Transportation of dangerous goods by road — rules and penalties

Improper transportation of dangerous goods can lead to serious damage, such as fire, explosion, or leakage of radioactive substances. In order to protect people and the environment, rules have been developed for the transportation of dangerous substances for all types of transport.

What is dangerous cargo?

Dangerous goods are substances and objects that can harm human health and life, the environment and material assets in the event of an accident during transportation.

The list of dangerous substances includes more than 3,000 names, their list is specified in Chapter 3.2 of ADR. Such cargoes include, for example:

• explosives and products (pyrotechnics, trinitrotoluene, rdx);
• flammable liquids (acetone, gasoline, ethanol, kerosene, acids);
• flammable gases (oxygen, natural gas);
• liquid oxidizing agents (hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate, potassium permanganate);
• radioactive materials (products made from natural uranium, objects with surface radioactive contamination.

The transportation of dangerous goods is regulated by the European Agreement on the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).

In Russia, there is a state standard GOST 19433-88, which divides dangerous goods into classes according to the level of danger. The requirements of this standard are developed in accordance with ADR. There are 9 classes, among them:

• explosive materials;
• gases;
• flammable liquids;
• radioactive materials;
• caustic and corrosive substances.

Each class is also assigned a subclass, category, and degree of danger.

Rules for the transportation of dangerous goods by road

Carriers must comply with special requirements:

• have a package of permits;
• equip the vehicle according to the danger level of the cargo;
• hire drivers who have completed special training;
• label the cargo correctly.

Basic rules for the transportation of dangerous goods:

• Cargo can only be transported by special permit.
• The vehicle must have a flashing light and a “Dangerous goods” sign.
• The vehicle must comply with the transportation requirements. 
• The speed of the vehicle is determined when approving transportation.
• The driver must complete special training and obtain a certificate of admission.

We have compiled the rules for the transportation of dangerous goods into a convenient file, which can be accessed for free by clicking below.

The rules of transportation are prescribed in the following documents:

• European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR);
• Federal Law No. 257-FZ of 11/08/2007 “On Highways and Road Activities in the Russian Federation and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”;
• Rules for the transportation of goods by motor transport, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 12/21/2020 № 2200;
• Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation No. 145 dated 30.04.2021 “On Approval of the Rules for Ensuring the Safety of Transportation by road and urban land electric transport”;
• Order No. 127 of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated 04/11/2022 “On Approval of the Procedure for Issuing Special Permits for Vehicles transporting Dangerous Goods on Motorways”.

The amount of fines for improper transportation of dangerous goods

The most common violations during the transportation of dangerous goods are the non—compliance of the vehicle design with the requirements and the lack of permits. Fines are prescribed in Part 1 and Part 2 of art. 12.21.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

For violation of the rules of transportation of dangerous goods, fines are set in the following amounts::

• for drivers: 2 000 — 2 500 rubles or deprivation of rights for 4-6 months;
• for officials: 15 000 — 20 000 rubles;
• for legal entities: 400 000 — 500 000 rubles and the detention of the vehicle.

Such violations include:

• Lack of documents required for transportation. For example, the absence of a driver’s training certificate, a vehicle admission certificate, a special transportation permit, or an emergency card with information about the cargo.
• Non-compliance of the vehicle design with the requirements of dangerous goods transportation. For example, there is no navigation system, tachograph, or straps for securing cargo.
• The absence of danger signs and equipment in the car to eliminate the consequences of accidents. For example, the absence of fire extinguishers, emergency stop signs, flashlights, protective gloves and glasses.
• Non-compliance with the conditions of transportation of dangerous goods. For example, incorrect labeling and packaging, incorrect placement of signs on the packaging.

The following fines are provided for the remaining violations not specified in Part 1 of Article 12.21.2.:

• for drivers: 1 000 — 1 500 rubles;
• for officials: 5 000 — 10 000 rubles;
• for legal entities: 150 000 — 250 000 rubles.

The requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods must be strictly observed to ensure safety. If the vehicle is found to be inconsistent with the requirements during the inspection, a fine will be imposed, even if the violation is corrected immediately. The traffic police and Rostransnadzor can check this.

So, after checking a car carrying dangerous goods, the inspector fined the individual entrepreneur 15,000 rubles for the absence of an actual date for checking the fire extinguisher. This is equivalent to the lack of means to eliminate the consequences of the incident. The entrepreneur decided to appeal the ruling in court. He claimed that the violation was corrected immediately, and no one was injured. But the court did not satisfy the complaint, leaving the decision and fine in force.

Is it possible to appeal against fines for transportation of dangerous goods

A fine for transporting dangerous goods can be appealed if the carrier does not agree with it and can prove that the fine was imposed illegally.

In judicial practice, there are cases when carriers have been able to overturn a ruling.

The contractor performed the transportation, but the organization received the fine.

The organization was able to appeal a fine of 500,000 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.21.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. It follows from the case file that a legal entity allowed a driver without an ADR certificate to drive a car, for which a certificate was also not issued. However, the organization does not carry out transportation activities, but has signed an agreement with a third-party company for the transportation of dangerous goods. In the light of these circumstances, the court upheld the organization’s complaint and overturned the ruling.

There were no violations during transportation, and the company was able to prove it.

There is also a case when an entrepreneur was fined illegally, but he was able to appeal it. The inspector stopped the vehicle and fined the driver and the businessman for several violations. The entrepreneur disagreed and decided to challenge the fine. He was able to prove that the inspector was wrong and there were no violations.: The vehicle met the requirements. From the arguments of the entrepreneur and the materials of the case, the court concluded that there was no violation. The traffic police ordered to return the money to the entrepreneur.

There are only 10 days to appeal the fine. To make it in time, you need to find out about the fines in time. The Online traffic police service checks all fines of the organization daily and sends a detailed report to your personal account and email.

Documents required for the transportation of dangerous goods

Transportation of dangerous goods is allowed in the presence of the following documents:

• special permit for transportation of dangerous goods by motor transport (for high-risk goods);
• certificate of vehicle admission to the transportation of dangerous goods;
• certificate of driver’s training for the transportation of dangerous goods;
• instructions for the driver, responsible persons, and accompanying person on the rules of transportation;
• waybill with cargo marking;
• cargo safety data sheet;
• Bill of lading;
• the contract of carriage.

Permission to move a vehicle with dangerous cargo

Transportation of dangerous goods classified as high-risk goods according to ADR is allowed with a special permit. It is issued by Rostransnadzor. The permit is issued for a period of no more than 1 year.

The procedure for issuing a special permit is established By Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated 04/11/2022 No. 127. An application with copies of documents can be sent by mail or filled out on the public services portal. A sample application is attached to the Order.

List of documents attached to the application:

• a copy of the CTC or car rental agreement;
• a copy of the Vehicle’s certificate of admission to the transportation of dangerous goods;
• a copy of the driver’s certificate of admission to the transportation of dangerous goods;
• a power of attorney, if applied not by the owner of the vehicle, but by his representative.

In addition, you need to provide a transportation route diagram with parking lots and gas stations. As well as information about the transported cargo: name, description, class, UN number.

The authorized body verifies the completeness and accuracy of the information. Verifies the compliance of transport technical characteristics with safety requirements. 

As a result, an application for approval is sent to the owners of the roads along which the route runs, or the permit is refused.

Reasons why a permit may be refused:

• The route does not run on federal roads.;
• The vehicle does not comply with the requirements of ADR: the safety of dangerous goods transportation is not ensured;
• not all documents are presented or they are not reliable;
• there is no information about the inclusion of vehicles in the register of categorized vehicles.

The state duty will amount to 1,300 rubles (Clause 111 of Article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Requirements for drivers to transport dangerous goods

Drivers with at least 1 year of driving experience in the appropriate category are allowed to operate the vehicle. Also, during the year, he should not be arrested or deprived of his rights for traffic violations (clause 9.4 of the Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated 07/31/2020 No. 282).

To drive a car with dangerous goods, the driver must complete a training course at a specialized training center and obtain an ADR certificate on preparation for the transportation of dangerous goods of an international standard. Training is available to drivers with at least three years of experience in the relevant category of rights (paragraph 1.11 of the Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated 11.01.2022 №1).

The certificate, which is issued after training, contains information about which class of danger the driver can carry.

It is prohibited to drive a car for the transportation of dangerous substances without an ADR certificate.

Carriers transmit information about new drivers who are allowed to transport dangerous goods to Rostransnadzor. It is important that this information is valid. You can verify the authenticity of the ADR certificate on the Rosavtotrans website.:

1. Select the federal district and the city of certification. The certificate series corresponds to the federal district in which the driver was certified. 
2. Choose the year of the course. The certificate shows the date until which the certificate is valid. The certificate is valid for 5 years, so you need to subtract them from this date to get the year when the driver passed the certification.
3. Find the driver’s full name in the report. If there is a handover mark next to his name, the certificate is authentic.

Vehicle requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods

Dangerous goods can only be transported on vehicles that are manufactured or retrofitted specifically to meet the requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods.  

You must first obtain a certificate of vehicle approval for the transportation of dangerous substances. A sample certificate is posted in ADR in section 9.1.3.5 of Annex B.

In 2020, the updated regulations on the issuance of such a certificate came into force.

To get access to a vehicle, you need to:

1. Contact the traffic police department with the following documents:

• statement;
• the identity document of the applicant;
• a power of attorney or a contract, if the applicant is a representative of the vehicle owner.
• It is not required to provide it before March 1, 2024 (Clause 6 of Appendix No. 14 to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 03/12/2022 No. 353):
• tank type approval certificate (for tanks);
• a certificate of tank testing and/or inspection indicating the list of substances approved for transport (for tanks).

The application can also be submitted via Public services.

2. Provide the vehicle for visual inspection. 

It will be checked for compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, the requirements of ADR and the information specified in the documents.

3. Get a certificate of admission.

According to paragraph 20 of the regulations, the procedure should not take more than 3 hours.

Information about vehicles that are approved for the transportation of dangerous goods is entered in the traffic police register. The registry is maintained by the State Traffic Inspectorate, and carriers do not have access to it.

The state fee for obtaining a permit for the transportation of dangerous goods is 1,500 rubles, and for extending the validity period of the certificate — 1,000 rubles.

A certificate may be refused if:

• provide false information in the documents;
• there is no information about the completed inspection in the EAISTO;
• the car was not provided for inspection; 
• unauthorized changes have been made to the vehicle design;
• the vehicle’s markings (body number, engine number, etc.) do not match.

The certificate is valid for 6 months. In this case, the validity period of the certificate may not exceed the validity period of the inspection. If the inspection is completed, the certificate will also become invalid.

For example, the inspection period will expire in three months. The permit will also be issued for 3 months. If the next inspection needs to take place after eight months, the permit will be valid for 6 months.