Carrying goods by road or rail involves the risk of traffic accidents. If the goods carried are dangerous, there is also the risk of an incident, such as spillage of the goods, leading to hazards such as fire, explosion, chemical burn or environmental damage.
Most goods are not considered sufficiently dangerous to require special precautions during carriage. Some goods, however, have properties which mean they are potentially dangerous if carried.
Dangerous goods are liquid or solid substances and articles containing them, that have been tested and assessed against internationally-agreed criteria - a process called classification - and found to be potentially dangerous (hazardous) when carried. Dangerous goods are assigned to different Classes depending on their predominant hazard.
There are regulations to deal with the carriage of dangerous goods, the purpose of which is to protect everyone either directly involved (such as consignors or carriers), or who might become involved (such as members of the emergency services and public). Regulations place duties upon everyone involved in the carriage of dangerous goods, to ensure that they know what they have to do to minimise the risk of incidents and guarantee an effective response.
Carriage of dangerous goods by road or rail is regulated internationally by agreements and European Directives, with biennial updates of the Directives take account of technological advances. New safety requirements are implemented by Member States via domestic regulations which - for GB - directly reference the technical agreements.
Carriage of Dangerous Goods Manual
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods manual is not intended to make enforcement officers experts, but to guide them through the process and enable them to make informed judgements about the extent of compliance. It will also guide officers when discussing compliance with duty holders and deciding when to take further action.
Guidance notes
A series of short, concise guidance notes
Guidance on the carriage of dangerous goods
The Department for Transport has published a range of specialist guidance on transporting dangerous goods.
A simple overview of how to ship, package and label dangerous goods is available on GOV.UK.
The following guidance supports the regulations for the carriage of dangerous goods:
- Manufacture, storage and carriage of thermites and thermite containing articles , guidance published March 2024
- Security requirements for moving dangerous goods by road and rail, guidance published on 18 October 2012
- Driving dangerous goods and special loads, detailed guide published on 21 October 2013 -
- Moving dangerous goods, detailed guide published on 4 September 2012 -
- Carriage of dangerous goods other than Class 7: guidelines published on 30 July 2015 - guidance
- Dangerous goods: ADR instructions in writing and UK tunnel codes published on 1 January 2010 - guidance
- Class 7 Radioactive Material, guidance on the carriage of radioactive material (Class 7) has been published by ONR. The guidance is aimed at consignors and carriers of Class 7 dangerous goods who wish to transport such goods into and within Great Britain by road and rail. It is provided to assist consignors and carriers of Class 7 dangerous goods to understand and meet their responsibilities to comply with CDG within GB.