 
Thanks Dave, I have to admit, I needed to look up the dimensions of the signage.
Another peculiarity is a truck carrying explosive does not require a DG licensed driver. The driver needs an explosives licence, regulated by the mines dependent rather than the Heavy Vehicle Regulator/Transport Department. These trucks are forbidden to be weighed by the authorities, as the weighbridges are not intrinsically safe.
cooper1203:
i only did packages but some of the places i used to deliver to i was never sure what they made or used the stuff for… was never brave enough to ask
I’d say it’s not about being brave, but even if you had the info… exactly what use would it be to you?
I have lots of customers, both consignors and carriers… I don’t need to know any chemistry, who makes what, or what they do with it, so I keep my head clear of irrelevant stuff in order to concentrate on my actual role.
I advise my customers on the safe and legal carriage of whatever DG they’re moving, then an employed driver’s boss decides which parts of the regs are relevant and then tells the driver the part of that job that the driver needs to know.
I’d say that the person who unloads you would have a fairly good idea of what they’re about to do with what you deliver to them, so maybe you could have a chat with him/her if you’d like to know more about it.
Star down under.:
dieseldave:
G’day to you too SDU,
Blimey!!
Given the 20yrs since your last DG course, your knowledge of DG is quite something, if you don’t mind me saying so.
Thanks Dave, I have to admit, I needed to look up the dimensions of the signage.
Hi SDU,
It’s no shame to admit that after so long, but you knew where to find the info if you needed it for real.
Star down under.:
Another peculiarity is a truck carrying explosive does not require a DG licensed driver. The driver needs an explosives licence, regulated by the mines dependent rather than the Heavy Vehicle Regulator/Transport Department. These trucks are forbidden to be weighed by the authorities, as the weighbridges are not intrinsically safe.
This is strange to us over here, but I can understand that the overall authority has delegated the authority for UN Class 1 to the mines department rather than keeping it with the other chemical Classes.
For UN Class 1 over here, a driver needs UN Class 1 on their DG licence, but our Department for Transport has delegated a lot of the nitty-gritty of UN Class 1 to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE.) We have a lot of extra rules especially for the carriage of UN Class 1.
I’d guess that the nitty-gritty for UN Class 7 for everybody comes from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria.
Dave, the biggest take out I got from the multiple DG courses I did, was that I didn’t have to know every detail in the big book, just where and how to extract the information for each situation. Like an open book exam.
Star down under.:
Dave, the biggest take out I got from the multiple DG courses I did, was that I didn’t have to know every detail in the big book, just where and how to extract the information for each situation. Like an open book exam.
Hi SDU,
Depending on which qualification a candidate is seeking, we have different levels of exams/tests, some of which are open book, some are oral Q&A, some are multi choice.
Our DGSA (Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor) exams are open book, but you’d fail miserably if you couldn’t extract the info and write the answer, including the exact legal reference for whereabouts in the books you got that info from very swiftly. It’s quite excruciating in that you need to quote: Part, Chapter, Section and Subsection for every answer to every question. Page numbers in an answer are unacceptable! To qualify as a DGSA, a candidate must pass at least three of this type of exam. I take four of this type of exam because I’m a DGSA for both road and rail.
An ADR driver course instructor must have the normal DG driver qualification and then have some training in how to instruct in a classroom, or show demonstrable classroom teaching experience. Then they have to gain an instructor’s level of knowledge of DG, but there’s only a recommendation that the instructor be a qualified DGSA. I’m also an ADR instructor trainer and have trained three instructors to date, none of whom hold a DGSA qualification. The final assessment for an ADR instructor is carried out independently by means of oral Q&A and lesson observations by an External Verifier from the awarding body (SQA) who makes the final decision on instructor qualification.
Our DG driver exams are all multi-choice, either paper based or online, so the correct answer is always staring right back at the candidate. Candidates need to score at least 70% in each exam they take.
cooper1203:
sorry please dont think i was being argumentative the point i was trying to make was that if i had a vehicle marked up as carrying a corrosive it could be almost anything that is corrosive. might just be citic acid or it might be high strength and purity nitric acid. it would need further investigation by any person wishing to steal it. however if it was marked up as 5.2 its a far gamble and doesn’t need any further research to know what it is. same as if it was marked up as class 1 or 7. I just wondered if there was a reason they did that
I move class 1 all round UK/Europe. We are generally followed by an ■■■■■■. Different countries have different ways of doing this. Some it’s just a case of a someone in a van within eyesight of us who updates people in the loop. Others have private security with side arms and in some countries it’s military front and back, blue lights, letting me drive through red lights at blocked junctions when going through towns etc. If I am overnight in a previously planned truck stop abroad you have the security parked next to you all night.
To add, the loads are not parked in services over here.
mrginge:
cooper1203:
sorry please dont think i was being argumentative the point i was trying to make was that if i had a vehicle marked up as carrying a corrosive it could be almost anything that is corrosive. might just be citic acid or it might be high strength and purity nitric acid. it would need further investigation by any person wishing to steal it. however if it was marked up as 5.2 its a far gamble and doesn’t need any further research to know what it is. same as if it was marked up as class 1 or 7. I just wondered if there was a reason they did that
I move class 1 all round UK/Europe. We are generally followed by an ■■■■■■. Different countries have different ways of doing this. Some it’s just a case of a someone in a van within eyesight of us who updates people in the loop. Others have private security with side arms and in some countries it’s military front and back, blue lights, letting me drive through red lights at blocked junctions when going through towns etc. If I am overnight in a previously planned truck stop abroad you have the security parked next to you all night.
To add, the loads are not parked in services over here.
Thanks for the info im one of these people that love learning