{"operation":"document","citation":"20-0003","title":"Texas Department of Public Safety — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2020-04-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"20-0003 response to Texas Department of Public Safety concerning 172.504, 172.516.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0003.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0003.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0003","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73671/200003.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nApril 17, 2020\nCorporal Casey Jones\nTexas Department of Public Safety\nTexas Highway Patrol – Commercial Vehicle Enforcement\n600 W. Kilpatrick\nCleburne, TX 76033\nReference No. 20-0003\nDear Corporal Jones:\nThis letter is in response to your January 16, 2020, letter requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to placarding.\nSpecifically, you ask about the proper location for placards for compliance with the placement\nand visibility requirements in §§ 172.504 and 172.516.\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ1. You provided pictures in which a placard is displayed on the front face of the cargo tank\nportion of a truck (visible from the front on one side), and displayed on the “headache\nrack” of flatbed trucks, instead of the cab portion of the transport vehicle. You ask\nwhether the front placard must be attached to the front of a unit truck (i.e., grille or front\nbumper).\nA1. The answer is no. The HMR do not limit the placement of the front placard to the truck\ncab; placement on the tank portion of the truck is appropriate and placement on a\n“headache rack” is acceptable (see Letter Ref. No. 19-0124), so long as it is visible when\nfacing the front of the truck. However, we have concerns that the placement of the\nplacard shown in the picture of the bobtail truck you submitted does not appear to fully\nmeet the visibility requirements, as the placard is obscured by the truck’s mirror and\nappears to be visible from only one side of the truck. Although, from the picture alone,\nwe cannot tell if there is another placard on the opposite side of the cab.\nQ2. You ask whether side placards must be placed on the outermost edge of a vehicle or what\ndistance inward from the outermost edge is appropriate for side placards.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA2. The answer is no. Appropriate placard placement is not limited to the outermost edge of\nthe truck. The HMR do not specify a distance from the edge of the side of a transport\nvehicle at which a placard is required. Any location that satisfies the conditions of\n§ 172.516 is suitable for placard placement.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nDirk Der Kinderen\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA}\nFrom: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nAttachments:\nFriday, January 17, 2020 11 :55 AM\nHazmat lnterps\nFW: Request for PHMSA letter of interpretation\nPlacard lnterp.pdf; INTERP CASEY JONES.docx\nHello Alice and lkeya,\nAttached is a request for interpretation.\nThanks,\nJonathon\nFrom: Jones, Casey [mailto:Casey.Jones@dps.texas.gov]\nSent: Thursday, January 16, 2020 1:00 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) <INFOCNTR.INFOCNTR@dot.gov>\nSubject: Request for PHMSA letter of interpretation\nPlease see attached interpretation request.\nCorporal Casey Jones\nCommercial Vehicle Enforcement\nTexas Highway Patrol Division\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nHello Alice and lkeya,\nThe caller provided many letters of interpretation (13-0086, 14-0183, 88-0045, 00-0192, 99-0048) that\ndiscuss the proximity of placards to the actual ends or sides of the vehicle. Ultimately the caller wants to\nknow what is close enough to be considered on the end or side.\nThanks,\nJonathon\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nTEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY\n5805 N LAMAR BLVD• BOX 4087 • AUSTIN, TEXAS 78773-0001\n512/424-2000\nwww.dps.texas.gov\nSTEVEN C. McGRAW\nDIRECTOR\nSKYLOR HEARN\nFREEMAN F. MARTIN\nRANDALL B. PRINCE\nDEPUTY DIRECTORS\nCOMMISSION\nSTEVEN P. MACH, CHAIRMAN\nA CYNTHIA LEON\nSTEVE H. STODGHILL\nJanuary 16, 2020\nHazardous Materials Standards and Rulemaking\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nRe: Letter of Interpretation for Placard Placement 49 CFR § 172.504\nDear Sir or Madam,\nThere is some confusion not only with industry but also with enforcement when it comes to the proper placement of a\nplacard on a transport vehicle when placards are required. The wording in 172.504 simply states \"on each side and each\nend\" which does seem self-explanatory. Past interpretations seem to contradict themselves or just not clarify the\ndifference between the placement requirement of 172.504 and the visibility requirement of 172.516. More specifically,\nthe confusion seems to be what is considered to be the actual ends and sides of a transport vehicle. The idea that a\nplacard simply has to be visible to the direction it is facing is the prevailing thought. I have included some photos of\nsingle unit trucks that have a front placard which is facing and visible to the front, but are located behind the cab of the\ntruck, not on the actual front end of the truck. I am also including a photo of a flatbed semi-trailer which is displaying\nits side placard on a placard holder that has been mounted approximately 7.5 inches inward from the actual side of the\ntrailer. This placement seems to be practical to help minimize damaging the placard, but is not the actual side of the\ntrailer. Some carriers have even mounted the side placard to the trailer main frame rail under the flatbed which is\napproximately 2.5 feet inward from the outer edge of the trailer.\nI. When a transport vehicle is required to be placarded, does a front placard have to be on the actual front end of\na single unit truck (the grille or front bumper)?\n2. When a transport vehicle is required to be placarded, do side placards have to be placed on or at the actual\noutermost edge ofa vehicle? If not, what would be an appropriate distance inward from the outermost edge?\nRespectfully Submitted,\nCpLC$e~fl--- ·\nTexas Dept. of Public Safety\nTexas Highway Patrol- Commercial Vehicle Enforcement\n600 W. Kilpatrick\nCleburne, TX 76033\n(817) 202-2450\nEQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER\nCOURTESY• SERVICE• PROTECTION\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\n\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\n\n\n<<<PAGE 8>>>\n\n\n\n<<<PAGE 9>>>\n\n51638\n\n<<<PAGE 10>>>\n\n\n\n<<<PAGE 11>>>\n\n2922\n2922","truncated":false,"body_characters":6129}