A simple approach to TDG training

Funny thing about Canada’s new “clear language” dangerous goods regs: after a good working over, they’re still tough for the average Joe to decipher. So the Canadian Trucking Alliance has launched a web-based training course for truck drivers, shippers, and distribution managers to help clarify the rules and make sure everyone involved in handling or hauling hazmat understands their responsibilities.

The beauty of online training, of course, is that it’s tailor-made for people on the run. You can learn at your own pace, logging in any time of day, from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

The course itself uses six modules to address the basics for carrying dangerous goods, starting with an overview of the regulations and how dangerous goods are classified and identified. The second module looks at the responsibilities of consignors and consignees, carriers, and drivers. Other modules address packaging; documentation and
placarding; and managing spills and other emergencies.

Once all six modules are complete, you take a 40-question “master” test (drawn randomly from a database of questions) to see how well you’ve learned the material. The course costs $45 per trainee and takes about four hours to finish if you’ve had previous experience of dangerous goods training, a little longer if you’re new to the subject.

Since most people don’t have time to take the whole course in one sitting, the program bookmarks where you leave off and then returns you to that point when you resume your training. You can also follow along “a day in the life of Pete,” a character who takes you step-by-step-through all the requirements he has to know about hazardous goods. It makes even the plain language of the law
easier to understand. For details, call 613/236-9426 or go to www.dangerousgoods.net.