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On April 1, 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) published a notice [1] seeking public comments on a revision to the Provisions on the Administration of the Road Transport of Dangerous Goods [2]. The public consultation will be open until May 1 this year.
In recent years, great importance has been attached to workplace safety in the fields of transport, hazardous chemicals, etc., with an aim of avoid major accidents. Accordingly, relevant authorities have made a lot of institutional efforts to exercise better regulation in there regards, as evidenced by the publication of Measures for Safety Administration of Road Transport of Dangerous Goods [3] in late 2019.
Therefore, in view of the need to stay aligned with the Measures as well as advanced international practices, the proposed revision was developed to effectively enhance the safety administration of road transport of dangerous goods in the country. ChemLinked has summarized the major highlights in the proposed revision.
Improved licensing management over road transport of dangerous goods
The access management of enterprises and vehicles is improved. For example, the proposed revision provides requirements concerning the necessary facilities and devices in the parking spaces of enterprises which wish to engage in the road transport of dangerous goods, and further makes clear the technical requirements for vehicles carrying dangerous goods as well as tanks of tank vehicles. Improvements are also made to the qualification and appraisal requirements for relevant personnel.
Refined management over special vehicles and equipment
More comprehensive and detailed requirements are provided for the systems of inspection and management of vehicles carrying dangerous goods. Moreover, the proposed revision also requires enterprises to put in place a better-established system of routine safety inspection for vehicles and tanks, by specifying the content, frequency, and record-keeping requirements for such inspection.
Adjustments targeting road transport of dangerous goods
There are also adjustments made targeting the road transport of dangerous goods in the proposed revision. It clarifies the requirements for mixed stowage of goods, as well as for how dangerous goods vehicles carry general goods, and improves the system of personnel education and training. IT-enabled approaches will be adopted to enhance the regulation of transport enterprises.
In addition, for enterprises which engage in the international road transport of dangerous goods, they should act in line with requirements in the bilateral/multilateral international agreements on road transport and appoint a safety advisor in accordance with the European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).
More systematic supervision and inspections
The proposed revision states that a working mechanism for routinized supervision and inspection will be established, and specifies that the administration of transport shall develop a plan for regular supervision and inspection and may engage experts to be involved in the work.
The MOT will develop two lists, namely the list of road inspections and review for road transport of dangerous goods and the list of safety inspections for enterprises engaging in road transport of dangerous goods.
Moreover, according to the proposed revision, a ratings- and category-based system for regulation of enterprises engaging in road transport of dangerous goods will be established. Under this system, differentiated regulatory measures will be imposed on enterprises which are rated differently in the evaluation of their operations safety.
