Industry calls for conformity in municipal transport permits

The development of standardised municipal dangerous goods transport procedures and requirements remains an ongoing process, says Richard Durrant, owner of Transheq Consulting. “We have made reasonable progress on the matter since the initial process around municipal transport permits started in October 2009. We still, however, have a very long way to go before we have one system in place that will be applicable to all vehicles transporting dangerous goods.” Municipal transport permits (generally known as fire permits) are a municipal bylaw requirement. In most major metropolises they prohibit the transport of goods without these permits that have to be issued by the chief fire officer for no longer than 12 months at a time and only after a physical inspection by the chief fire officer. “One of the processes we want to see implemented is that the fire permit and vehicle roadworthiness can be combined into one inspection, but to date we have had no luck,” said Durrant. One of the major problems transporters face on a daily basis is that the bylaws are sometimes found to be in conflict with the National Road Traffic Act. There are also inconsistencies in the application and interpretation as well in the requirements of the laws. He said a very positive meeting organised by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs had been held with the big municipal fire departments. “It was very well attended even though we were concerned that a very important municipality – Durban – did not attend.” But, said Durrant, it was agreed that a generic vehicle checklist would be created to be used by fire departments across the country in the issuing of fire permits and that the permit would then be accepted by all municipalities. “The checklist has since been drafted and been given to business for its input, while a workgroup has been put into place to look at the SANS standard to address the inconsistencies,” he said.