Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1997 No. 475
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Carriage of Explosives by Road (Driver Training) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997
Made
28th October 1997
To be laid before Parliament
Coming into operation
1st December 1997
The Secretary of State, in pursuance of Article 17(1) to (6), 40(2) to (4), 54 and 55(2) of, and paragraphs 2, 3, 5, 6, 13 and 15 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, as applied and modified by Article 53 of that Order and after consulting, in accordance with Article 46 of that Order as so applied and modified, the Health and Safety Agency for Northern Ireland and such other bodies as appear to her to be appropriate, hereby makes the following Regulations:—
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Carriage of Explosives by Road (Driver Training) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st December 1997.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the 1991 Regulations” means the Classification and Labelling of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991(1);
“the 1993 Regulations” means the Road Traffic (Training of Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Explosives) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(2);
“the Carriage Regulations” means the Carriage of Explosives by Road Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(3);
“ADR” means the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road signed at Geneva on 30th September 1957, as revised or reissued from time to time(4);
“the ADR Directive” means Council Directive 94/55/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of dangerous goods by road(5);
“approved” means approved in writing for the purposes of these Regulations;
“attendant” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations;
“break-down vehicle” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Goods Vehicles (Testing) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(6);
“carriage” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations;
“Compatibility Group” and “Compatibility Group letter” have the same meanings as in regulation 2(1) of the 1991 Regulations;
“the Council Directive” means Council Directive 89/684/EEC on vocational training for certain drivers carrying dangerous goods by road(7) and any reference in these Regulations to anything done under that Directive shall have effect notwithstanding any subsequent revocation of that Directive;
“Division” and “Division number” have the same meanings as in regulation 2(1) of the 1991 Regulations;
“explosives” means explosive articles or substances which—
(a)
have been assigned on classification in accordance with the 1991 Regulations to Class 1; or
(b)
have not been classified under the 1991 Regulations;
“explosive article” and “explosive substance” have the same meanings as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations;
“fire authority” means the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland established under Article 3 of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984(8);
“gunpowder” means the explosive substance allocated on classification the UN number 0027 or 0028;
“member state” means a country (other than the United Kingdom) which is a member of the European Communities;
“motor vehicle” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(9);
“operator” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations;
“packages” have in relation to explosives the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles (Northern Ireland) 1997(10);
“road” has the same meaning as in Article 2(2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;
“semi-trailer” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989(11);
“smokeless powder” means the explosive substance allocated on classification the UN number 0160 or 0161;
“trailer” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989;
“UN number” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations; and
“vehicle” has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Carriage Regulations;
“vehicle examiner” means a person appointed by the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) under Article 74 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
(3) Where a vehicle, which is engaged in the carriage of explosives, is being—
(a)driven by a person undergoing training under the supervision of an instructor; or
(b)towed or otherwise moved by a break-down or recovery vehicle and the driver of the break-down or recovery vehicle is accompanied by the driver of the vehicle, which is being towed or otherwise moved,
the instructor or (as the case may be) the driver of the vehicle, which is being towed or otherwise moved, shall be regarded as the driver of the vehicle concerned for the purposes of these Regulations.
(4) Any requirement imposed by regulations 3 to 6 on or in respect of the driver of a vehicle, which is engaged in the carriage of explosives, shall be taken to include a like requirement imposed on, or as the case may be, in respect of, any attendant.
(5) For the purposes of these Regulations—
(a)a combination of a motor vehicle and a trailer or a semi-trailer shall be deemed to be a single vehicle for as long as the constituent parts of such a combination remain attached; and
(b)explosives contained in different constituent parts of such a vehicle shall accordingly be considered to be contained in the same vehicle.
(6) Without prejudice to the generality of regulation 2(4), a trailer or semi-trailer containing explosives shall not be considered to be engaged in the carriage of explosives for the purposes of these Regulations unless it forms part of a combination deemed to be a single vehicle in accordance with paragraph (5).
(7) For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference to a motor vehicle which is registered outside the United Kingdom is a reference to a motor vehicle which is not registered in the United Kingdom but is registered in another country in accordance with that country’s rules governing the registration of such vehicles.
(8) Any reference in these Regulations to the driver of a vehicle does not include a reference to a person whose work does not include his driving the vehicle concerned on a road.
(9) Any reference in these Regulations to the net mass of any explosive shall be construed as a reference to the net mass of explosive substance.
(10) In these Regulations—
(a)any reference to a vehicle under the control of the armed forces is a reference to—
(i)a vehicle on board which there is, as a member of its crew, a member of the armed forces acting in the course of his duties; or
(ii)a vehicle in a convoy escorted by a vehicle of the type referred to in sub-paragraph (i),
where “a member of the armed forces” means—
(iii)a member of Her Majesty’s Forces;
(iv)a member of a visiting force within the meaning of any of the provisions of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952(12); or
(v)a civilian who is an employee of Her Majesty’s Forces; and
(b)any reference to a vehicle owned by the armed forces is a reference to a vehicle owned by—
(i)Her Majesty’s Forces,
(ii)visiting forces within the meaning of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952, or
(iii)any headquarters or organisation designated for the purposes of the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964(13);
and includes a vehicle which has been provided to the armed forces under any kind of agreement or arrangement under which payments are, or are to be, made for the provision of the vehicle, including a conditional sale agreement, a credit sale agreement, a hire purchase agreement and a contract for sale.
Application
2.—(1) These Regulations shall apply to the carriage of explosives in or on a vehicle not also being used to carry passengers for hire or reward, except where specified in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to the carriage of explosives shall be construed as a reference to any carriage to which these Regulations apply by virtue of this paragraph.
(2) A vehicle shall be deemed to be engaged in the carriage of explosives from the commencement of loading it with the explosives concerned for the purpose of carrying them by road until the said vehicle and, where appropriate, any compartment of it has been unloaded and, where necessary, cleaned or purged so that any of the explosives or their vapours, which remain in or on the vehicle, are not sufficient to create a significant risk to the health or safety of any person, regardless of whether or not the vehicle is on a road at the material time.
Instruction and training for drivers
3.—(1) The operator of any motor vehicle (other than a motor vehicle registered outside the United Kingdom) which is engaged in the carriage of explosives shall ensure that the driver of the vehicle has received adequate instruction and training to enable him to understand—
(a)the nature of the dangers to which the explosives being carried may give rise and the action to be taken in an emergency concerning them;
(b)his duties under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(14); and
(c)his duties under the Carriage Regulations.
(2) Each operator shall keep a record of any training provided by him, in accordance with paragraph (1), to the driver of a vehicle, where that driver is employed by him, and shall make available a copy of that record to the driver concerned.
Vocational training certificates
4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (9) and regulation 5, the operator of any vehicle, which is engaged in the carriage of explosives, shall ensure that the driver of that vehicle holds a valid certificate applicable to that carriage (to be known as a “vocational training certificate”) issued by the Secretary of State.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), in the case of the carriage of explosives referred to in regulation 2(1), the vocational training certificate shall be appropriate to the carriage of explosives in packages.
(3) A vocational training certificate may only be issued to a driver in accordance with paragraph (1) where he has—
(a)successfully completed such training in the carriage of the explosives concerned as the Secretary of State has from time to time approved;
(b)passed an examination (the syllabus of which shall cover the training referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph) which has been approved by the Secretary of State; and
(c)paid a fee of £2·80 to the Secretary of State.
(4) Each vocational training certificate issued in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be in a form approved by the Secretary of State.
(5) The training referred to in paragraph 3(a) shall be given in the form of a theoretical course accompanied by practical exercises and shall cover at least their subjects specified in Schedule 3.
(6) Each vocational training certificate issued in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue but its validity may be extended for periods of up to 5 years by the Secretary of State where, within the period of 12 months which precede the expiry of the original certificate or any extension of it granted in accordance with this paragraph, the holder can show to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that he has—
(a)successfully completed a refresher course in the carriage of explosives which has been approved by the Secretary of State;
(b)passed the examination referred to in paragraph (3)(b); and
(c)paid a fee of £2·80 to the Secretary of State.
(7) Schedule 4 shall have effect with respect to fees for applications for such approvals under this regulation as are specified in paragraph 1 of that Schedule.
(8) Any current certificate in the form set out in Appendix B.6 to ADR (regardless of whether or not that certificate has been extended in the manner described by Article 5.2 of the Council Directive or Marginal 10315(3) of the ADR) which is held by a driver and which was issued to him under national provisions giving effect to Article 1 of the Council Directive or the ADR Directive in a member state shall be deemed to be a vocational training certificate issued in conformity with the foregoing provisions of this regulation valid for the carriage of explosives.
Existing training certificates
5.—(1) It shall be sufficient compliance with regulation 4(1) if the driver of the relevant vehicle holds a training certificate applicable to the explosives being carried which was issued to him by the appropriate national authority before the coming into operation of the 1993 Regulations(15) as respects the carriage of explosives on the basis of national provisions existing at that time, which the Commission of the European Communities has confirmed satisfy the corresponding requirements of the Council Directive, provided that such compliance shall cease—
(a)on 1st July 1997; or
(b)at the end of the period of validity of the certificate concerned, where that date is earlier than the relevant date specified in sub-paragraph (a) above.
(2) Any vocational training certificate issued in accordance with regulation 6(1) of the 1993 Regulations shall be deemed to be a vocational training certificate issued in accordance with regulation 4(1) of these Regulations and shall remain valid until the expiry date stated in it, subject to any extension of the validity of the certificate in accordance with regulation 6(5) of the 1993 Regulations or regulation 4(6) of these Regulations.
Certificates to be available during carriage
6. The driver of any vehicle, which is engaged in the carriage of explosives, shall ensure that the relevant certificate, which he holds in accordance with regulation 4 or 5, is so kept by him that it is immediately available during the whole of the carriage.
Certificates to be produced to constables, etc
7. The driver of any vehicle, which is engaged in the carriage of explosives, shall on request produce to any constable or vehicle examiner the relevant certificate, which he holds in accordance with regulation 4 or 5.
Exemption certificates
8.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and to any provisions imposed by the Communities in respect of the carriage of explosives by road, the Secretary of State may, by a certificate in writing, exempt any person or class of person from all or any of the requirements or prohibitions imposed by these Regulations. Any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be revoked at any time by the Secretary of State by a further certificate in writing.
(2) The Secretary of State shall not grant any exemption in accordance with paragraph (1) unless, having regard to the circumstances of the case and in particular to—
(a)the conditions, if any, which he proposes to attach to the exemption; and
(b)any other requirements imposed by or under any enactments which apply to the case,
he is satisfied that the health and safety of persons, who are likely to be affected by the exemption, will not be prejudiced in consequence of it.
(3) The Secretary of State for Defence may, in the interests of national security, by a certificate in writing, exempt any person from all or any of the requirements or prohibitions imposed by these Regulations in so far as they relate to the carriage of explosives in or on any vehicle—
(a)owned by the armed forces; or
(b)under the control of the armed forces,
and any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be revoked at any time by the Secretary of State for Defence by a further certificate in writing.
Defence
9.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence of contravention of any of the provisions of these Regulations it shall, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), be a defence for the person charged to prove that—
(a)the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person not being one of his employees (hereinafter called “the other person”); and
(b)he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
(2) The person charged shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on the defence referred to in paragraph (1) unless, within a period ending seven clear days before the hearing to determine the mode of trial, he has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing of such information, identifying or assisting in the identification of the other person, as he has in his possession.
(3) Where a contravention of any of the provisions of these Regulations by any person is due to the act or default of the other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence which would, but for any defence under these Regulations available to the first mentioned person, be constituted by the act or default.
Revocation
10. The 1993 Regulations are revoked.
Northern Ireland Office
Marjorie Mowlam
One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State
28th October 1997
Regulation 2(1)
SCHEDULE 1Cases where the Carriage of Explosives is not Carriage to which these Regulations apply
These Regulations shall not apply to any such carriage as is specified in regulation 2(1) where—
(a)the motor vehicle is registered outside the United Kingdom and the carriage is confined to Northern Ireland but nevertheless conforms with the provisions of ADR as if it were part of an international transport operation;
(b)the vehicle concerned is being towed or otherwise moved by a break-down or recovery vehicle and—
(i)both vehicles are being escorted by a vehicle used for the purposes of the police or a fire brigade maintained by a fire authority; and
(ii)the vehicle being towed or otherwise moved as aforesaid is being driven to the nearest suitable safe place with a view to it being repaired, cleaned, purged or decontaminated;
(c)the vehicle concerned is being driven, as the result of an emergency, by—
(i)a constable, or
(ii)a member of a fire brigade maintained by a fire authority, and that constable or member of the fire brigade, as the case may be, has received adequate instruction and training to enable him to understand the nature of the dangers to which the explosives being carried may give rise and the action which it is appropriate to take to reduce the risks arising out of the emergency;
(d)the explosives are being carried—
(i)between private premises and another vehicle situated in the immediate vicinity of those premises, or
(ii)between one part of private premises and another part of those premises situated in the immediate vicinity of that first part, where both parts are occupied by the same person, notwithstanding that those parts may be separated by a road;
(e)the vehicle concerned is engaged in carriage, which is part of an international transport operation within the meaning of Article 1(c) of ADR, and that carriage—
(i)complies with the provisions of Annex A or Annex B or both to that Agreement, or
(ii)is in a vehicle under the control of or owned by the armed forces, where they are the armed forces of a country which is a contracting party to ADR;
(f)the carriage of the explosives concerned is subject to a bilateral or multilateral agreement made under the terms of Article 4.3 of ADR to which the United Kingdom is a contracting party and conforms to any conditions attached to such an agreement.
SCHEDULE 2Cases where the Carriage of Explosives is not Carriage to which these Regulations apply by virtue of Regulation 2(1)
These Regulations shall not apply to the carriage of—
(a)any explosives specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to the Carriage Regulations;
(b)gunpowder or smokeless powder (or a mixture of them), where the net mass of such explosives is not more than 5 kilograms;
(c)any explosives specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to the Carriage Regulations, where the net mass of such explosives is not more than 50 kilograms (except that, where explosives carried in accordance with this sub-paragraph are being carried in conjunction with explosives carried in accordance with sub-paragraph (b) of this Schedule, the net mass of explosives so carried shall not exceed 50 kilograms); or
(d)(for the purposes of regulation 4(1) only)—
(i)any explosives within a Division with the Division number 1.4 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter S,
(ii)any explosives within a Division with the Division number 1.4 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group Letter B, C, D, E, F or G, where the net mass of such explosives is not more than 500 kilograms,
(iii)any explosives (consisting of explosive articles only) within—
(aa)a Division with the Division number 1.1 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter B, C, D, E, F, G, J or L,
(bb)a Division with the Division number 1.2 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J or L, or
(cc)a Division with the Division number 1.3 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter C, G, H, J or L,
where the net mass of such articles is not more than 50 kilograms,
(iv)any explosives (consisting of explosive substances only) within—
(aa)a Division with the Division number 1.1 and a Compatibility Group with Compatibility Group letter C, D, G or L,
(bb)a Division with the Division number 1.2 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter L, or
(cc)a Division with the Division number 1.5 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter D and of the type allocated on classification in accordance with the 1991 Regulations the UN number 0482,
where the net mass of such substances is not more than 5 kilograms,
(v)any explosives (consisting of explosive substances only) within a Division with the Division number 1.3 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter C, G or L, where the net mass of such substances is not more than 20 kilograms,
(vi)any explosives (consisting of explosive substances only) within a Division with the Division number 1.5 and a Compatibility Group with the Compatibility Group letter D and of the type allocated on classification in accordance with the 1991 Regulations the UN number 0331 or 0332, where the net mass of such substances is not more than 50 kilograms.
Regulation 4(5)
SCHEDULE 3Minimum Training Requirements for Issue of Vocational Training Certificates
1. Any training approved by the Secretary of State in accordance with regulation 4(3)(a) must cover at least the following subjects—
(a)general requirements concerning the carriage of explosives;
(b)main types of hazard;
(c)preventive and safety measures appropriate to the various types of hazard;
(d)what to do after an accident (first aid, road safety, basic knowledge about the use of protective equipment, etc.);
(e)labelling and marking to indicate danger;
(f)what a vehicle driver should and should not do during the carriage of explosives;
(g)the purpose and method of operation of technical equipment on vehicles used for the carriage of explosives;
(h)prohibitions on mixed loading in the same vehicle or container;
(i)precautions to be taken during loading and unloading of explosives;
(j)general information concerning civil liability; and
(k)information on multi-modal transport operations.
2. For drivers of vehicles carrying explosives in packages, the training required to be approved must also cover handling and stowage of packages.
Regulation 4(7)
SCHEDULE 4Fees for Applications for Approvals
1. On the making of an application to the Secretary of State for the approval of—
(a)training under regulation 4(3)(a); or
(b)a refresher course under regulation 4(6)(a),
there shall be payable by the applicant to the Secretary of State in connection with the determination by him of that application a fee or fees to be determined in accordance with the following paragraphs of this Schedule.
2. On receipt of the application, the Secretary of State shall prepare and send to the applicant an estimate of the cost of the work necessary for the determination of the application. The amount so estimated shall, subject to paragraph 4, be the amount of the initial fee payable and shall be paid immediately.
3. On determination of the application, the Secretary of State shall prepare a detailed statement of the work carried out in relation to the determination of the application and of the cost reasonably incurred by him or any person acting on his behalf in carrying out that work.
4. If the cost stated in accordance with paragraph 3 differs from the amount estimated in accordance with paragraph 2 and —
(a)it is greater, the difference shall be notified by the Secretary of State to the applicant, who shall pay it immediately; and
(b)it is less, the difference shall be refunded immediately to the applicant by the Secretary of State.
5. In estimating or stating the cost of carrying out any work, the Secretary of State may take into account the cost to him or any person acting on his behalf of employing an officer for any period to perform the work concerned. That cost shall be determined by reference to the average cost of employing an officer of the relevant grade for that period.
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
1. These Regulations impose duties on the operator and driver of a vehicle carrying explosives with respect to the provision of instruction and training to the driver of the vehicle concerned. They re-enact, with modifications, the Road Traffic (Training of Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Explosives) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (S.R. 1993 No. 315). These Regulations also implement Council Directive 94/55/EC (O.J. No. L319, 12.12.94, p. 7) on the approximation of the laws of the Member States with regard to the transport of explosives by road, in so far as the Directive concerns the instruction and training of drivers. This Directive seeks to apply the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road signed at Geneva on 30th September 1957, as amended (“ADR”) (1995 edition: ISBN 92 1 139043 5).
2. Regulation 2 and Schedules 1 and 2 specify the carriage of explosives to which these Regulations apply. The limited quantity provisions in the Road Traffic (Training of Drivers Carrying Explosives) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 have been made consistent with the Carriage of Explosives by Road Regulations. Regulation 2 (together with regulation 1(6)) also specifies when a vehicle is considered to be engaged in the carriage of explosives for the purposes of the Regulations.
3. Regulation 3 imposes duties on the operator of a vehicle carrying explosives to provide adequate instruction and training to the driver of the vehicle.
4. Regulation 4 imposes a duty on the operator of a vehicle carrying explosives with respect to the possession by the driver of that vehicle of a training certificate (known as a “vocational training certificate”) issued pursuant to paragraph (1). This regulation provides that the vocational training certificate shall be appropriate to the carriage of explosives in packages. In addition this regulation (together with Schedules 3 and 4) imposes ancillary requirements with regard to the issue, renewal and validity of any such certificate. The fee for the Certificate has been increased by £0·30 to £2·80.
5. Regulation 5 provides that in certain circumstances a training certificate issued under existing national legislation will be regarded as a vocational training certificate issued pursuant to regulation 4(1). It further provides that any vocational training certificate issued in accordance with the Road Traffic (Training of Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Explosives) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 will be deemed to be a vocational training certificate issued in accordance with regulation 4.
6. Regulation 6 imposes a duty on the driver of a vehicle carrying explosives with respect of the keeping of his vocational training certificate.
7. Regulation 7 imposes a duty on the driver of a vehicle carrying explosives with respect to the production of his vocational training certificate to certain named officials.
8. A person who contravenes the Regulations is guilty of an offence under Article 31 of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (currently £5,000), or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.
9. The current edition of ADR may be obtained from The Stationery Office.
(1)
S.R. 1991 No. 516
(2)
S.R. 1993 No. 315
(3)
S.R. 1997 No. 474
(4)
1995 Edition ISBN 0 11 551265 9 (UK version); ISBN 92 11 39043 5 (UN version)
(5)
O.J. No. L319, 12.12.94, p. 7
(6)
S.R. 1995 No. 450
(7)
O.J. No. L398, 30.12.89, p. 33
(8)
S.I. 1984/1821 (N.I. 11)
(9)
S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18)
(10)
S.R. 1997 No. 247
(11)
S.R. 1989 No. 299 as amended by S.R. 1991 No. 147
(12)
1952 c. 67
(13)
1964 c. 5
(14)
S.I. 1978/1039 (N.I. 9)
(15)
S.R. 1993 No. 315
