Knowledge of road transport conventions and their provisions is fundamental in the work of a Freight Forwarder.
There are five main conventions and agreements in international road transport. These include:
- TIR Convention
- CMR Convention
- ATA Convention
- ADR Convention
- ATP
- AETR Convention
The TIR Convention is responsible for regulating the transportation of goods in transit. The document of the TIR Convention is the TIR carnet. The owner of the carnet is the International Road Transport Union (IRU). This document is a security for customs duties in the countries through which the transport takes place.
The CMR Convention regulates the rules for the international carriage of goods by road. It establishes a model international consignment note - the CMR document.
The ATA Convention applies to goods exported temporarily with the intention of reimportation. The document is the ATA carnet, which is issued by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, and, as in the TIR carnet, a financial declaration is needed.
The ATP Convention deals with the carriage of perishable goods and the equipment used for this purpose. It regulates conditions for the carriage of goods, introduces guidelines for isotherms and standards for refrigeration units.
The AETR agreement regulates the driver's working hours and the requirements to be met by the driver. The introduction of this law was aimed at increasing road safety and improving international passenger and cargo transportation.