What are the rules for displaying the LQ signage on your truck? I know about the package sizes etc and when something is limited quantity and therefore is classed as a dangerous goods loads needing an ADR driver to take it. But when do you and don’t you need the signs? Is it if you’ve got ANYTHING at all in limited quantities on your vehicle or is there more to it than that?
You only need to display the LQ signage on the vehicle when carrying more than 8t of limited quantities on a vehicle wit a GVW exceeding 12t.
Thank you.
Picked up a load yesterday and no one knew. Definitely less than 8t of LQ stuff though. Could move pallets by pushing them.
DickyNick:
Thank you.Picked up a load yesterday and no one knew. Definitely less than 8t of LQ stuff though. Could move pallets by pushing them.
All staff involved should be trained so they should know the answer.
For ADR by road as said above exceeding 8 tonne is the starter point and would then mean LQ marks of 250mm x 250mm displayed to the front and rear of the transport unit. If it’s a container then all four sides - if these cannot be seen such as to the front then LQ marks should be displayed on the transport unit to make up for it.
Regarding GVW, ADR actually talks about maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes because of this: Vehicle Category N3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes.
Surrey Driver:
DickyNick:
Thank you.Picked up a load yesterday and no one knew. Definitely less than 8t of LQ stuff though. Could move pallets by pushing them.
All staff involved should be trained so they should know the answer.
For ADR by road as said above exceeding 8 tonne is the starter point and would then mean LQ marks of 250mm x 250mm displayed to the front and rear of the transport unit. If it’s a container then all four sides - if these cannot be seen such as to the front then LQ marks should be displayed on the transport unit to make up for it.
Regarding GVW, ADR actually talks about maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes because of this: Vehicle Category N3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes.
Key word there being “should”. Planners should know that if somewhere is 4 hours 28 minutes drive time away then you are going to need a full 45 BEFORE you tip as 2 mins isn’t adequate to manoeuvre on site then go and find somewhere to park. Should doesn’t always work 
DickyNick:
Surrey Driver:
DickyNick:
Thank you.Picked up a load yesterday and no one knew. Definitely less than 8t of LQ stuff though. Could move pallets by pushing them.
All staff involved should be trained so they should know the answer.
For ADR by road as said above exceeding 8 tonne is the starter point and would then mean LQ marks of 250mm x 250mm displayed to the front and rear of the transport unit. If it’s a container then all four sides - if these cannot be seen such as to the front then LQ marks should be displayed on the transport unit to make up for it.
Regarding GVW, ADR actually talks about maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes because of this: Vehicle Category N3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes.
Key word there being “should”. Planners should know that if somewhere is 4 hours 28 minutes drive time away then you are going to need a full 45 BEFORE you tip as 2 mins isn’t adequate to manoeuvre on site then go and find somewhere to park. Should doesn’t always work
Yep - should! Should includes the driver too though… 
Never done anything ADR wise or even close before, don’t recall anything about limited quantities from my theory test or cpc, and I straight away told the office I didn’t know, can someone seek advice. So yes, driver SHOULD know, but where in the course of getting a licence do you actually learn it? Unless your company does ADR?
Surrey Driver:
DickyNick:
Surrey Driver:
DickyNick:
Thank you.Picked up a load yesterday and no one knew. Definitely less than 8t of LQ stuff though. Could move pallets by pushing them.
All staff involved should be trained so they should know the answer.
For ADR by road as said above exceeding 8 tonne is the starter point and would then mean LQ marks of 250mm x 250mm displayed to the front and rear of the transport unit. If it’s a container then all four sides - if these cannot be seen such as to the front then LQ marks should be displayed on the transport unit to make up for it.
Regarding GVW, ADR actually talks about maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes because of this: Vehicle Category N3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes.
Key word there being “should”. Planners should know that if somewhere is 4 hours 28 minutes drive time away then you are going to need a full 45 BEFORE you tip as 2 mins isn’t adequate to manoeuvre on site then go and find somewhere to park. Should doesn’t always work [emoji38]
Yep - should! Should includes the driver too though…
Driver doesn’t need to know, up to transport office and despatch point.
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Surely the driver at least needs an awareness, enough to question it as I did because if there was enough stuff such that the LQ signs did need to be displayed and you had a pull from VOSA without them, it would be drivers responsibility at a road side check wouldn’t it?
DickyNick:
… I know about the package sizes etc and when something is limited quantity and therefore is classed as a dangerous goods loads needing an ADR driver to take it. …
Hi DickyNick,
You might not quite correctly understand the part I’ve made red.
There is NO quantity of LQs (if they are the only dangerous goods being carried) that would require an ADR qualified driver to drive the vehicle. EG: A full sized artic carrying a full load of LQs does NOT need an ADR qualified driver.
It is only when dangerous goods are NOT packed as LQs that the ADR Transport Category thresholds (0, 20, 333, 1,000 and unlimited) come into play. This is known as the small load exemption. (ADR 1.1.3.6)
LQs are a completely different kind of exemption in that there is no ‘trigger.’ (The LQ exemption is at ADR 3.4)
As already correctly explained by other posters, a vehicle whose permitted GVW is in excess of 12t needs LQ placards as described when carrying in excess of 8t of LQs.
- A transit/sprinter van doesn’t need LQ placards, even when carrying a full load of LQs.
- A 7.5t (permitted GVW) vehicle doesn’t need LQ placards, even when carrying a full load of LQs.
- A 44t artic carrying 8t or less of LQs doesn’t need LQ placards.
The mention of ADR training for drivers who only ever carry LQs should be covered by the blue part of this:
ADR 8.2.3
Persons whose duties concern the carriage of dangerous goods by road shall have received training in the requirements governing the carriage of such goods appropriate to their responsibilities and duties according to Chapter 1.3. This requirement shall apply to individuals such as personnel who are employed by the road vehicle operator or the consignor, personnel who load or unload dangerous goods, personnel in freight forwarding or shipping agencies and drivers of vehicles other than drivers holding a certificate in accordance with 8.2.1, involved in the carriage of dangerous goods by road.
Aid to understanding… ADR 8.2.1 is the section that require drivers to hold an ADR certificate (now a card) for carrying dangerous goods in excess of the ‘allowances’ in 1.1.3.6, so it’s the ‘other’ drivers that are caught by this section.
Records of ‘awareness’ training is covered in ADR 1.3 as follows:
ADR 1.3.3
Records of training received according to this Chapter shall be kept by the employer and made available to the employee or competent authority, upon request.
Aid to understanding… in the above quote, the UK “competent authority” is the Department for Transport (DfT) so that would include enforcement officials acting under DfT authority, such as Police, DVSA and the HSE.
Dave’s ADR trivia…
There is NO requirement for proof of ‘awareness’ training to be carried on board the vehicle.
scottie0011:
Driver doesn’t need to know, up to transport office and despatch point.
Hi scottie,
That’s spot-on mate!!
The consignor is under an obligation to inform the carrier of what’s to be carried, and he has to do that “in a traceable form.”
The carrier is under an obligation to know what regs/exemptions apply to a load.
This is on the basis of info provided by the consignor, which ADR requires to be “in a traceable form” which then tends to leave any ZB sticking to the person whose responsible for it.
That won’t be an employed driver, but an O/D doesn’t benefit from this because an O/D is also a carrier.
Both a consignor AND a carrier must have a properly qualified DGSA to consult on what’s required by ADR for any job.
DickyNick:
… So yes, driver SHOULD know, …
Hi DickNick,
An employed driver doesn’t need to know how to calculate whether a load is LQs, is subject to a partial exemption, or is fully subject to the whole of ADR, because that responsibility was removed from drivers back in 2004.
Since then, a dangerous goods driver’s life got a whole lot easier!! 
Thanks.
So let’s say I had run with the load and it turned out it was over the 8t so the LQ should have been displayed, and I hadn’t questioned it (because I didn’t know any better), got pulled…it’s not me as the driver in the ■■■■? It’s my company and the consignor?
So actually by questioning it and my company having to make enquiries I bet they sweating a bit hoping I wasn’t about to leave with something not legal that many drivers wouldn’t have bothered questioning.
its a lot easier just ignoring it completely,binning any hazchem stickers,and when we book it on the ferry just say groupage…no doubt it might be a slight issue if caught or the boat goes on fire,but its worked well enough for nearly 40 years for me sofar…dont be tellng anyone .
DickyNick:
Thanks.So let’s say I had run with the load and it turned out it was over the 8t so the LQ should have been displayed, and I hadn’t questioned it (because I didn’t know any better), got pulled…it’s not me as the driver in the [zb]?
No mate, that’s correct.
DickyNick:
It’s my company and the consignor?
Yes, correct again.
DickyNick:
So actually by questioning it and my company having to make enquiries I bet they sweating a bit hoping I wasn’t about to leave with something not legal that many drivers wouldn’t have bothered questioning.
They might not know what you now know.
dieseldog999:
… no doubt it might be a slight issue if caught …
If the possibility of a five-figure fine is “slight” then crack on by all means.
The way that ADR works is not applicable to sea journeys, as sea journeys are governed by different Regs called the IMDG Code.
The fines/penalties for failing to declare any and all dangerous goods to a ferry company are the responsibility of the driver.
The IMDG Code is enforced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, who take a very dim view of people who fail to declare dangerous goods to a ferry company, so summonses and court appearances for breaching the Merchant Shipping Act (UK law) are their usual way forward.
Other issues… Failing to declare the dangerous goods to the ferry company raises the questions of the vehicle not being correctly placarded for the sea journey and not stowed correctly on the ferry in terms of segregation and placement on the correct type of deck, which actually increases the danger to other (innocent) people. These are both breaches of the IMDG Code, which can result in enforcement action.
It then goes without saying that a court probably won’t be too happy with anybody who endangers many other people’s lives at sea in this way.
Can anyone answer? As I can’t be bothered sticking placards and peeling off paintwork when done… can I use orange boards instead of placards when running under L.Q?
I will be at 19,000 kgs and I hold ADR. carrying WD40.
Alfa1M:
Can anyone answer? As I can’t be bothered sticking placards and peeling off paintwork when done… can I use orange boards instead of placards when running under L.Q?
I will be at 19,000 kgs and I hold ADR. carrying WD40.
You are asking if you can display orange hazard boards when you are not carrying goods that require them?
Alfa1M:
Can anyone answer? As I can’t be bothered sticking placards and peeling off paintwork when done… can I use orange boards instead of placards when running under L.Q?
I will be at 19,000 kgs and I hold ADR. carrying WD40.
Hi Alfa1M,
I’m afraid the short answer is that you can’t use orange plates instead of LQ placards.
There are magnetic LQ placards available, and there’s another kind of LQ plate that folds just like some orange plates do, so those are the choices for those who “can’t be bothered” with the sticker kind.
The only scenario that I can think of in which you can use orange plates instead of (any kind of) LQ placards is when you’re carrying a load that is subject to full ADR, then you’ve topped up with LQs because ONLY then you wouldn’t need the LQ placards.
Franglais:
Alfa1M:
Can anyone answer? As I can’t be bothered sticking placards and peeling off paintwork when done… can I use orange boards instead of placards when running under L.Q?
I will be at 19,000 kgs and I hold ADR. carrying WD40.You are asking if you can display orange hazard boards when you are not carrying goods that require them?
Yes Franglais, that’s a good way of putting it.