Who Needs This Training?

To carry dangerous goods in tanks or in packages by road in the UK and across most of Europe, the driver of the vehicle must hold an ADR Driver Training Certificate, which proves that they have participated in an approved training course and passed the ADR examinations.

Your ADR certificate will be valid for five years after completing the course.

A candidate completing their training course with Altrain ADR, in front of various dangerous goods placards.

What is ADR?

ADR is an agreement intended to ease the transport of dangerous goods by road by unifying the rules and regulations across the states that are a part of the agreement. In order to transport dangerous goods by road commercially in these member states, drivers must obtain an ADR Driver Training Certificate.

What Does The ADR Course Cover?

We are able to offer training on all Classes of ADR. We can offer these classes as part of an Initial course, or they can be added onto your existing card through an Additional course. Each module covered will be included in an online examination at the end of the course, where you can receive your results immediately.

Classes 1 & 7 are more specialist courses, and as such aren’t offered through our regular ADR courses, but we do offer training for these through standalone courses.

Most drivers will add all classes except for 1 & 7 to their cards, but as some only carry specific substances, this isn’t necessary for everybody. As such, you will only need to attend the classes relevant to your needs. Everything covered on our Initial and Refresher courses can be seen below:

This essential module is required for all ADR drivers, and covers a large range of topics including: the general requirements for the transport of dangerous goods, the responsibilities of the driver, a rundown of all classes of dangerous goods, among other learning points.

Various practical exercises will also be included in this module related to Fire Prevention & Safety, and Emergency First Aid.

Covers container methods not fixed to the chassis of the vehicle, from propane cylinders to fibre board boxes and other containers.

Covers fixed containers, that cannot be removed from the chassis of the vehicle, such as road tankers.

This covers pure gases, mixtures of gases, and other substances and articles containing such gases.

Generally, it is broken down into three major subcategories, with these being: Flammable Gas, Non-Flammable Non-Toxic Gas, and Toxic Gas

 

Flammable liquids are those with flammable properties.

This covers many vital substances, such as petrol and diesel, making this an important class for many drivers.

Rather than being one singular class, this is actually a group of classes covered in one module.

This covers: 4.1 Flammable Solid, 4.2 Spontaneously Combustible, and 4.3 Dangerous When Wet.

This covers Class 5.1 which is essentially substances that are able to contribute oxygen towards a fire.

5.2 on the other hand, contributes both oxygen and fuel towards a fire.

Toxic substances are those that are known to cause damage to human health by inhalation, absorption, injection and ingestion.

Infectious substances on the other hand, come in two categories.

Category A includes pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungi etc.) which can cause death or permanent disability in animals or humans.

Category B includes pathogens that are less serious, such as those that can cause the common cold.

These are substances which are able to cause full thickness damage to human skin, or can materially damage or destroy other items on contact.

This covers other items and substances which present risks that aren’t covered under the other classes.

As well as being SQA approved, our course is also approved for Driver CPC tuition. You can claim a total of 28 hours of tuition from our ADR Initial, and 14 hours from our ADR Refresher.

If you would like some practice before attending or booking your course, you can complete a set of ADR practice questions found here.

Logo for National Logistics Training Consortium: a JAUPT approved group who provide training course materials to ADR & Driver CPC providers.
Logo for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, who provide approval for ADR training centres like Altrain.
JAUPT Driver CPC Logo, showing that Altrain ADR is approved to deliver Driver CPC training to drivers.

Classes 1 & 7

As more specialised modules, these are not covered on our regular Initial and Refresher courses. We do offer these classes as part of their own separate courses however.

If you already have an ADR card, you can complete these modules as an ‘Additional’ course to add them to your existing card. If you are new to ADR, or if your card has expired, and only require these modules, you can complete them as part of an ‘Initial’ course.

Class 1 - Explosives

This class covers most substances capable of creating an explosive chemical reaction, as well as other articles with explosive properties.

Normally, training for this class is completed on it’s own as an Additional course, or as part of a Class 1 Initial course.

Dangerous Goods placard for ADR Class 1: Explosives, often used when transporting fireworks.
Dangerous Goods placard for ADR Class 7: Radioactive, often used when transporting uranium.

Class 7 - Radioactive

This covers radioactive substances which exceed certain levels of Alpha, Beta, or Gamma radioactivity.

Similarly to Class 1, this is more of a specialist class, and is normally completed on it’s own as a Class 7 Additional course, or as part of a Class 7 Initial course.

Course Objectives

Become Qualified

Gain / Retain Proficiency​

Acquire Your Driver CPC​

Why Choose Our ADR Course?

Our course is written and delivered by members of the industry who have a deep wealth of experience and knowledge in the day-to-day work involved in the transportation of dangerous goods. We aim to keep our courses as engaging as possible through interesting topics and practical exercises, and the laid-back atmosphere in our classroom ensures the best learning environment possible.

About Our ADR Course

How Long Is This Course?

The exact length of the course will depend on your needs, but as an example:

  • A full ADR Initial including Tanks will take place over five full days. Each day starts at 08:30 and lasts until 16:45.
  • A full ADR Refresher including Tanks will take place over two and a half days. Each day starting at 08:30 and lasting until 16:45, with the exception of the final day, concluding at 12:00.

Where Is The Course?

How Much Is The Course?

A full ADR Initial will cost £430. An additional £25 can be paid per day of Driver CPC claimed. 

A full ADR Refresher will cost £420, with 14 hours of Driver CPC being included in this price.

For every class that you do not require, the price of the course will reduce. This will be calculated for you at checkout.

No Card Required.

Questions About ADR

You may be eligible for extra time on your exam. To claim this, SQA ask that you:

  • “Submit a written application – at least seven days before” the start of the course.
  • “Provide written evidence of condition, in the form of an educational
    psychological assessment, specialist teacher’s assessment or similar
    evaluation by an educational specialist.”

If you send this to us, we will be able to submit it to SQA to request more time for you. Please don’t hesitate to use the contact form on the ‘Contact Us’ page to get in touch.

You can attend an ADR Refresher Course during the final 12 months of your existing qualification, as long as it is completed with at least six weeks left before your expiration date. 

If you have less than six weeks left on your certificate, then please feel free to get in touch with us, and we will be happy to see what we can arrange for you.

You can, by clicking here to book your place on an ADR Additional Course.

All classes added will share the expiration date for your existing classes.

As we are approved for the use of the SQA Online Exam System, you can receive your results on the same day as your exam.

You should receive your certificate within 8 working days after passing your exam. The certificate is produced and posted to you directly by SQA.

If you do not receive your certificate, then please get in touch with us, and we will be happy to contact SQA for you.

We will be happy to accommodate an exam re-sit for you. At the end of the course, you can discuss options and dates for a re-sit with our instructor.

The exams themselves are multi-choice based, and while the difficulty will vary for every candidate, we are pleased to say that we have a very high pass-rate for our ADR courses.

 

More About ADR

To be as helpful as possible, we have compiled useful documentation to keep you fully informed and up-to-date on all of the news and regulations of ADR.