The Transport of Dangerous Goods and our ADR engine

July 19, 2023

modified on

May 13, 2026

NESTOR TECHNOLOGIES offers automatic identification of ADR plates and pictograms, used for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TGD) on trucks and containers or railcars.

A European agreement and international regulations

The transport by road of certain materials representing a danger to people or the environment, is governed by the European ADR Agreement “Agreement on the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road”. It applies to 53 countries.

The Order of May 29, 2009 (TMD Order) supplements it and covers transport on French territory.

Thus the ADR laid the foundations for regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods by road. In the case of multimodal shipments, other regulations come into play depending on the sector.

More regulations

IMDG Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods). The IMO (International Maritime Organization) lays down these rules, but the SOLAS and MARPOL conventions also supplement them. There are various international codes in addition to IMDG: IMSBC, IBC, IGC, INF…
Code IATA (International Air Transport of Dangerous Goods): ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) sets the rules for the transport of dangerous goods.
Code ADN (river transport of dangerous goods). 32 European countries are party to this code, an extension of the ADNR (Rhine) agreement governing national and international river transport.
Code RID (rail transport of dangerous goods). Proposed by OTIF (Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail). 39 countries have signed it, and it is supplemented by a French decree.

In a spirit of harmonization, these regulations take up the main themes of the ADR (classification, documentation, packaging, labeling, etc.), but have their own specific features linked to the particular risks of the means of transport used. For example, aviation regulations govern the transport of magnetized masses by air, whereas this is not yet the case for road transport. The ADR therefore concerns all those involved in the transport chain, who have clearly defined missions to fulfil.

Despite the international dimension of ADR, European Parliament Directive 2008/68/EC makes the application of ADR, RID and ADN mandatory within the member states of the European Union. All other countries follow the ADR rules in their entirety, with a few exceptions (e.g. USA).

In 2017, the Globally Harmonized System of Chemical Classification (GHS), an international standard, was adopted and is managed by the United Nations. However, it is not mandatory.

Signage: ADR signs and pictograms

The ADR placard:

Therefore, all vehicles transporting dangerous goods by road are required, among other things, to display an orange placard (or sign) called an ADR placard. It must be visible at the front and rear of the vehicle if the load exceeds a certain quantity of hazardous materials. This quantity varies depending on the category of the material being transported.

The ADR placard is therefore essential for indicating the dangers associated with the transport of dangerous goods. It can be blank, crossed out, or removed if no dangerous materials are being transported.

This placard, adopted internationally, is intended to allow emergency services to identify the nature of the transported goods and their hazardous nature.

What do these numbers on 2 lines mean?

On the top line, the hazard identification code (also called the Kemler code or GEVI number) is displayed.
This code consists of two or three digits, corresponding to the product’s hazard code (from 1 to 9). It identifies the primary, secondary, and subsidiary hazards, if applicable. The first digit indicates the primary hazard.
If this digit is doubled, the hazard level increases (except for 22, 44, and 99).
A digit followed by a zero indicates that a single digit, the primary hazard, is sufficient.
The letter X may also be present, indicating a reaction in the presence of water.

On the bottom line is the substance code. This code indicates both the hazard and the substance being transported.
The substance code, or UN number, is a 4-digit, international code. It corresponds to substances assessed by the United Nations (3,000 references).
For example, 1203 corresponds to gasoline.
In some countries, this code is found directly on ADR labels/pictograms.
The UN code is only used for transport in tanks or as solid bulk.

Exception for certain countries:

Some countries, such as Australia, India, and the United Kingdom, use a sign to warn of hazardous substances being transported by vehicle (road or rail).

At the bottom, you’ll find the telephone number to call if you need further information.

This Emergency Information Panel (EIP) is mandatory for the transport of hazardous materials in bulk. It must include the shipper’s name, the UN number, the HAZCHEM code, the diamond-shaped placard, and the name and telephone number of the company providing an advisory service.

The HAZCHEM code (Hazardous Chemicals) is actually the Emergency Response Code (ERC). It consists of a number (1 to 4) and one or two letters. The number indicates the type of extinguishing agent to be used in case of a fire caused by the product.

ADR label-plates:

The ADR agreement also mandates the display of placards bearing pictograms of the main hazards. These placards are generally diamond-shaped and can be of various colors.

These diamond-shaped ADR hazard symbol placards indicate the class of the main hazard. There are 13 classes in total.

And to go further…

On single-tank vehicles, the ADR plate must be mounted on the front and rear, and the hazard pictogram must also be mounted on the sides and rear.
For multi-tank (and multi-material) tankers, the orange ADR sign must be mounted on the concerned tank the tank concerned. The hazard pictogram must be mounted on the rear and on the concerned tank.
Empty outgassed tanks must have the orange sign crossed out.
For non-tank trucks, the orange ADR plate must be blank on the front and rear. The hazard symbol must be mounted on the rear and sides of the vehicle.
In the case of goods transported in a container, the pictograms are placed on all 4 sides. The vehicle carrying the container affixes the orange plate. Depending on the quantity loaded, the UN number may be affixed to the container.

In temporary storage areas (terminals, vehicle depots, etc.), containers and/or vehicles carrying hazardous materials must be clearly and quickly identified, so that they have access to a clearly defined area: secured, well-lit and not accessible to the public (as recommended by INRS).

Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, NESTOR TECHNOLOGIES can automatically identify a vehicle carrying hazardous materials.

The ADR Engine of NESTOR TECHNOLOGIES

TDG is a vast subject, closely linked to freight and logistics. It has therefore become essential to include it in code recognition systems. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, NESTOR TECHNOLOGIES enables you to automatically identify a vehicle carrying hazardous materials.

With to our TREX-CONTAINER and TREX-WAGON solutions, and the ADR engine offered in our TREX Software Suite, NESTOR TECHNOLOGIES enables you to collect a maximum amount of information on the truck or train carrying or not dangerous goods, and to do this automatically.

The ADR engine complements our other engines, such as those for automatic container recognition (ACCR), license plate recognition (ANPR / ALPR / LAPI) and wagon number recognition (AWNR), to give you a complete identity card for a vehicle and its load.

Thanks to automatic identification of ADR plates and labels, our customers gain in security, traceability and efficiency.

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