Transport of dangerous goods by road

11.7.2017

Question for written answer P-004645-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Claude Rolin (PPE)

On 10 July 2017, a lorry overturned near Recogne, Belgium, and caught fire, causing the motorway to be closed for 48 hours. The lorry was transporting some 60 barrels of the solvent tetrachloroethylene. Although no lives were lost, this accident highlights once again the dangers associated with the transport of millions of tonnes of dangerous products by road across Europe every year. Foreign lorries regularly travel through Belgium. Indeed, according to the Belgian Road Safety Institute, more than half the lorries involved in accidents in Belgium are registered abroad.

International and European rules have been drawn up to regulate road transport: under the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), ratified on 1 January 2015 by 48 member states, drivers receive training and issued with licences valid for five years. Given that fake ADR licences are in circulation, however, and that ticking time bombs are criss-crossing our countries posing a safety risk to all road users, what checks are being carried out and how effective are they? What can be done, given that social dumping in the road haulage industry would increase the dangers?