Regulations relating to the road transport of hazardous goods.

How do these requirements affect transport operators when dangerous goods are imported in to South Africa?

It is quite clear who is responsible for producing the required forms, namely the TREM Card and the declaration form, when transporting goods by road from point of pickup to point of drop-off.

To quote from SANS 10231 Ed. 2.3,
Section 5.3.3
" The consignor is responsible for insuring that the operator has been advised of the nature, quantities and the hazards relating to the goods to be carried and the emergency response requirements."
Section 5.3.4
“The consignor is also responsible for supplying the correct type and quantity of placards for the consignment, and the correct Tremcards and Dangerous goods declarations”

However section 5.2.3. also places certain responsibilities on the driver. One of these is that the driver must ensure that the Tremcards and declaration forms are in the designated space in the cab of the vehicle. He must also take full note of any instructions regarding the trip and that these must be in writing.

Therefore everybody is responsible and Liability is assumed from Cradle to Grave

There is a common misunderstanding that the only documents required are a MSDS (material safety data sheet) and a TREM card. This is in fact incorrect.

The documents that are required by the road transport authorities to be handed over are the Transport Emergency Card (TREMCARD) and the Hazardous Goods Declaration Form.

HazDocs addresses these issues in the software application and produces the documentation. These documents can be e-mailed to the operator before pick-up, the benefit being that the operator knows before-hand the nature and quantities of the goods to be carried.

Operators should get their clients to visit our website or contact us.