CMR stands for “Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route” which translates as “Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road”. It was devised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and was brought into UK law by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.

When does CMR apply?

It applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road in vehicles for reward, when the place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery, as specified in the contract, are situated in two different countries, of which at least one is a contracting party to CMR.

The current contracting countries are: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

It doesn’t apply:

(a) To movements between the United Kingdom, The Republic of Ireland, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;
(b) To carriage performed under the terms of any international postal convention;
(c) To funeral consignments;
(d) To furniture removal;
(e) To movement of your own goods.

What does it mean to me as a same day courier?

Surprisingly enough, given all the fuss that people make over it, it means very little to you. It simply provides a standardised set of Conditions, which you’re not permitted to contract out of, which replace your own Terms & Conditions (if any) when carrying out deliveries to which CMR applies.

The two main issues that concern same day couriers are paperwork and the issue of insuring for liability under CMR.

What about Liability and ‘CMR Insurance’

Under CMR your liability for loss or damage to a load is strictly limited to 8.33 SDRs (Standard Drawing Rights) per kilo, unless you’ve chosen to offer your customer a higher level of liability. That’s currently (11th July 2008) equal to £6.87 per kilo of damaged, lost or stolen goods, or the actual value – whichever is lower. While that’s a higher rate than standard FTA or RHA limits of liability (£1.30/kg) it’s still less than that offered by most couriers’ standard Terms & Conditions.

Despite what you may have been told ‘CMR Insurance’ is NOT compulsory by law, in fact there’s no such thing as CMR Insurance – it’s just Goods In Transit insurance that meets your liabilities under CMR. Since your liabilities under CMR are usually more limited than your liabilities under UK Common Law, or most couriers’ Terms & Conditions, then this issue of ‘CMR Insurance’ shouldn’t really exist for same day couriers; it’s only the ‘Territorial Limits’ of standard GIT cover that make it an issue.

Of course if you’re carrying out work for another transport company then they’ll probably consider that you have to have ‘CMR Insurance’ in order to protect their interests. You may also feel that your chances of theft or damage to your load are increased when travelling abroad, particularly during the often unavoidable overnight stops.

Paperwork – the ‘CMR Note’

Again, despite what you may have been told, it’s not compulsory to have a ‘CMR Note’ of the ‘standard’ design in a 4 part NCR set etc. However, the law does stipulate that certain details must appear on the consignment note and that observations & remarks should be entered in the appropriate places.

Given that foreign officials (and the consignee) will be more familiar with the standard design of CMR note it would probably be foolish not use it.

A downloadable 4 part CMR Note from the IRU Website is available through the link here http://www.deliver-it.biz/couriers/useful-sites-and-tools/ and guidance on completion is available at  http://www.iru.org/index/en_services_cmr – although you’ll need to register to access it.

The full text of CMR is available at  http://www.unece.org/trans/conventn/cmr_e.pdf  and the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965 which enacts it in UK law is available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1965/cukpga_19650037_en_1

The Driver CPC is in no way connected with the Operator’s CPC required by Transport Managers etc to become an O Licence holder.

This is guidance for the Driver CPC as it applies to GOODS VEHICLE DRIVERS ONLY. The rules for PCV drivers will be implemented on earlier dates.

The requirement to hold a valid Driver CPC will eventually apply to all drivers of goods vehicles over 3500 kg GVW – so all drivers driving vehicles that require C1, C1+E, C or C+E licences.

All new drivers passing their tests to driver vehicles over 3500 kg after 10th September 2009 will have to obtain an initial Driver CPC qualification in addition to passing the appropriate driving test. The Driver CPC will need to be renewed every 5 years by completing a 35 hour course.

Drivers who have already have C1, C1+E, C or C+E licences before 10th September 2009 will not have to obtain an initial Driver CPC qualification but will still have to undertake 35 hours of training to renew their periodic Driver CPC by September 2014 and every 5 years after that.

Drivers of vehicles driven under B+E licences (van and trailer combinations) do not require a Driver CPC irrespective of the Gross Train Weight

Firstly ignore all the figures published by the manufacturer except for the all-important GVW or GVM (Gross Vehicle Weight or Gross Vehicle Mass) and the axle weights.

The only way of knowing what weight your van can carry is to fuel it up, top up the oil and the screenwash bottle, load it up with the stuff you normally carry with you – straps, ropes, blankets, sack truck, tools, maps, laptop, sandwiches, etc and drive to the nearest public weighbridge and have the van weighed with you in it. You can find your nearest public weighbridge listed on your local Trading Standards office’s website.Subtract that weight (the unladen weight) from the GVW that appears on the van’s Plate (or the Revenue Weight from the V5 registration document) and you’ll have the maximum weight that you can carry.

You could be in for quite a shock: it’s not unheard of for a 3500kg GVW van to have a payload of around 1200kg, rather than the 1500kg that the owner had assumed.

Now have a think about the axle weights. If your load isn’t distributed properly then you could be under the maximum GVW for your van but still be prosecuted for being overweight on one of your axles. This is a particular problem for small vans.

Take the Citroen Berlingo LX for example – the manufacturer’s figures give a kerb weight of 1130kg, a GVW of 1930kg, front axle 1000kg and rear axle 1080kg. With a margin of only 150kg to allow for the incorrect positioning of your (theoretical) 800kg load it would be very easy to be overweight on the rear axle while still being under your GVW.

VOSA “Dangers of Overloading” leaflet

An operator’s licence (‘O’ Licence) is needed if you use a goods vehicle (or a goods vehicle and trailer combination) with a total allowable weight of over 3.5 tonnes to carry goods in connection with any trade or business.

If towing a trailer the maximum plated weight (ie the maximum loaded weight) of both the trailer and the towing vehicle and the trailer must be taken into consideration EXCEPT in the case of trailers weighing up to 1020kg unladen.

What does that mean to a courier? Put simply you can drive any van up to 3500kg gvw (maximum loaded weight) without worrying about an O Licence. You can use the same vehicle to tow a trailer with an unladen weight of up to 1020kg (which would cover most small trailers normally towed by Sprinter etc vans) without worrying about an O Licence.

YOU NEED AN OPERATOR’S LICENCE EVEN IF YOU USE A VEHICLE ONLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD, 2 OR 3 WEEKS OR EVEN JUST ONE DAY.You also need to consider whether you need to have a tachograph fitted.

TAKE CARE – most traffic office numpties seem to have decided that ADR doesn’t apply at all to goods below the ‘small loads’ thresholds. When the driver (with no training) questions whether they’re allowed to carry the goods they say something like “don’t worry, it’s limited quantities”. IT DOESN’T CARRY A LIMITED QUANTITY EXEMPTION UNLESS IT CARRIES A LIMITED QUANTITY LABEL.

2) If you’ve had ‘awareness’ training then you can carry goods up to the small load thresholds given at www.hse.gov.uk/cdg/manual/exemptions.htm#categories You need to carry a fire extinguisher and take care that the goods are properly secured. If you’ve had ‘awareness’ training then you SHOULD know this anyway. Again your insurance companies may have their own ideas about whether you’re insured to carry these goods.

3) For loads above the small loads thresholds full ADR and access to the services of a DGSA is required.

4) If in any doubt then ask for advice or just refuse the job. All the information you need is available at:
www.hse.gov.uk/cdg/manual/index.htm www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/adr/adr2007/07ContentsE.html and www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071573.htm

IF YOU’RE IN ANY DOUBT AT ALL ABOUT WHETHER YOU’RE QUALIFIED TO CARRY DANGEROUS GOODS THEN YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT QUALIFIED ENOUGH TO MAKE THE DECISION.

“Vehicles used for the carriage of goods by road and with a maximum permissible weight (including any trailer or semi-trailer) of over 3.5 tonnes are in scope of the EU rules. ‘Carriage by road’ is defined as any journey entirely or in part made on roads open to the public of a vehicle, laden or unladen, used for the carriage of passengers or goods.”

That means ANY vehicle or vehicle and trailer combination, including 4X4 ‘cars’ towing trailers, are subject to EU drivers’ hours rules if they are used for the carriage of goods for commercial purposes and have a total permissable weight of over 3.5 tonnes.

Any vehicle subject to EU drivers’ hours must have a tachograph fitted.

Any employed driver who regularly drives a vehicle which is covered by the EU driver’s hours rules is also likely to be subject to the compulsory working hours limits and record-keeping requirements of the Road Transport Directive, even when not driving vehicles under EU rules.