{"operation":"document","citation":"12-0220","title":"Mr. Aaron Dills — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2013-01-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"12-0220 concerning 172.516.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0220.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0220.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0220","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120220.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nJAN 1 7 201.3\nMr. Aaron Dills\n23 Hicks Gap Rd.\n--------1f'J-- laixs¥ille,GA 3 0512\nef. No. 12-0220\nhis responds to your September 28, 2012 request for clarification of placarding requirements\nnder the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you\nsk for clarification on visibility and display requirements for placards specified in § 172.516.\nn your letter, you provide photographs of your placarded transport tanks and descriptions of\nlacarding violations you have been issued by law enforcement. Your questions are paraphrased\nnd answered as follows:\nQ 1. What are the definitions of the terms \"motor vehicle\" and \"transport vehicle\" as\nreferenced in § 172.516?\nA 1. A \"motor vehicle\" as defined in § 171.8 and referenced in § 172.516, includes a\nvehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer, or any combination thereof, propelled or\ndrawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of\npassengers or property. It does not include a vehicle, locomotive, or car operated\nexclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a\nfixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street railway\nservice.\nMotor vehicle cargo carrying components are considered transport vehicles. As defined·\nin § 171.8 and referenced in § 172.516, a \"transport vehicle\" is a cargo carrying vehicle,\nsuch as an automobile, van, tractor, truck, semi-trailer, tank car, rail car used for the\ntransportation of cargo by any mode. Each cargo carrying body (trailer, rail car, etc.) is a\nseparate transport vehicle.\nQ2. Section 172.516 states that each placard on a motor vehicle must be clearly visible\nfrom the direction it faces, except from the direction of another transport vehicle to which\nthe motor vehicle or rail car is couple,d. What does the language \"Except from the\ndirection of another transport vehicle used in § 172.516(a) mean? You consider the\nlanguage \"except from the direction of another transport vehicle\" to mean the view\nlooking straight at the truck and trailer while being attached together.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA2. The language \"[ e ]xcept from the direction of another transport vehicle\" used in\n§ 172.516(a) means a placard is not required on a truck tractor/semi-trailer configuration\nif the front of the truck tractor (motorized unit) of the semi-trailer (tank) is placarded on\neach side and each end. In your example, your understanding is correct, a placard is not\nrequired on the front of the truck tractor if the tank is placarded on each side and each\nend, even if the placard on the front of the tank is not visible.\nQ3. What does PHMSA consider the front of the tank vehicle or transport vehicle as\nreferenced in § 172.516? It is your understanding that the front or rear of a tank to be\nanywhere on the tank head or tank tail.\nA3. PHMSA does not define the term \"front\" with regard to tank or transport vehicles.\n!-!()wever,PHtviSJ\\. C<)llsiders a forwardor rear facing placard,_ mounted so thatits plane is\nsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, is considered to be\nvisibly mounted on the end (i.e. front or back) of the transport vehicle. Additionally,\nwhen the front of a transport vehicle is blocked by another transport vehicle (e.g., the\ntruck tractor blocks the front of the semi-trailer), it is our opinion that mounting a placard\non the front of the truck tractor in accordance with § 172.516(b ), although not the only\npermissive method, is the most effective means of satisfying the visibility requirements in\n§ 172.516(a).\nQ4. Is a placard required to be placed on the front of a trailer/tanker if it is hooked to a\ntractor?\nA4. Sections 172.504 and 172.516 requires each transport vehicle to be placarded on\neach side and each end, and, each placard on a motor vehicle must be dearly visible from\nthe direction it faces, except from the direction of another transport vehicle (e.g. a tractor)\nto which the motor vehicle is coupled. The required placarding of the front of a motor\nvehicle may be on the front of a truck tractor (motorized unit) instead of OR in addition\nto the placarding on the front of the cargo body (tank) to which a truck tractor is attached.\nhope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office at\n202) 366-8553.\nincerely,\nobert Benedict\nhief, Standards Development Branch\ntandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nBoo-fhe\n~ 17'). . 5 f(p\nII 7. · tO I\nP!acard;fJJ\nFro :\nSen:\nTo:\nSubJect:\nAttachments: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nFriday, September 28, 2012 3:05PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Fw: Fw: 172.5161NTERPRETATION/YES or NO?\nGT-51 PT-33 1075 PLACARD.jpg; LNG 1972 PLACARDS.jpg; PT-7 1075 PLACARD.jpg;\nHow to UNZIP.html; SecureZIP Attachments.zip\n1~- O~:LO\nCaro yn,\nWe ceived the following request for a formal letter of interpretation.\n--\n~-\n---\n\"\"'::.\n_\n_ __ --:\n-\n_\n. -~\n--Fro 1 : Aaron--Dills [mailto:aaron:dills@goochtrucking.com]\nSen : Friday, September 28, 2012 2:47 PM\nTo: I FOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSubj ct: Fw: Fw: Fw: 172.516 INTERPRETATION/YES or NO?\ntime I read this I arrive at another question as you can tell please read and decipher all that you\ncan ...\n1. ello, this is a request for an interpretation of not only 172.516 but any reg. that has to do with\nplac · rding of a hazmat load.\n2. T e first attached is the info from Ref. No. 08-0098 which is somewhat helpful but did not directly answer\nmy q estion.\nsecond is PT -7 107 5 placard, a picture of my trailer that received the placard violation.\nthird is PT -7 violation warning.\nfourth is GT-51 PT-33 1075 placard view similar to most of my trailers.\nfifth is LNG 1972 placard view similar to most of our trailers.\n172.5 6 Visibility and display of placards.\n(a) E ch placard on a motor vehicle and each placard on a rail car must be clearly visible from the direction it\nfaces except from the direction of another transport vehicle or rail car to which the motor vehicle or rail car is\ncoupl d. This requirement may be met by the placards displayed on the freight containers or portable tanks\nloade on a motor vehicle or rail car. Does this mean if I have a 500 gallon LPG tank loaded on my 48 foot\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nflat ed with a headboard on the trailer that it will be legal to put all the placards on the tank itself and not get a\ntick t? However they will not be visible from the front ofthe truck or trailer.????????\nQ stion 1. In this section what exactly is a motor vehicle (just a truck)? Except from the direction of another\ntran port vehicle? I consider this to be looking straight at the truck and trailer while being attached together. Is\nthat orrect.?\n(b) he required placarding of the front of a motor vehicle may be on the front of a truck-tractor\ninst ad of or in addition to the placarding on the front of the cargo body to which a truck-tractor is\natta hed.\nQ 2 Now after reading (b) I consider a motor vehicle to be a truck and trailer. Which would have\nbee much easier said. As you can see in my pictures all our tanks have the placards on the front.\nWh re is the front? The MC 331 has a half circle welded on. MC 338 is a semi half circle. There is a\ndisti ct weld line between tank shell and tank head. All these years i have considered the front or rear\nto b anywhere on the tank head or tank tail. What is the direct yes or know answer as to where the\nfran or rear is located?\nthis (b) it says MAY be on the front of a truck-tractor instead of or in addition to the placarding on\nront of the cargo body. I know there are placards on the front of all my trailers that are viewable\nthe front while sitting on my yard that have all passed hundreds of inspections over the years.\nthere is a officer that says it is not visible from the front left. It was moved as you can see in the\npict re only because another DOT rep. wrote a warning because the sticker was behind the air lines\nand it was obstruction the view.\nIf he placard was on the truck instead of on the trailer there is gonna be another DOT rep. write a\ntick t because its not on the trailer. Someone should draw a straight line to all these questions that\nmys If and other people have but instead it is left up to DOT discretion. That is an awful way to get a\nrep I from a DOT officer. Does the trailer need the placard if the truck has it on the front? Does the\ntrue need the placard if the trailer has it on all4 sides? Yes or No?\nWhe placarding is required by 172.504(a) of the HMR, a transport vehicle must be placarded on each side and\neach nd. This says yes all 4 sides. If you cant see it from the front whats the point?The HMR require a placard\nto be clearly visible from the direction it faces, except from the direction of another transport vehicle to which it\nis co pled (coupled trailer to a tractor?) (see 172.516(a)) and 516 is not clear to most people there is to much\nroo for different opinions. For purposes of the HMR, a \"transport vehicle\" is a cargo-carrying vehicle, such as\na va , tractor, trailer, semi-trailer,(TANKER?), tank car, or rail car used for the transportation of cargo by any\nmod . The truck carries the trailer the trailer carries the load ... Each cargo-carrying body is a separate transport\nvehi e. In accordance with 171.8, a transport vehicle with no intermediate form of containment meets the\ndefin tion of a bulk packaging.\nRef. No. 08-0098\nTher fore, this letter clarifies that in the truck-tractor trailer configuration that you describe, a forward or rear\nfacin placard, mounted so that its plane is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle,\nmay must?) be on the fender as long as it is visibly mounted on the end of the transport vehicle.( This does not\nappl to my question we do not put placards on any fender. However if they were on a fender and not visible\nfrom he front of the truck we will arrive at the same problem again or in my situation the officer would have\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nsai fro lea he couldn't see it from the left front if it was on the front right fender??) .... You should also note, when the\nof a transport vehicle (Tanker?) is blocked by another transport vehicle( Truck/tractor?) (e.g., the truck\ntrac or blocks the front of the semitrailer(Tanker?) it is our opinion (There should only be laws not opinions this\nto a DOT discretion/opinion) that mounting a placard on the front of the truck-tractor in accordance with\n172 516(b) is the most effective means of\nsati fying the visibility requirements in 172. 516( a). In the top of this paragraph you just stated that it may\n(mu t?) be on the fender as long as it is visibly mounted on the end of the transport vehicle ....\nQ 3 Why will no one answer a direct question with a direct answer. I have spoke to 6 six different\nopi ionated people about this and 3 were at the http://phmsa.dot.gov/regulations 2 of them agreed to\ndis gree and the 3rd told me to ask for an interpretation. I assume the way you will arrive at an exact\ner is to take a vote to see how many different agreeable opinions that is thrown out there.\n8 ttom line is, where is the front and does the placard have to be on the front of trailer/tanker if it is\nhoo ed to a tractor?\nAar n Dills\nBlai sville GA. 30512\nCell 706-897-3505\n3\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\n1075\n2\nLIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS\nPF-Z\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\n1922\n\n<<<PAGE 8>>>\n\n1075\nLIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS\nPT-\n\n<<<PAGE 9>>>","truncated":false,"body_characters":11525}