Straight and narrow

摘要

The need to maintain harmonisation with the UN model regulations prevents the RID/ADR experts from making some of the changes they would like. However, at their latest meeting they did agree some amendments, particularly with regard to transitional provisions and compatibility testing. The first of the joint meetings of the RID Safety Committee and UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP15) for the 2005/06 biennium took place this past March 7 to 11 in Bern, Switzerland. The two bodies are responsible for the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods by rail and road, respectively, throughout Europe (and increasingly beyond). The aim of the meeting was to update and, if necessary, amend the texts of the RID and ADR regulations that had entered into force on January 1, 2005, as well as to harmonise them with the most recent, 14th revised edition of the UN model regulations.