{"operation":"document","citation":"02-0102","title":"Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, Inc — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2002-05-14","effective_on":null,"summary":"02-0102 response to Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, Inc concerning 172.502.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0102.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0102.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0102","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2002/020102.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\n400 Seventh St., S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nResearch and\ndministratio\npecial Program\nMAY 14 2002\nMr. Michael J. Riley\nRef. No. 02-0102\nPresident\nMotor Transport Association\nof Connecticut, Inc.\n60 Forest Street\nHartford, CT 06105-3200\nDear Mr. Riley:\nThank you for your letter to Mr. Joseph M. Clapp, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety\nAdministration (FMCSA), concerning display of signs or slogans, such as the \"Drive Safely\" slogan, on\nhazard warning placards and in placard holders. Your letter was forwarded to the Research and\nSpecial Programs Administration for response.\nYou are concerned that in the State of Connecticut motor carriers are being cited by State law\nenforcement officers for displaying the \"Drive Safely\" slogan in the diamond shaped placard holders\ndisplayed on trucks. You do not believe that the FMCSA intended law enforcement to use the\nauthority found in 49 CFR 172.502 to cite every truck displaying a safety slogan in a placard holder,\nand stated that a strong argument can be made that in order to fall subject to this regulation, a carrier\nmust meet the applicability standard.\nConcerns about Connecticut enforcement policy should be addressed to the Connecticut Department\nof Motor Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Safety Division, 60 State Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161.\nUnder the statutory authority of the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law, the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations apply to the use of terms and symbols prescribed for the marking, labeling and\nranadit of and desaription ofteriza dee ma.s. sir and of her carrier gad inte\n1, regardless of whether a carrier is engaged in the\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) establish requirements for transporting\nhazardous materials in commerce. They prescribe a uniform system of hazard communication\nrequirements for hazardous materials shipments, including shipping papers, package marking and\nlabeling, vehicle placarding, and emergency response information and training requirements. These\nrequirements are designed to provide transport workers and fire and emergency response personnel\nwith information on the hazards associated with a given shipment and on appropriate responses to an\naccident involving the shipment.\n172,502\n020102\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA prohibited placarding provision was first added to the HMR in 1976. It specified that no person may\naffix or display any sign or other device on a transport vehicle, portable tank, or freight container, that\nby its color, design, shape or content could be confused with any placard prescribed in the HMR. In\nJanuary 1997, a final rule was published in the Federal Register (62 FR 1217) to clarify the prohibited\nplacarding provision as it applies to extraneous information, such as the \"Drive Safely\" slogan, on a\nplacard or in a placard holder. A transition period of over four years, until October 1, 2001, was\nprovided to come into compliance with the prohibition.\nAlthough we understand your concerns, other venues exist on a transport vehicle or freight container to\nmore appropriately place messages unrelated to the hazard communication for hazardous materials.\nPlacards and placard-shaped backgrounds are reserved for hazard communication. We believe that\nextraneous information, displayed on placards and in placard holders, detracts from the basic function\nof placards and reduces the ability of emergency responders to readily recognize vital hazard alerting\ninformation (including determining whether a placard holder contains a placard). Therefore, we have\nprohibited those displays.\nI appreciate your interest in promoting hazardous materials transportation safety. If you have further\nconcerns, please contact Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo, Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards,\nat 202-366-8553.\nSincerely,\ncall medie\nRobert A. McGuire\nAssociate Administrator for\nHazardous Materials Safety\ncc: Bill Quade, FMCSA\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nMTAC\nMOTOR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT, INC.\nMICHAEL J. RILEY\nPRESIDENT\nEngrum\n§172.502\nMarch 21, 2002\nPlacardina\n12 - 0182\nMr. Joseph M. Clapp\nAdministrator\n•\nFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration\n400 7th Street S. W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Clapp:\nCongratulations on your appointment as Administrator of the Federal Motor\nCarrier Safety Administration. The insight and experience you bring to the\nposition will be of great benefit to your agency and to the transportation\nindustry. I wish you many years of accomplishment and success.\nI was taken by some of your recent remarks because they go right to the heart\nof what both industry and government strive for. You said: \"We are not here\nto issue citations or even issue rules and regulations. We are here so that sons\nand daughters, mothers and fathers, grandparents and friends get home for\ndinner tonight. Over 100 times a week they do not.\" I interpret this as a call\nfor enforcement that actually saves lives.\nI recently forwarded a letter to Transport Topics that is critical of an\nthroughout the United States. Carriers are being cited for displaying \"Drive\nenforcement practice occurring here in Connecticut, and I presume,\nSafely\" slogans in the diamond shaped placard holders seen on the side of\ntrucks. Connecticut levies a $500 fine for each violation of the Federal\nMTAC\n60 FOREST STREET • HARTFORD, CT 06105-3200 • TEL: (860) 520-4455 • FAX: (860) 520-4567 Contre\nExelurive\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nMTAC\nMOTOR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUI, INC.\nMICHAEL J. RILEY\nPRESIDENT\nhazardous material regulations. In one instance, a carrier was given a\n$1500.00 summons for having three \"Drive Safely\" signs.\nI do not think the FMCSA intended law enforcement to use the authority\nfound in CFR 172.502 to cite every truck displaying a safety slogan in a\nplacard holder. A strong argument can be made that in order to fall subject to\nthis regulation, a carrier must meet the applicability standard. This requires an\nactive role in transporting hazardous materials. Anyone using a placard holder\nwhen not subject to the hazmat regulations is merely exercising free speech.\nResponsible carriers are willing to take whatever steps necessary to protect\nlife and property. During times hazardous materials are onboard, the industry\nwill mark a vehicle in any way prescribed to insure safe transportation. What\nmy members, and I presume much of the industry, cannot accept is\nenforcement that does iittle to save lives while raising questions about\nwhether a carrier meets the applicability standard.\nThe fines in Connecticut are crippling at a time when many companies are\nstruggling just to meet payroll. I think law enforcement officials need a\nprecise interpretation of what constitutes an offense under CFR 172.502.\nYour guidance in this matter will go a long way towards meeting our ultimate\ngoal: saving lives.\nWith best wishes, I am\nSincerely,\nmila Rily\nMichael J. I\nPresident\nMTAC\nMOTOR\nINC.\n60 FOREST STREET • HARTFORD, CT 06105-3200 • TEL: (860) 520-4455 • FAX: (860) 520-4567\nConnecticut\nExclusire\nAP\nNffthak","truncated":false,"body_characters":7064}