Howdy All,
How do we go on for transporting 3 passenger car airbags, still active?
I understand they’re class 9, but could they be limited quantities?
What stipulations for their transport are in force?
Thanks!
Dont crash into anything, they will go off 
Dunno I’m not ADR but my car has 7 airbags should I be ADR?
schrodingers cat:
Dunno I’m not ADR but my car has 7 airbags should I be ADR?
I drive a Volvo car, so I’ve got about 320 at a rough estimate.
Bit more of the story, for the smart-arses 
We’ve got 3 airbags modules, one steering wheel bag and two side curtain bags in our garage.
They belong to someone else (party A), but they’ve transferred ownership to someone else again (party B).
Party A has asked us to detonate them, so they’re safe for party B to transport and dispose of.
Party B has no problem just chuicking them in the van as they are (nor do we), but without giving too much away, this is a very particular customer, and things must be done their way!
I’ve told them that I’m not letting our lads detonate them, there’s much more chance of injury doing that.
But we need to transport them, and the customer is being extremely (overly) cautious.
Personally, they’re no bother to me whatsoever, I’d be quite happy to chuck them in the van too. But… the customer must be pleased!
What I’d like to hear is chapter and verse on how they’re limited quantities and no restrictions are in place , but where do we actually stand for transporting them?
i know chucking one on a bonfire leads to quite eerrr… interesting… results 
cieranc:
Bit more of the story, for the smart-arsesWe’ve got 3 airbags modules, one steering wheel bag and two side curtain bags in our garage.
They belong to someone else (party A), but they’ve transferred ownership to someone else again (party B).Party A has asked us to detonate them, so they’re safe for party B to transport and dispose of.
Party B has no problem just chuicking them in the van as they are (nor do we), but without giving too much away, this is a very particular customer, and things must be done their way!I’ve told them that I’m not letting our lads detonate them, there’s much more chance of injury doing that.
But we need to transport them, and the customer is being extremely (overly) cautious.
Personally, they’re no bother to me whatsoever, I’d be quite happy to chuck them in the van too. But… the customer must be pleased!
What I’d like to hear is chapter and verse on how they’re limited quantities and no restrictions are in place
Dont the airbags need the seatbelt tensioners to active them.
Sent from my iPad.
spectron:
Dont the airbags need the seatbelt tensioners to active them.
No, but they do need 2 seperate live feeds to activate them. They’re easy to set off, but why risk someone getting hurt doing so when they’re totally inert as they are?
I am very interested in this answer as I just received an email from the UN in Geneva about the reclassification and transport rules of UN 0503 and UN 3268 which shall become “Safety Devices for Vehicles”
The only definitive answer I would give at the moment is this;
“Safety devices for vehicles installed in vehicles or in completed components such as steering columns, door panels, seats etc. are not subject to these Regulations.”
Have you got an army ammo box you could secure them in for transit? If you don’t mind me asking why does B want used airbags?
cieranc:
What I’d like to hear is chapter and verse on how they’re limited quantities and no restrictions are in place
Hi cieranc,
Malc is onto the answer to your question… there are two possible UN numbers for airbags.
I’m afraid I cannot say that they are Limited Quantities (LQs,) because neither UN 0503, nor UN 3268 can be transported as LQs.
The key questions here are… Are the airbags already assembled into larger components, such as steering wheels or door panels please??
If this is the case, then as Malc said, they’re not subject to ADR.
OR
Have the airbags been stripped out of larger components (such as steering wheels or door panels) and are to be transported separately and as they are please??
If this is the case, then there will be a few hoops that will need to jumped through, because they count as explosives in UN Class 1.4G
If your customer is really insistent on correctness, then I can provide you with the list of conditions under which the airbags (disassembled from ‘components’) may be transported. For now, I’ll say that I think it unlikely that you’ll need an ADR licence to transport them, but chapter and verse does depend on the answer to my couple of questions above please.
Hi,
All 3 airbags have been stripped from their housings and are sitting on the floor in bare form.
The steering wheel bag is just the airbag module with the steering wheel centre cover and outward facing Ford badge, it’s not fitted into a steering wheel.
For interest, a local bodyshop took delivery of two seatbelt pre-tensioners today whilst I was in there, both have similar
gas-generating explosives to airbags, these were boxed up with cat 9 Misc Sub+Art labels (and delivered out of a normal, unmarked parts van).
mucker85:
Have you got an army ammo box you could secure them in for transit? If you don’t mind me asking why does B want used airbags?
The curtain bags are about 5 feet long.
B doesn’t want used airbags (as they’re worthless once detonated), but B is under contract to A to dispose of anything A tells him to dispose of. B would rather have the primed airbags, as he could sell them. A is insisting B takes them, albeit detonated by us. A won’t permit B to collect, or us to deliver in a primed state, as A believes they’re too dangerous to transport 
I’m under contract to A to recover anything A tells us to recover.
Does this make sense
Cant you just stick them in the black coloured wheelie bin?
Wishful thinking.
Personally I’d just hoy em in the van and take them to where they need to go.
But, rules is rules, and where would we be if we didn’t have rules ■■?
I work in a dealership and we also get new Airbags and pre tensioners delivered with warning labels on but via normal parts van. When I change any faulty ones under warranty I have to detonate them in workshop before we are allowed to return them.
When I was needing them delivering to my garage, the suppliers would only bring one out at a time.
cieranc:
Hi,
All 3 airbags have been stripped from their housings and are sitting on the floor in bare form.
The steering wheel bag is just the airbag module with the steering wheel centre cover and outward facing Ford badge, it’s not fitted into a steering wheel.For interest, a local bodyshop took delivery of two seatbelt pre-tensioners today whilst I was in there, both have similar
gas-generating explosives to airbags, these were boxed up with cat 9 Misc Sub+Art labels (and delivered out of a normal, unmarked parts van).mucker85:
Have you got an army ammo box you could secure them in for transit? If you don’t mind me asking why does B want used airbags?The curtain bags are about 5 feet long.
B doesn’t want used airbags (as they’re worthless once detonated), but B is under contract to A to dispose of anything A tells him to dispose of. B would rather have the primed airbags, as he could sell them. A is insisting B takes them, albeit detonated by us. A won’t permit B to collect, or us to deliver in a primed state, as A believes they’re too dangerous to transport
I’m under contract to A to recover anything A tells us to recover.Does this make sense
Hi cieranc,
Thanks for the extra info… When it comes to “A believes they’re too dangerous to transport” I do understand that A has you under contract etc, but he’s just plain wrong on this one. 
Here’s the position of the goalposts, so at least A and B now have a choice…
The carriage of explosive articles (airbags are ‘articles’ in ADR) can be carried out quite legally as long as the relevant rules are followed.
My little surprises for A are:
- Up to 500kg of 1.4G can be carried in a van for this job
- No orange plates are needed for this job
- UN Class 1.4G Placards are not needed for this job
- The driver does not need an ADR licence for this job
- The vehicle for this job need not be equipped as normally required by ADR
The way to calculate the relevant ‘ADR freebie’ weight is to imagine breaking the airbag modules open and catching and weighing the actual explosive substance they contain. In practice, it’s probably best to ask the airbag manufacturer because they will know how much actual explosive is contained in each of the airbag modules.
The figure for each airbag module is then added together to get what ADR calls “net explosive mass” (NEM.)
For a UK journey carrying 1.4G, the relevant ADR ‘freebie’ allowance is 500kg NEM.
NOTE
For ADR purposes, ONLY the NEM of the actual explosive material contained in an explosive article is to be counted towards the 500kg NEM ‘freebie’ limit.
In this case (1.4G,) if more than 500kg NEM is carried, THEN the full weight of all ADR requirements apply to the job.
I really don’t think that the total will be anywhere near 500kg NEM if there are only three airbag modules to be carried, so everybody involved can rest easy because only a few of ADR’s requirements must be met.
There must be 1 X 2kg ADR compliant fire extinguisher on board the vehicle.
The driver must have some form of documented ‘awareness’ training (NOT an ADR licence) but this does not need to be carried during the journey.
Smoking is not allowed in, on or near the vehicle at any time during loading, during transit or during unloading.
An ADR compliant Transport Document must be on board the vehicle. (Please see below.)
The 1.4G articles must be packed in packaging(s), they are not allowed to be carried ‘loose.’
The packaging must be UN approved, so not just any old cardboard or tin box.
The details of the specifications are quite complicated, so I’ll just stick to the really important parts.
The articles can be wrapped in bags or sheets, then placed in a box, or a removable head drum. Once the wrapped articles are placed into the box/drum, they must be prevented from sliding around inside by the use of cushioning material, then the box or drum must be securely closed.
A box can be made of steel, aluminium, wood (several kinds,) fibreboard or plastic.
A (removable head) drum can be made of steel, aluminium, plywood, fibre or plastic.
All three articles may be packed together in the same outer packaging, but no other kinds of dangerous goods or non-dangerous goods are allowed to be in the same packaging.
The box or drum must have the following markings:
“UN 0503”
The words “AIR BAG INFLATORS” or “AIR BAG MODULES” or “SEAT-BELT PRETENSIONERS” as appropriate.
A Class 1.4G label (100mm x 100mm) like this:
UN approval mark and code:
In the above example “4G” means a fibreboard box, but the next letter is important…
You cannot use a package that has a “Z” as the first letter after the first front ■■■■■.
Either an “X” or a “Y” would be OK though.
Transport document
An ADR compliant transport document for this job would need to show the following info:
Consignor’s (sender) name and address
Consignee’s (delivery point) name and address
(These can appear anywhere on the document.)
“UN 0503” immediately followed by the words “AIR BAG INFLATORS” or “AIR BAG MODULES” or “SEAT-BELT PRETENSIONERS” as appropriate.
Then “1.4G”
For example:
UN 0503 AIR BAG MODULES, 1.4G
(The above line of info must appear in this order, with nothing added or removed.)
The number and description of packages
For example:
1 X fibreboard box containing 3 air bag modules
Then:
Net explosive mass = ■■ kg
Then:
ADR 1.1.3.6 quantity exemption applies, Transport Category 2A limit not exceeded.
Having read the above, either A or B might have second thoughts because of the rigmaroll and costs involved, so you might need to think about safe detonation after all.
Another consideration is that the Waste Regs may also apply to this job, but that’s outside my remit.
Would it be an idea for the future to leave the airbags assembled into thier components and let B strip them down once he’s got them to where he wants them?
That way, ADR doesn’t apply to that job, because it’s completely exempt. Just a thought.
And it’s still nothing to do with Limited Quantities. 
BTW, the delivery of airbags in Class 9 that came in the unmarked van was not subject to ADR, no matter how many airbags were carried.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if anything is unclear.
mechanic77:
I work in a dealership and we also get new Airbags and pre tensioners delivered with warning labels on but via normal parts van. When I change any faulty ones under warranty I have to detonate them in workshop before we are allowed to return them.
Hi mechanic77,
As Malc and I have mentioned to cieranc, it all depends on whether the airbags are assembled into components, because sometimes they count as explosives, but at other times, they’re exempt.
Safe detonation is certainly an option, then nothing can go wrong during transport.
DoYouMeanMe?:
When I was needing them delivering to my garage, the suppliers would only bring one out at a time.
Hi DYMM,
That seems to be a very cautious approach, but there’s no problem if they’re in UN Class 9 (assembled into components,) cos they’d be completely exempt from ADR.
If the airbags are not assembled into components, then they count as explosives in Class 1.4G, but they can still be carried in quite surprising numbers.
Diesel Dave is there a legal minimum spill kit for a curtain sided trailer doing various ADR classes (not 1 & 7), also is the fire extinguisher 12kg (1 at least 6kg)?