Dangerous Goods Transportation: Basics of an Emergency Plan That Drivers Should Know
Drivers who wish to be employed to transport dangerous goods, such as explosives, need to have information about the steps that need to be taken in case an emergency occurs when those dangerous goods are being transported. Those actions are usually contained in the copy of the emergency plan given to the driver before he or she begins the journey. This article discusses some of the contents of such a plan.
Notifications After an Emergency
People undergoing dangerous goods licence training may be taught which people or agencies need to be notified as soon as an emergency, such as an accident, involving a dangerous goods vehicle occurs. The agencies to be notified immediately may include the police, the fire department and the person or company that dispatched the dangerous goods.
Such notification may be important because it enables those relevant entities to take urgent actions to safeguard their personnel and the public from exposure to the dangerous goods. A good emergency plan should therefore streamline who you should contact when an incident involving your dangerous goods vehicle occurs.
How Drivers Can Be Protected
The emergency plan may also contain how you can protect yourself in the event of an incident during the transportation of dangerous goods. Some of the protective measures may include how you can identify a dangerous goods package that is damaged during transportation. The plan may also contain when and how you can use any of the protective equipment, such as respirators and fire extinguishers, during an emergency. Such information can help you to limit your exposure to the dangerous substances that may have spilled.
Protection of the Public
A good emergency plan may also include a component on how drivers can protect members of the public in case of an emergency. For instance, the plan may include how to position barriers so that members of the public are restrained from getting too close to the dangerous substances at the scene. You may be instructed on how to identify the upwind side of the vehicle so that any members of the public go there in order to avoid inhaling fumes from the accident scene. The emergency plan may also include how to keep the situation from worsening, such as by not moving any packages that you suspect are damaged in an incident during transportation.
As you can see, the emergency plan is tailored to ensure that drivers and other personnel quickly take all the appropriate steps to manage the negative effects of an emergency involving loaded dangerous goods vehicles. Dangerous goods courses prepare you to do your part in implementing any emergency plan given to you. You should therefore identify a training institution that offers dangerous goods training for the class of dangerous goods that you wish to transport. That institution will then prepare you to execute the emergency plans that are relevant to that type of dangerous material.
