What is ADR?
ADR stands for Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route — the European agreement on the international road transport of dangerous goods. It defines what counts as a dangerous good, how it must be packaged, labelled and documented, and what training and equipment the driver and vehicle need.
ADR is mandatory across all EU member states and most of wider Europe. Carriers and forwarders that move chemicals, fuel, batteries, paint, gases, infectious substances, explosives or radioactive material operate under it daily.
The 9 ADR classes
| Class | Type of goods |
|---|---|
| 1 | Explosives |
| 2 | Gases (flammable, non-flammable, toxic) |
| 3 | Flammable liquids |
| 4 | Flammable solids, spontaneously combustible, water-reactive |
| 5 | Oxidisers and organic peroxides |
| 6 | Toxic and infectious substances |
| 7 | Radioactive material |
| 8 | Corrosives |
| 9 | Miscellaneous dangerous goods (lithium batteries, asbestos, etc.) |
Each substance has a UN number (e.g. UN 1202 = diesel) and a packing group (I–III) indicating the level of hazard.
What ADR requires
Driver
- ADR certificate for the relevant class(es), renewed every 5 years.
- Knowledge of routing restrictions (tunnels, urban zones).
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) in the cab.
Vehicle
- Orange placards front and rear (or hazard labels for tanks).
- ADR equipment kit: extinguisher(s), chocks, warning signs, eye wash, etc.
- EX/II, EX/III, FL, OX, AT vehicle designations for specialised cargo.
- Annual ADR inspection certificate for tankers and specialised vehicles.
Documentation
- Transport document with UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group, quantity.
- Written instructions (“instructions in writing”) for the driver, in a language the driver understands.
- Loader’s certificate / packer’s certificate where applicable.
Limited and excepted quantities
Small quantities of certain dangerous goods can be transported under Limited Quantity (LQ) or Excepted Quantity (EQ) rules with reduced requirements — common for e-commerce shipments of perfume, batteries or paint.
Tunnel categories
Tunnels in Europe are coded A–E based on which ADR classes may pass through them. A planner routing a hazardous load must respect tunnel restrictions or face significant detours.
Implications for transport software
A TMS handling ADR shipments needs to:
- Flag orders and shipments as ADR, with class and UN number.
- Match shipments to ADR-qualified drivers and vehicles.
- Generate transport documents with the right ADR fields.
- Respect routing restrictions (tunnels, time windows in cities).
- Apply ADR surcharges to the freight rate.
Routix supports ADR flags on shipments and equipment. Driver certificates are tracked in Staff.
Related concepts
See this in Routix
To manage ADR work in a live operation, start on www.routix.com and then inspect Shipments, Staff and your pricing rules around Cost & Revenue. In Routix that is where dangerous-goods flags, qualified people and surcharge logic connect.
