The Ministry of Transportation Inspection and Guidance Team discovered during on-site and undercover inspections in Shaanxi that passenger vehicles were illegally carrying hazardous materials.

From: Ministry of Transport

During the Spring Festival travel rush, the Inspection and Guidance Team of the Ministry of Transport (hereinafter referred to as the Inspection and Guidance Team) went to Shaanxi to carry out major risk hidden danger investigation and rectification work for transportation safety production during the 2026 Spring Festival travel period. They visited Xi’an and 10 counties (districts) under Hanzhong, conducting both overt and covert inspections. A total of 28 enterprises and units were checked and guided, revealing 46 issues and hidden dangers, including 1 major hidden danger and 2 prominent problems.

During an inspection at Shaanxi Tourism Automobile Co., Ltd., the team found that a passenger vehicle, “Shan ADT281,” was carrying a butane gas cylinder inside the luggage compartment, which is explicitly listed as prohibited for road passenger transport. The cylinder was unused, with high internal pressure, and vehicle bumps could loosen the valve or damage the cylinder, leading to gas leaks. In a sealed luggage compartment, butane gas could accumulate and, if there is an electrical fault or static electricity, could cause an explosion or fire, posing serious risks to drivers, passengers, and property. According to Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the “Standards for Determining Major Hidden Dangers in Road Transport and Urban Passenger Transport Safety Production (Trial),” a road passenger transport enterprise that illegally carries or transports dangerous goods should be considered to have a major hidden danger.

The Inspection and Guidance Team also identified prominent issues in road transportation and construction. For example, at Hanzhong Passenger Transport Hub, the vehicle “Shan F67508” had a damaged emergency escape window on the rear roof and a missing fire extinguisher on the driver’s side, yet the vehicle inspection form reported the vehicle’s condition as normal. The Yang County Xushui Bridge reconstruction project on National Highway 108 had issues such as insufficient steel pipe supports at the connection between the roadbed and main trestle according to design requirements, and steel sheet pile enclosures at the abutments not built as specified.

The team also found that some supervisory departments did not conduct thorough risk hidden danger investigations. The Hantai District Transportation Bureau in Hanzhong City lacked clear records of local enterprises, and safety inspections were not comprehensive, with discrepancies between system-recorded information and summary ledgers. In the highway operation sector, there were management issues, such as inconsistent technical condition ratings in the inspection reports of the Shiheying Bridge on National Highway 108, unclear management responsibilities, and multiple cracks and detachment issues at the bridge supports that had not been addressed.

Experts from the Inspection and Guidance Team stated that these problems indicate that enterprises and supervisory departments have not thoroughly or effectively carried out risk hidden danger investigations and rectifications, and that safety responsibilities are not fully implemented, revealing weak links in safety management. The team has handed over the list of hidden dangers to provincial management authorities and urged all units and relevant departments to fully implement deployment requirements, strengthen the main responsibility for safety production, learn from issues, make immediate corrections, and continuously deepen the entire process of risk hidden danger investigation and rectification.

Source: China Transportation News

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