Legislation
South Africa has provided for the control of the carriage of dangerous goods by road in chapter VIII of the National Road Traffic Act 1996 and these regulations incorporate numerous codes of practice and specifications compiled by the SANS.
These regulations and standards were implemented on the 3rd of August 2001.

How do these requirements effect chemical trading companies?
Any company that transports products that are classed as hazardous must comply with the regulations as stipulated in SANS 0228 and failure to comply is a criminal offence with a fine of up to R100,000.00. Furthermore chemical companies could face heavy costs in spill cleanups that may not be covered by their insurance policies.

What goods are classed as dangerous?
All goods that appear in the dangerous goods list which are incorporated in SANS 0228 are regarded as hazardous.
Companies cannot decide for themselves what is hazardous and what is not hazardous.

Enforcement of Legislation
Until recently, the traffic authorities did not enforce the law to its full extent, however Section 55 now requires all newly appointed traffic officers to be trained in the law relating to the transport of dangerous goods and 80 traffic officer are presently being trained on all aspects of the regulations.