Our modern and highly industrialized national economy would be inconceivable without the use and transport of hazardous goods. To ensure the safe movement of hazardous goods which, according to the definitions contained in Article 2 of the Hazardous Goods Act, may involve hazards for public order or safety, in particular the general public, important public property, human life and health as well as animals and private property, a set of international regulations has been drawn up. These regulations are amended continuously in keeping with the latest state of the art in science and technology. I should now like to discuss the most important of these regulations and their content: -Regulation governing the movement of hazardous goods by road. This regulation defines requirements to be satisfied by special vehicles designed for the transport of hazardous goods. Requirements relate to the design and equipment of tanks for the transport of liquid and granular goods and vehicles which carry these tanks. Of particular significance in this context are special electrical equipment and fire-protection measures to mention just two examples. As far as piece loads are concerned, special regulations apply to vehicles and vehicle-superstructure, in particular for goods of hazard class 1, i.e. explosive substances and materials including explosive substances. Conformance of the tanks and vehicles with the regulations is ensured by means of initial and periodic tests and inspections conducted at the defined intervals. The regulation governing the movement of hazardous goods by road also addresses the human factor and prescribes training for drivers of both piece-load and tank transport vehicles. -Regulation on hazardous-goods safety officers. This regulation governs the compulsory appointment of a hazardous-goods safety officer in companies which handle hazardous goods. It defines the contents of training courses for hazardous-goods safety officers and their duties. Hazardous-goods safety officers assist companies in the implementation of regulations on hazardous goods and thus contribute considerably to the safe movement of hazardous goods by road. The structural reform of the ADR specifications, which will become effective on July 1, 2001 will further simplify implementation of the regulations on hazardous goods by the parties involved and will, without doubt, result in a further increase in safety. -The spot-check regulation provides for a standardized procedure by which adherence to hazardous-goods regulations is verified in the form of vehicle spot-checks on the road. With the help of a harmonized checklist, random checks are performed on a representative share of the hazardous goods transports on the road. This regulation allows detection of weaknesses in implementation of the regulations, comparison between the individual EU Member States and targeted measures. Competitive pressure in national and international transport business is one of the key reasons for investigating ways to optimize vehicle use and improve vehicle, driver and cargo safety. Telematic systems are just one example of innovation in this field. Apart from monitoring driving characteristics such as speed and vehicle properties, e.g. tire inflation pressure, these systems also permit monitoring of the defined conditions of hazardous godds. Telematic monitoring of how full tank vehicles are, or of temperatures in cases involving the transport of temperature-sensitive goods doubtlessly increase the safety within the transport chain when hazardous goods are moved.
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