Test C11!
Page 62
Page 64
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Drivers carrying hazardous goods face up to 12 exams if they want to stay legal next year. But how difficult are the tests? CM went back to school to find out...
Hazchem drivers have to go back to school. Under new regs governing the carriage of dangerous goods by road, they have until 31 December 1994 to pass up to 12 exams to prove their knowledge of the law
You are unlikely to pass without training, and about 60 organisations are now offering tuition leading to these exams which are set and administered by the City & Guilds of London Institute —although the resulting certificate for successful candidates comes from the DVLA in Swansea.
Department of Transport estimates suggest that between the regulations being introduced and coming into force, some 3,800 drivers each month will need to be trained. Each driver has to pass the Core module and at least the Tanker or Packaged Goods moclule.There are then separate exams for the nine classes of dangerous goods: • Class I: Explosives • Class 2: compressed Gases • Class 3: Flammable Liquids ib Class 4: Flammable Solids—including spontaneously combustible substances and those which are dangerous when wet • Class 5: Oxidising Substances • Class 6: Toxic including infectious substances • Class 7: Radioactive • Class & Corrosives • Class 9: Miscellaneous— including asbestos Training for drivers of vehicles containing radioactive substances is not yet widely available. Rut one training provider which offers training for every other class is RTT Training Services in Ipswich.
At the end of March. GM joiner! one of RTT's regular Hazardous C&G Training Courses. It was led by Ray Garnham, a former tanker driver who has been one of RTT's instructors for the past 16 years. Ray began by outlining the need for the regulations—and the training. The regulations are intended to ensure that drivers have sufficient knowledge and information to operate safely; recognise the need for on-going training understand why substances are dangerous and the hazards they can produce; apply correct handling procedures to prevent putting themselves and others at risk: and deal correctly with an accident,spillage or any other emergency: says Garnham.
Three important agreements, ADR (Accord Dangereux Routiers), IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) and RID (Regulations controlling the International carriage of dangerous goods by rail) cover the international carriage of dangerous goods, the carriage of dangerous goods by sea and on mad/rail multi-modal journeys. Among the many things that "not a lot of people know" about these agreements are that, when on ADR work, drivers must not smoke and must not carry passengers Among the requirements for drivers operating under ADR is a Transport Emergency (TREN) Card in the language of each country through which the load is passing—including the UK. These give the name of the substance being carried, warn of the load's potential dangers and outline the precautions and emergency action to take.
Ray says drivers should collect a Tremcardbefore loading, make sure that they understand the nature of the goods they are collecting, and keep that Tremcardreadily available in their cabs. Howevervvhen the Tremcard is no longer required, it must be kept out of sight bemuse if you have an accident and the emergency services find the Tremcard, they will think you have dangerous goods on board and act accordingly, explains Garnham.
The first major debate of that day's training occurred over what to do with Tremcards when drivers were dropping a trailer for another driver to collect later. Ray's advice was to seal the Tremcard in a plastic bag and attach it to the trailer's air lines—where the next driver would be sure to find it. Vehicle operators are required to obtain information about the load from the consignor of the goods. They must then ensure that the driver is provided with adequate information in writing about the load, a means for displaying that information in the cab of the vehicle and a secure container for "not in use" information.
CONTROVERSIAL
Gartman] then apprwciaed another controversial topic: parking. The regulations state that drivers stopping for more than one hour must use a supervised vehicle park or a factory or transport depot in the open air but enclosed so that the public do not have access to the vehicle. "That's the theory we have to teach," he says. Rut Garnham barely made his voice heard over the shouts of protest from the class who were adamant that there are very few supervised parks and, when you can find one, it is expensive to park there.
First aid instructor Peter Woodthorpe spoke on elementary first aid and supervised practice in resuscitation technique. Garnham returned later to talk about personal protective equipment. The second day began with a demonstration of fire-fighting techniques from Fred Mugleston of the fire protection company Sterling Safety.
Thanks to the strong wind and an inexpert trainee firefighter, the demonstration proved to be more realistic than intended. We returned to the classroom for revision to prepare to face the first exam--the Core module paper—after lunch. The exam paper contains 20 questions which must be answered in 30 minutes. All the exams in this series are multiple choice—each question has
four possible answers. One of them is correct, two are almost right and one is, usually, hopelessly off-target. Those taking the Tankers or Packages papers get 25 minutes to answer 15 questions. With the exception of the Explosives (20 questions), Flammable Liquids (15 questions) and Radioactive (20 questions) exams, the other Class exams last 1 fi minutes each and candidates have to answer 10 questions.
CERTIFICATE
To achieve the DVLA certificate, drivers have to score at least 75', in each of the Core module exam, either the Tankers or Packages exam and at least one of the Class exams. Those who fail any of the exams most re-sit them within 16 weeks, otherwise they must retake the entire course which, for all the exam areas, takes four days and could cost more than 1:100. Flammable liquids, corrosives, toxics or compressed gases make up 95% of all dangerous goods carried by road and these are therefore the most popular topics for exam candidates.
CM managed to sit the exams for the Core module, Packages, Flammable liquidspxics,corrosives and Miscellaneous. While some of the questions in each paper seemed deceptively simple, there were enough questions to challenge the most able and retentive of minds. RTT Training Services prides itself on its long history of successful road transport-related training. Since starting to run courseson these new Regulations, 1(17 has maintained an impressive (98%) pass rate and sonic 1,456 exam successes to date.
Whether CM will be among the former or the latter will be revealed after some three or four weeks. This is the time it currently takes City & Guilds to mark the exams and pass the results to the DV LA, which then issues the certificates.
by Bob Little