{"operation":"document","citation":"13-0069","title":"Go Glow Placard — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2013-05-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"13-0069 response to Go Glow Placard concerning 172.500.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0069.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0069.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0069","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2013/130069.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMAY 0 6 LUIJ\nMr. Patrick D. Nimtz\nGo Glow Placard\nP.O. Box 741\nOnalaska, WI 54650\nReference No. 13-0069\nDear Mr. Nimtz:\nThis responds to your March 29, 2013 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to certain placarding requirements. You\nask for a letter of recommendation that states that your product, a light emitting diode (LED)\nplacard frame, is \"legal.\" In your letter, you state that your transport vehicles have LED placard\nframes that hold standard 1 0-3/4\" placards, and the frames have amber LED light strips that border\nthe placards. In addition, you state that the LED light strips get wired directly in to the marker\nlights and brake lights, and that they will function as such. You also state that these LED's are\nlow lit, and are no brighter than the marker lights that are already on the trailer. Finally, you note\nthat this interpretation letter request is in addition to a petition you had previously submitted to the\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), P-1600, for which you\nreceived a response from PHMSA dated March 13, 2013. Your questions are paraphrased and\naddressed below.\nQ 1: Is the use of these LED placard frames prohibited by the HMR?\nA I: The answer is no, provided the use of them complies with all the applicable requirements\nin Subpart F of Part 172.\nQ2: As submitted in the original petition, can PHMSA revise the HMR to require all placards\nto be lit in low light and night time driving?\nA2: In accordance with 49 CFR § 106.105, your petition was previously denied because your\npetition did not include a safety analysis demonstrating justification to require placards to\nbe illuminated during low light driving conditions. In addition, your petition did not\ninclude a quantitative estimate of the costs to upgrade cargo vehicles. Generally, such an\nestimate would include the initial cost of installation and maintenance. If you can provide\nthe required information as stated in the response to the petition (P-1600), we will be glad\nto review it.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nPlease contact Mr. Steven Andrews in the Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch of the\nStandards and Rulemaking Division at 202-366-8553 for more information. I look forward to\nworking with you and your organization to ensure that hazardous materials are transported safely\nand securely.\nI hope this information is helpful.\n[U-Hf~\n1...~ T. Glenn Foster\nV Chief~ Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nINFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nFriday, March 29,2013 1:56PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Letter of Request for Interpretation\n13-CJ061\nHi Carolyn,\nThis caller requested we submit his e-mail as a letter of interpretation. In his phone conversation with Andrew in the Info\nCenter, Mr. Nimtz noted that this request is in addition to the petition for rulemaking change submitted on the same issue\n( P-1600).\nThanks,\nVictoria\nFrom: Pat Nimtz [mailto:goglowplacard@gmail.com]\nSent: Friday/ March 291 2013 1:04PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSubject: Letter of Request for Interpretation\nMy name is Pat Nimtz, I'm the owner of Go Glow Placard. It is an LED\nplacard frame that holds a standard 10-3/4\" placard, this frame is no\ndifferent than what is already out on the road, other than it has a amber\nLED light strip that boarders the placard, these will be put on 3 sides of\nthe trailer and a red LED light strip boarders the placard that is placed\non the rear of the trailer. These get wired in directly to the marker\nlights and break lights and will function the same way. These are low lit,\nno brighter than the marker lights that are already on the trailer. This\nallows the general population awareness of the carrier hauling hazardous\nmaterial. In low light, bad weather, rain, fog, blizzards, etc. The tab\nthat secures the placard, is the on and off switch, this allows the unit to\nbe turned off when not carrying a placard. This reassures that you are not\nadvertising when you are not carrying hazardous materials. I am looking for\na signed letter of recommendation that this is legal on our trailers for\nour roadways. These are in compliance with all the rules and regulations of\na placard frame and the compliance to marker lights.\nI thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.\nSincerely,\nPat Nimtz\nGo Glow Placard\n608-792-1164\ngoglowplacard@gmail.com\n1","truncated":false,"body_characters":4615}