ISO 17687:2007

Overview

ISO 17687:2007 - part of Transport Information and Control Systems (TICS) - defines a data dictionary and message sets for the electronic identification and monitoring of hazardous materials / dangerous goods transported by road. The standard supports automated identification (AEI/AVI), on‑board data carriage, and the exchange of emergency response information (identification, quantity, condition such as pressure/temperature, and other response data). Its primary intent is life‑safety and emergency response support, providing an electronic complement to conventional visual placards.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope: Information carried on board road vehicles and transferred to roadside systems or emergency control centres by appropriate communications means.
• Contexts covered: general requirements; on‑board systems; roadside recipient to emergency control centres; inter‑control‑centre exchange.
• Message architecture: standard messages, data frames and data elements defined for electronic identification and monitoring of dangerous goods.
• Encoding & syntax: references to ASN.1 (ISO/IEC 8824) and Packed Encoding Rules (PER) (ISO/IEC 8825) for data notation and encoding.
• On‑board equipment (OBE) and reader interfaces: definitions for AEI/AVI, air interfaces, and reader/OBE interactions.
• Operational behavior: vehicles may respond to queries or self‑initiate status messages; roadside systems may receive and forward data to emergency centres.
• Safety focus: standard explicitly supports emergency response and does not mandate specific hardware, communications technologies or affect national regulations.
• Supporting material: annexes provide message usage guidance and typical system architecture diagrams.

Practical applications

• Electronic placarding / dynamic hazard display for first responders at incident scenes.
• Automatic vehicle identification (AVI/AEI) for fleets moving dangerous goods.
• Telematics and telematics‑gateways that monitor tank pressure, temperature and cargo quantity and push alerts.
• Roadside readers and control centres that query vehicle status and integrate data into emergency management systems.
• Inter‑agency data exchange between emergency control centres for coordinated response.

Who uses this standard

• ITS systems designers and integrators
• Fleet managers and commercial freight operators handling dangerous goods
• Vehicle OEMs and telematics providers implementing OBE functionality
• Emergency services and control centre software vendors
• Regulators and infrastructure operators planning roadside reader deployments

Related standards (normative references)

• ISO/IEC 8824 / 8825 (ASN.1 and encoding rules)
• ISO 14817 (ITS Data Registry / Data Dictionaries)
• IEEE 1512.3, NFPA 704, SAE J2313, SAE 2540.ITIS - referenced for message sets, placard/label conventions and may be used alongside ISO 17687:2007.

Practical note: ISO 17687:2007 facilitates interoperable, machine‑readable emergency information but does not prescribe specific on‑board or communications hardware - implementers should follow section 5.5 (“Important implementation recommendation”) and applicable local regulations.