The ADR Load That Wasn't Declared
A shipper offers a full trailer from Ghent to Hamburg. The paperwork describes 'cleaning products, non-hazardous'. At the loading dock the driver notices that six of the 60 drums carry orange hazard labels with a flame symbol and UN numbers, and that the transport document shows no dangerous goods entry. The drums are 200 litres each and the substance is a flammable liquid with a flash point of 23 °C. The trailer is a standard curtainsider with no ADR placards. The driver calls his dispatcher. The shipper's loading supervisor says the six drums are 'only a small part of the load' and asks the driver to take them anyway. The driver is under time pressure for a Hamburg slot.
1. What should the driver and dispatcher do, and why is the 'small part of the load' argument wrong?
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The load must not proceed as presented. A flammable liquid with a flash point of 23 °C falls within the flammable liquids class, and 6 × 200 litres is a substantial quantity - well above the small-load thresholds in ADR. The 'only a small part' argument confuses physical proportion with regulatory classification: ADR applies by quantity and class, and the relevant exemption thresholds are calculated per transport unit, not by comparing drums to total pallets.
Beyond classification, the presentation is defective. The transport document must identify the dangerous goods properly, and the vehicle must carry the required orange plates, placards and fire extinguishers, and the driver must hold the appropriate ADR training certificate. A curtainsider with no markings and an untrained driver cannot lawfully carry this load.
The correct response: the dispatcher instructs the driver not to sign for or move the six drums; the shipper must either re-document and re-package the consignment properly with an ADR-equipped vehicle and trained driver, or remove the drums. The driver records the discrepancy in writing. Time pressure is not a defence - the driver and operator share responsibility for the compliance of the load.
2. What are the consequences if the driver takes the load anyway and is stopped in Germany?
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The driver and the operator face enforcement on several independent grounds: carriage of dangerous goods without proper documentation, without required vehicle marking, without the prescribed safety equipment, and by a driver without a valid ADR certificate. German enforcement treats these as separate infringements, and the vehicle can be immobilised until the load is made compliant.
Liability does not stop with the driver. The operator bears responsibility for ensuring the vehicle, equipment and driver qualification are correct, and the shipper bears responsibility for correct classification and documentation. The driver's own liability is real but is not a shield for the others.
The commercial consequences compound the legal ones: the Hamburg slot is lost anyway, the consignee may reject the load, and the shipper may face a claim. The dispatcher's decision to allow the movement would be the pivotal fact. The defensible course is to refuse, document the refusal, and let the shipper correct the consignment - the delay is cheaper than the enforcement action and the potential incident involving 1,200 litres of flammable liquid in an unmarked curtainsider.