Hazmat · Driving and Parking Rules
Federal regulation puts a tire duty on the driver of a hazardous materials vehicle. When do the tires get examined, and what follows from finding a bad one?
Explanation
The examination duty falls on the driver, and it has two separate triggers: the start of each trip, and each time the vehicle is parked. If an examination or anything else reveals a tire that is flat, leaking or improperly inflated, the driver must cause it to be repaired, replaced or properly inflated before the vehicle is driven, with one narrow allowance: the vehicle may be driven to the nearest safe place to have that done. An overheated tire is handled differently and more urgently, because heat signals a developing fire: the driver must immediately cause it to be removed and placed at a safe distance from the vehicle, and must not operate the vehicle until the cause of the overheating has been corrected. Complying with this section does not relieve the driver of the attendance and parking duties in the same part. The wrong options each drop one of the two examination triggers or soften the consequence, allowing a leaking tire to run to delivery, letting an overheated tire cool in place, or replacing the fixed triggers with the driver's suspicion and a 24-hour repair window.
Source: 49 CFR 397.17
Related Driving and Parking Rules questions
- Federal parking limits for a hazardous materials vehicle split according to whether the load is Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 explosive material. What does the regulation set for each case?
- Your placarded vehicle carries a hazardous material that is not Division 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3, and it is stopped on the shoulder of a public highway. Who has to attend it, and what counts as attending?
- Your load is placarded and no state or tribal routing designation applies to it. What does federal regulation say about the route, and what does the carrier owe you if the load is explosives?
- The federal smoking rule also reaches an empty tank motor vehicle that was required to be marked or placarded for the Class 3, flammable or Division 2.1 flammable gas material it last carried. For a loaded vehicle, what does the rule forbid, and which materials does it name?