ADR Training
An ADR Licence will ultimately open up more job opportunities for you. An ADR Licence will allow you as a professional driver to move dangerous goods by road. As you look further into this many Haulage Companies will transport dangerous goods by road and therefore require this expertise from some of their drivers. A driver with ADR training will earn more money so is a good option as a career move within professional driving.
The type of ADR training and Licence you require depends on the kind of vehicle or container you are driving and the type of dangerous/hazardous substance you are transporting
ADR Training Classes
Class 1 = Explosives
Class 2 = Gasses
Class 3 = Flammable Liquids
Class 4 = Flammable Solids
Class 5 = Oxidizing Substance(s)
Class 6 = Infectious Substance(s)
Class 7 = Radioactive Substance(s)
Class 8 = Corrosive Substance(s)
Class 9 = Miscellaneous Substance(s)
*The above classes are combined with the type of vehicle you will be driving be it packaged goods(not in tanks) or a Tanker (or transporting tanks).
Simply decide on what substances you will be transporting and then combine this with the correct vehicle to deliver the right ADR Licence for your career needs. Good examples are as follows:
If you wish to drive a packaged goods vehicle which carries Infectious Substances then you will need an ADR Licence for Class 6 and the basic packaged goods part of the qualification. When looking at the data available you can split the qualifications of the professional drivers out there into 2 distinct groups although the decision for your career path is your own. Many HGV Category C+E drivers will undertake the ADR exam with the intention to be qualified for both the tanker and packaged goods licence in combination with the classes of dangerous goods except no’s 1 and 7. This is because these are specialist areas dealing with explosives and radiation are not often warranted and therefore can be done over an extra day for each of these.
You have to decide if doing the extra ADR Licence qualification will actually give you anymore work. The ADR Licence course for Category C+E and the 7 classes of substances you can carry will take 5 days so any extra qualifications will need more time and obviously cost more money. You have to weigh up if this will benefit you in the long term. Don’t get ADR training confused with CPC training as CPC training is compulsory to enable you to drive HGV’s for a living.
If you are a HGV Category C or C+E driver and go for a “Packaged Goods” ADR Licence then this will cut down your course time to 3.5 days so it really is a case of weighing up the job prospects and not overspending on parts of licences you may not need. The ADR Licences are good for 5 years but it’s worth mentioning that as with any course you may take, it’s your money your are spending on your future so if you go into this with the right attitude then there is no reason why you can’t pass and get the HGV Licence and job that you want.
