ADR Driver Training Carrying Dangerous Goods

ADR is the license allowing you to drive a vehicle carrying dangerous goods, you must achieve this license by law, as determined by the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, to achieve this you need to complete ADR Driver training.

Before January 2007 ADR only applied to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes since 2007 you now need an ADR license for HGV trucks and even vans examples of such vehicles include:

Dangerous goods in packages.
Tankers containing any dangerous goods.
Container with a payload of dangerous goods.
A vehicle carrying dangerous goods in bulk.
Vehicles carrying radioactive material.

ADR Driver Training and Certification

In the UK ADR Driver training courses must be approved by the Department for Transport.

ADR driver training is typically broken up into modules, which module you choose depends on the type of job you do and which hazardous goods you will be transporting, If you carry different types of hazardous goods you may need to complete more modules to cover this.

ADR Driver Training Licence Costs

An ADR Licence is an excellent qualification to obtain, also ADR trained drivers will have much better job opportunities and be able to achieve much higher wages.

The Full ADR Driver training and licensing costs between £300 and £500 depending on the modules you take but once you have the license it will soon pay for itself when you receive a much higher salary.

The Core module is compulsory and the other modules are dependent on what hazardous goods you will be carrying.

ADR Course Core Module

ADR Training Book Checks (before, during, and after the journey)
Documentation
Driver’s duty to carry goods safely
Emergency and technical equipment on vehicles
Environmental protection & wastes
First aid, Accident procedure, Fire, and Personal protective equipment
Law and Liability
Loading and unloading
Mixed loading and segregation
Relevant Regulations (including national & international)
Supervision and parking rules
Use of UN numbers, classes & packing groups

ADR Course Class Modules

Class 1 – Explosives
Class 2 – Gases
Class 3 – Flammable Liquids
Class 4 – Flammable Solids
Class 5 – Oxidising Agents
Class 6 – Toxic Substances
Class 7 – Radioactives
Class 8 – Corrosives
Class 9 – Miscellaneous

Class 1 – Explosives and Class 7 – Radioactives are normally taken as separate modules and not included in the typical ADR Driver training.

ADR Course Road Tanks and Tank Containers Module compulsory if a driver is transporting dangerous goods in a Tanker.

The behavior of tanks on the road
Cleaning of tanks
Definitions of tanks
Documentation
Methods of loading and unloading
Responsibilities of the operator with regard to training
Tank construction
Tank markings and labeling
Types of loads
Use of tanks

ADR Course Package Module compulsory for drivers who transport dangerous goods other than in Tanks.

Operating procedures
Loading and Unloading
Scope and Application of rules including load limits
Types of packaging
UN packaging scheme

Once you have completed your training you will need to complete an examination covering the modules and classes you require.

The examinations are in multiple choice format and you will need to get a pass result of 70%.

If you do fail a class module then you will only be required to resit that particular module and not repeat all of them.

How long does ADR Driver training take?

Full courses for only the ‘packages’ course take around 3.5 days but if you incorporate the ‘tanks’ module a total of 5 days is normal.

Refresher courses take three days. Class -1 Explosives and Class -7 Radioactives courses take 1 day if being added to an existing qualification, or two and a half if only entitlement is required.

If you only need one class of Dangerous Goods, e.g. petrol tanker, it is possible to narrow down the training so you only do Core and Packages – Tanks modules along with the module you require.