S.I. No. 204/1992 - European Communities (Vocational Training For Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Dangerous Goods) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 204 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR DRIVERS OF VEHICLES CARRYING DANGEROUS GOODS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, MÁIRE GEOGHEGAN-QUINN, Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 89/684/EEC of 21 December, 1989*, hereby make the following Regulations:

1 Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Vocational Training for Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Dangerous Goods) Regulations, 1992.

2 Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"certificate" means a vocational training certificate that is in force;

"competent authority" means a person specified in Regulation 9 of these Regulations;

"the Directive" means Council Directive No. 89/684/EEC of 21 December, 1989;*

"inspector" means a person appointed under Regulation 10 of these Regulations to be an inspector;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications;

"provisional certificate" means a provisional vocational training certificate granted in the State and valid only for carriage within the State that is in force;

"vehicle" includes a tank vehicle and a transport unit comprising tanks or tank containers.

^*OJ No. L. 398, 30.12.89, p. 33-36.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Directive.

(3) These Regulations shall not apply to vehicles belonging to or under the control of the Defence Forces or the defence forces of another Member State.

3 Prohibition on driving without appropriate certificate

3. (1) A person shall not drive—

( a ) on or after the 17th day of August, 1992—

(i) a tank vehicle or transport unit comprising tanks or tank containers with a capacity exceeding 3,000 litres or a maximum permissible weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes or an unladen weight exceeding 1.5 tonnes if the vehicle or transport unit is carrying dangerous goods or is carrying out a road transport operation when the dangerous goods have been unloaded but the tanks have not been cleaned or degasified or, where appropriate, cleaned and degasified;

(ii) a vehicle carrying explosive substances or articles in quantities higher than the thresholds referred to in the first indent of Article 1 of the Directive,

or

( b ) on or after the 1st day of January, 1995, any other vehicle with a maximum permissible weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes or an unladen weight exceeding 1.5 tonnes if the vehicle is carrying dangerous goods in quantities higher than the thresholds aforesaid,

unless he is the holder of—

(I) a certificate granted in the State or another Member State, or

(II) a provisional certificate, or

(III) as respects the period ending 5 years after the date specified in paragraph (a) or (b), as may be appropriate, of this paragraph, a certificate specified in Article 4.4 of the Directive that is in force and was granted by a Member State other than the State.

(2) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this Regulaation shall be guilty of an offence.

4 Applications for and grant of first certificates

4. (1) Upon application in that behalf to the Minister in accordance with this Regulation, the Minister shall grant a certificate in respect of the classes of dangerous goods specified in the application to the person making the application if the person shows to the satisfaction of the Minister that—

( a ) he has completed a course of training in relation to the classes aforesaid consisting of theoretical instruction and practical exercises and covering at least the subjects specified in the Annex to the Directive and approved by the competent authority after consultation with the Minister and such other, if any, Ministers of the Government as, in the opinion of the Minister, ought, having regard to their functions, to be consulted, and

( b ) he has passed an examination in relation to the classes aforesaid approved by the competent authority and conducted by persons whose independence is established to the satisfaction of the competent authority.

(2) The essential objectives of the training specified in paragraph (1) (a) shall be to make those concerned aware of the risks inherent in the carriage of dangerous goods and to impart the basic knowledge needed to minimise the chance of an incident occurring and, if one does occur, to take the measures necessary to safeguard themselves and the environment and to limit the effects.

(3) An application pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be in such form as the Minister may specify and shall be accompanied by a fee of £10.

5 Applications for and grant of second and subsequent certificates

5. (1) Upon application in that behalf to the Minister in accordance with this Regulation, the Minister shall grant a certificate in respect of the classes of dangerous goods specified in the application to the person making the application if the person shows to the satisfaction of the Minister that—

( a ) he holds or has held a certificate in respect of the classes aforesaid, and

( b ) the application is made not less than 3 months before and not more than 6 months after the expiration of the first-mentioned certificate and,

( c ) (i) he has completed in the period of 12 months before such expiry a refresher course in respect of the classes aforesaid approved by the competent authority and has passed a test approved by the competent authority, or

(ii) he has been engaged without interruption in the occupation of driver of vehicles carrying dangerous goods by road since the date of the grant of the first-mentioned certificate, seasonal lay-offs, holidays and breaks between employments of not more than 6 months in length in any period of 12 months not being regarded for the purposes of this paragraph as interruptions.

(2) An application pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be in such form as the Minister may specify and shall be accompanied by a fee of £10.

6 Period of validity of certificates and obligation of drivers to carry certificates when driving

6. (1) A certificate shall continue in force for a period of 5 years from the date of its grant (that date being, in the case of a certificate granted under Regulation 5 of these Regulations, the day following the date of the expiry of the latest previous certificate held by the person).

(2) ( a ) The holder of a certificate shall have the certificate with him at all times when he is engaged in driving to which these Regulations apply.

( b ) A person who contravenes subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall be guilty of an offence.

7 Applications for extension of certificates to cover additional classes of dangerous goods

7. (1) Upon application in that behalf to the Minister in accordance with this Regulation, the Minister shall extend the coverage of a certificate granted by him under Regulation 4 or 5 of these Regulations to include an additional class of dangerous goods if the person making the application shows to the satisfaction of the Minister that—

( a ) he has completed a course of training in relation to the class aforesaid consisting of theoretical instruction and practical exercises and covering at least the subjects specified in the Annex to the Directive and approved by the competent authority after consultation with the Minister and such other, if any, Ministers of the Government as, in the opinion of the Minister, ought, having regard to their functions, to be consulted, and

( b ) he has passed an examination in relation to the additional class approved by the competent authority and conducted by persons whose independence is established to the satisfaction of the competent authority.

(2) Every application pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be in such form as the Minister may specify and shall be accompanied by a fee of £10.

(3) The Minister may extend the application of a certificate to include an additional class of dangerous goods by amendment of the original certificate or by the grant of a new certificate for the remainder of the period of validity of the original certificate.

8 Applications for and grant of provisional certificates

8. (1) Upon application in that behalf to the Minister in accordance with this Regulation, the Minister shall grant to the person making the application a provisional certificate if the person shows to the satisfaction of the Minister that he has been engaged without interruption in the occupation of driver of vehicles carrying dangerous goods by road during the period of 5 years before the date of the making of the application.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1) of this Regulation, seasonal lay-offs, holidays and breaks between employments of not more than 6 months in length in any period of 12 months and not exceeding 18 months in total shall not be regarded as interruptions.

(3) Every application pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be in such form as the Minister may specify and shall be accompanied by a fee of £10.

(4) A provisional certificate shall continue in force until the 31st day of December, 1996, and shall then expire.

(5) ( a ) The holder of a provisional certificate shall have the certificate with him at all times when he is engaged in driving to which these Regulations apply.

( b ) A person who contravenes subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall be guilty of an offence.

9 Competent authorities

9. (1) The competent authority for the purposes of approving courses (including refresher courses) of vocational training for drivers and of approving an independent system of examination and testing of drivers shall be—

( a ) the Minister for Justice, in so far as concerns explosive substances and articles, and

( b ) the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, in so far as concerns radioactive substances and articles.

(2) The competent authority for the purpose of approving courses (including refresher courses) of vocational training for drivers in relation to dangerous goods other than those referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health.

(3) The competent authority for the purpose of approving an independent system of examination and testing of drivers in relation to dangerous goods not referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be the Minister.

(4) A competent authority may, if he or it is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for so doing, revoke an approval given by him or it under these Regulations.

10 Inspectors

10. (1) Each of the following, that is to say the Minister, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, the Minister for Justice, the Minister for the Marine, the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and, with the consent of the Minister for Health, a health board may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether these Regulations are being complied with, appoint such inspectors as he or it thinks proper and may revoke any such appointment.

(2) An inspector shall be furnished with a warrant of his appointment as an inspector and, when exercising any power conferred on him by these Regulations, shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

(3) An inspector may—

( a ) at any time enter a premises or place if he has reasonable grounds for believing that it is being used for a purpose connected with the carriage of dangerous goods by road or that vehicles used for that purpose are at the premises or in the place and inspect any vehicle found there and any documents or records found on any vehicle found there, or at the premises or in the place,

( b ) at any time inspect a vehicle which is stationary and inspect any documents, goods or records being carried in or on the vehicle or by the crew,

( c ) take samples of goods from any vehicle which he has reasonable grounds for believing is being used for the carriage of goods by road,

( d ) require any person at the premises or in the place or in the vehicle to produce to him any document or record which is in the power or control of that person and which the inspector has reasonable grounds for believing is connected with the carriage of goods by road,

( e ) take copies of, or of extracts from, or take possession of for the purposes of inspection or examination, any document or record aforesaid and require the person by whom such document or record is kept or who produced the document or record to certify a copy thereof as a true copy;

( f ) request the driver of a vehicle that he reasonably believes to be engaged in the carriage by road of dangerous goods to produce to him a certificate, provisional certificate or a certificate specified in Article 4.4 of the Directive, held by him and examine and take copies of, or of extracts from, the document.

(4) For the purpose of his functions under these Regulations, an inspector may detain a vehicle during such time as is reasonably necessary.

(5) A person who obstructs or interferes with an inspector when he is exercising a power conferred on him by this Regulation or who fails or refuses to comply with a request or a requirement of an inspector under this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

11 Power to prohibit driving of vehicles for carriage of dangerous goods

11. (1) Where an inspector finds a vehicle being driven by a person in contravention of Regulation 3 (1) of these Regulations, he may prohibit the person from further driving the vehicle.

(2) Where an inspector prohibits the driving of a vehicle under paragraph (1) of this Regulation, he may direct the person in charge of the vehicle to remove the vehicle and any trailer being drawn by means of it to such place and subject to such conditions as he specifies; and the prohibition shall not apply to that removal.

(3) A person who—

( a ) drives a vehicle in contravention of a prohibition imposed under paragraph (1) of this Regulation, or

( b ) refuses, neglects or otherwise fails to comply within a reasonable time with a direction given under paragraph (2) of this Regulation,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) A member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant any person whom he has reasonable cause to suspect of having committed an offence under paragraph (3) of this Regulation.

(5) In the exercise of his functions under this Regulation, an inspector shall act in accordance with any general directions of the Minister (given after consultation with such other Ministers of the Government as, having regard to their functions, the Minister considers appropriate).

(6) In this Regulation "person in charge" includes the owner of the vehicle concerned.

12 Offences relating to certificates, etc.

12. A person shall be guilty of an offence if he—

( a ) in applying for a certificate or a provisional certificate, or in giving any information required of him under these Regulations, makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, or

( b ) forges, alters or uses with intent to deceive a certificate or a provisional certificate or a certificate specified in Article 4.4 of the Directive or, with intent to deceive, makes or possesses any document closely resembling such a certificate.

13 Penalties and proceedings

13. (1) A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(2) Where an offence under these Regulations has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(3) A summary offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, the Minister for Justice, the Minister for the Marine, the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland or, with the consent of the Minister for Health, a health board.

14 Fees payable to competent authorities, etc.

14. (1) There shall be paid to the competent authority—

( a ) by drivers, a fee of £60 with each application for an independent examination or test to be carried out with the approval of the competent authority for the purposes of these Regulations, and

( b ) by providers of courses (including refresher courses) of vocational training for drivers, a fee of £200 per course with each application for approval by the competent authority for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) ( a ) Fees payable to the Minister, the Minister for Justice or any other Minister of the Government under these Regulations shall be collected in such manner as the Minister for Finance may, from time to time, direct and shall be paid into the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

( b ) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of fees payable under these Regulations.

15 Exemptions from Regulations

15. (1) The Minister may, by direction in writing, after agreement with the Commission, exempt from all or part of the requirements of these Regulations drivers of vehicles exclusively engaged within the State in the carriage of dangerous goods posing little danger or pollution hazard because of their special characteristics or the small quantities carried.

(2) An exemption under paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be for a period of 2 years but it may be continued from time to time for further periods of 2 years each.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 21st day of July, 1992.

MÁIRE GEOGHEGAN-QUINN,

Minister for Tourism, Transport and

Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations, made by the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications, give effect to Council Directive 89/684/EEC of 21 December, 1989 on vocational training for certain drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods by road (O.J. No. L. 398, 30.12.89, pages 33-36).