In Canada, as in several other countries, truck drivers involved in the transportation of dangerous goods must be trained. However, given the many differences in vehicles, substances transported and driving conditions, international guidelines are very open-ended. This article outlines the domestic training requirements in Canada, the United States, The Netherlands and Sweden, and examines the manner in which the training is provided. In both Canada and the United States, the responsibility for assuring a driver is adequately trained rests with the employer. It is the employer who determines the duration and content of any training program. In addition, the assessment of a driver is also an employer responsibility. In practice, possibility in light of liability issues, many employers use commercial training firms. However, generally speaking there is no national or regional accreditation program for such commercial firms. In Europe, where training is conducted in response to the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, training and testing must receive national accreditation, although the specific details of such accreditation are not spelled out. Sweden places its emphasis on careful accreditation of those providing training, while in The Netherlands more importance is placed on examinations to be used to test the results of the training. The intent of this article is to show that the same goal in four different countries has resulted in four different schemes, each of which appears to be accepted in the country of use. A comparison of safety achieved in the transportation of dangerous goods in each country is beyond the scope of this article. International evaluation studies would be necessary to draw scientifically-based conclusions on the effectiveness of truck-driver training systems for the safe transportation of dangerous goods. (Author/publisher).
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