{"operation":"document","citation":"09-0055","title":"MCSAP, Troop I, Olathe — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-04-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"09-0055 response to MCSAP, Troop I, Olathe concerning 172.504, 172.516.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0055.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0055.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0055","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2009/090055.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMr. Rex Railsback\nMCSAP, Troop I, Olathe\n1220 S. Enterprise\nOlathe, KS 6606 1\nRef. No. 09-0055\nDear Mr. Railsback:\nThis responds to your March 12, 2009 letter requesting clarification of the requirements under\nthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 100-1 85) applicable to the visibility\nand display of placards. Accompanying your letter are photographs of a Sterling straight truck\nwith clearly visible placards mounted on the front of the cargo railing. Specifically, you ask\nwhether the placarded vehicle, as depicted in the photographs, satisfies the requirements of\n5 s 172.504 and 172.516.\nWhen placarding is required by 5 172.504(a) of the HMR, a transport vehicle must be\nplacarded on each side and each end. The HMR require a placard to be clearly visible from the\ndirection it faces, except from the direction of another transport vehicle to which it is coupled\n(see 6 172.5 16(a)). For purposes of the HMR, a \"transport vehicle\" is a cargo-carrying vehicle\nsuch as an automobile, van, tractor, truck, semi-trailer, tank car or rail car used for the\ntransportation of cargo by any mode.\nIn this specific case, the placards on the front of the cargo-carrying portion of the transport\nvehicle are clearly visible from the direction they face, and comply with the requirements of\n$5 172.504(a) and 172.5 16(a). Generally, placards on the sides and ends of the cargo-carrying\nportion of a vehicles cargo body satisfy requirements for placarding the sides and ends, even if\nthey are not located at the outer perimeter of the vehicle, as long as they are readily visible and\nnot obscured by appurtenances in the direction they face. In order to clarify this issue more\nthoroughly, we may address this in a future rulemaking.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nEdward T. Mazzullo\nDirector, Ofice of Hazardous\nMaterials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo :\nCc:\nSubject:\nINFOCNTR <PHMSA> Thursday, March 12,2009 12:29 PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\n9 172. '3rb\n-h- I .\nt ' l ~ w t v d i r y\n09- 0055\nSupko, Ben <PHMSA>\nFW: Hazmat Information Center Feedback: Hazardous Materials Table, Special Provisions,\nHazardous Materials Communications\nCarolyn,\nHere is another request for a written interpretation. I tried to give him some existing\nletters but they were not specific enough for him. I have included both of his\ncorrespondences.\nRob\n----- Original Message-----\nFrom: PHMSA-Feedback [mailto:PHMSA-Feedback]\nSent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 12:19 PM\nTo: PHMSA HM Infocenter; PHMSA Webmaster\nSubject: Hazmat Information Center Feedback: Hazardous Materials Table, Special\nProvisions, Hazardous Materials Communications\nThis is ref. my two previous emails regarding the placement of the required placard(s) on\nthe front of the cargo box of the straight truck instead of on the front bumper (end) on\nthe same vehicle. You found a letter (07-0058) that addressed the issue, but the section\nyou ref. (172.516(b)) only deals with \"Truck Tractors\" and not \"Trucks\" (see second,\nemail) .\nIn 07-0058 you advised that placement of the placard on the cargo box is allowed as long\nas it meets the requirements of 172.516(a), but you use 172.516(b) for justification of\nyour answer. In reading 172.516(b), that section deals only with the placement of a\nplacard on a truck tractor in place of or addition to the placard on the front of a\nvehicle attached to the truck tractor. This ref. to 172.516(b) is a contradiction to your\nwritten \"OK\" of placing a placard on the front of a cargo box instead of on the front end\nof the vehicle as describe in my previous two emails. what I'm looking for is an interp.\nthat says \"each end\" as stated in 172.504(a) can be met as long as the required placard(si\nare visible and meet the requirements of 172.516(a).\nOnce again, the letters I've look through on your web site are not as clear as they may\nneed to be, because there are some enforcement personnel in several states that are\nrequiring placards to be on the \"front end\" as required by 172.504(a), even thought the\nplacard on the cargo box met the requirements of 172.516(a). I'm a NTC instructor for\nGeneral HazMat and we've always taught that as long as placard placement met 172,516(a) it\nwas deemed to have met the \"front end\" requirement of 172.504(a), but with the number on\nconflicting letters on your web site, several enforcement officers are holding carriers to\nthe letter of 172.504(a). Any assistance you can offer would be appreciated.\nRex Railsback\n-----------\nNane: Rex Railsback\nOrganization: Kansas Highway Patrol\nEmail: rrailsba@khp.ks.gov\nAddress: 1220 S. Enterprise\nCity: Olathe\nZip Code: 66061\nPhone: 785-256-5046\nSirs,\nFirst let me say that I feel you did not understand my question ref. placard visibility\nrequirements found in 172.516 or 172.504(a) that I emahled on 3/10/09.\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nMy question dealt with a single vehicle (Truck, see def. below) and not a combination\nvehicle (Tractor cargo body, see def. of Truck Tractor below) as you ref. in your phone\nmsg. to me and interp. #05-0063. Since the HMRs do not define a \"Truck\" or a \"Tractor\", I\npulled those def. from 49 CFR 390.5 and since 171.8 def. of a \"Transport vehicle\" includes\na \"Truck\" and \"Tractor\" as a part of the def. I think they needed to be included for ref.\nMy question again is as follows.\nIf I have a \"Truck\" with a cargo box, i.e. straight truck for local deliveries, that is\ntransporting a placardable amount of HM, would a placard mounted to the front of the cargo\nbox above the cab and clearly visible in the direction it faces (as req. by 172.516(a)),\nbe in violation of 172.504(a) \"Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, each bulk\npackaging, freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle or rail car containing\nany quantity of a hazardous material must be placarded on each side and each end...\", for\nnot being on the front \"end\" of the vehicle, i.e. the front bumper.\nThe location of the placard attached to the cargo box is approx. 10 feet from the front\nbumper, but once again it is clearly visible to anyone standing at the front of the truck\nand in a continuous arc of about 140 deg. either direction from center front (top of arc)\nThe interp. you ref. (05-0063) dealt with the question of a placard on the front of a\n\"trailer\" (they called it a cargo body) which was being pulled by a \"truck tractor\" (they\nsaid attached to the cargo body). I'm fully aware of what 172.516(a) & (b) say and allow,\nref. not requiring the placard to be visible from the direction of a vehicle attached tc\nthe transport vehicle with the HM.\nI've added the sec. ref. below. I'm teaching a General HM class this week and my not be\navailable while in front of the class which is why I missed your return call on 3/10/09.\n172.516(a) Each placard on a motor vehicle and each placard on a rail car must be clearly\nvisible from the direction it faces, except from the direction of another transport\nvehicle or rail car to which the motor vehicle or rail car is coupled. This requirement\nmay be met by the placards displayed on the freight containers or portable tanks loaded on\na motor vehicle or rail car.\n172.516(b) The required placarding of the front of a motor vehicle may be on the front of\na truck-tractor instead of or in addition to the placarding on the front of the cargo body\nto which a truck-tractor is attached.\n171.8 Motor vehicle includes a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer or semitrailer, or any\ncombination thereof, propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in\nthe transportation of passengers or property. It does not include a vehicle, locomotive,\nor car operated exclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric\npower derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation\nsimilar to street-railway service.\n171.8 Transport vehicle means a cargo-carrying vehicle such as an automobile, van,\ntractor, truck, semitrailer, tank car or rail car used for the transportation of cargo by\nany mode. Each cargo-carrying body (trailer, rail car, etc.) is a separate transport\nvehicle.\n390.5 Truck means any self-propelled commercial motor vehicle except a truck tractor,\ndesigned and/or used for the transportation of property.\n390.5 Truck tractor means a self-propelled commercial motor vehicle designed and/or used\nprimarily for drawing other vehicles.\n-----------\nName: Rex Railsback\nOrganization: Kansas Highway Patrol\nEmail: rrailsba@khp.ks.gov\nAddress: 1220 S. Enterprise\nCity: Olathe\nZip Code: 66061\nPhone: 785-256-5046\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n00€\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n954100\n267754\n4060","truncated":false,"body_characters":8821}