Safety is always a priority for drivers. This is especially true for those transporting hazardous materials. Strict adherence to federal and state hazmat regulations is imperative. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in stiff fines and penalties, including being barred from working with commercial transports. As the providers of long-haul trucking insurance (www.directtruckinsurance.com), we find it beneficial to make these regulations known to you.
As with all hazardous material shipments, transports carrying Class 7 radioactive materials must be clearly marked. Radioactive loads are an especially safety sensitive cargo. Merely being near such cargoes can be dangerous. Accidents involving trucks carrying radioactive materials can have consequences that threaten the lives of thousands of people.
Routes
It is the responsibility of drivers and motor carriers to choose among state designated routes for those that will minimalize radiological risk. In making this decision, it is important to consider a variety of factors including population density, accident and traffic history, and road and highway usage at the times of day that the truck will be traveling.
Deviation from state designated routes is only permitted in a handful of circumstance. If it is necessary for the truck to leave the route to pick up or offload Class 7 materials, deviation is permitted. A driver is also permitted to leave designated routes for emergency situations and for rest, fuel, and repair stops. Any deviation from the designated route must be the shortest possible deviation and must not exceed 25 miles.
Route Plans
Carriers or designated agents are required to provide a written route plan to the driver and to the shipper. Any deviations from the route plan must be documented by the driver and returned to the shipper. Route Plans must include:
-origin and destination points -route -planned stops -estimated departure and arrival times -emergency telephone numbers for each state traveled
Driver Qualifications
A driver will not be permitted to carry Class 7 materials unless they have had proper training within two years prior to the transport. This training includes an understand of the requirements for regulation 49 CFR parts 172, 173, and 177, as well as the properties of radioactive materials and emergency and accident procedures when radioactive materials are involved.
The driver must also have the following information on their person during the transport
-name and operator’s license number -dates that training was completed -the name and address of the person conducting the training -statement from trainer that the driver has been trained in the hazards and characteristics of highway route controlled quantity of Class 7 materials -route plan
Within 90 days of the beginning of the transport, the driver must file a report with the following information with Office of Enforcement and Compliance (MC- ECH), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001:
-amended route plan -statement identifying the names of the carrier, consignee, and shipper -copy of the shipping paper with a description of the Class 7 materials transported
Safety is always a priority for drivers. This is especially true for those transporting hazardous materials. Strict adherence to federal and state hazmat regulations is imperative. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in stiff fines and penalties, including being barred from working with commercial transports.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires that all trucks transporting hazardous materials have this fact clearly marked for other drivers. Drivers must always be in compliance with state and local traffic regulations.
When an accident takes place involving hazardous materials, it is important to notify all of the proper authorities. While it is important to notify your truck insurance provider as soon as possible, they are usually one of the last agencies that should be contacted. After emergency services have been contacted, but no later than 12 hours following the accident, the first agency you should contact is the Department of Transportation (DOT) National Response Center (NRC), followed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) if the incident involves etiologic agents.
These agencies should be immediately contacted in the following instances: -A person is killed. -A person receives an injury requiring hospitalization. -There in an evacuation of the general public for one hour or more. -A major transportation route is blocked or inaccessible for more than one hour. -Fire, breakage, spillage, or possibly contamination occurs with a radioactive cargo. -The spill of a marine pollutant occurs in a quantity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) of liquid material or 400 kg (882 lbs.) of solid material. -The driver deems that there is a threat to life not covered in the previous criteria.
The first report will be made by telephone. The NRC reporting number is (800) 424-8802, and the CDC reporting number is (800) 232-0124. It is important to have these numbers available at all times. Be sure to have all information prepared before calling. The information needed in this report will be:
1. Name of Reporter. 2. Name and address of person represented by reporter. 3. Phone number where reporter can be contacted. 4. Date, time, and location of incident. 5. The extent of injury, if any. 6. Class or division, proper shipping name, and quantity of hazardous materials involved if that information is immediately available. 7. The nature of the incident and whether a threat to life still exists at the scene.
The second report that needs to be filed will be DOT Form F 5800.1. It must be submitted within 30 days. In addition to the above circumstances, this form must be submitted after the following events:
-The unintentional release or discharge of hazardous materials or waste. -A specification cargo tank with a capacity of 1,000 gallons or greater containing any hazardous material suffers structural damage to the lading retention system or damage that requires repair to a system intended to protect the lading retention system, even if there is no release of hazardous material. -Undeclared hazardous materials are discovered.
Joe Trzepla has sinced written about articles on various topics from Insurance, Truck Insurance and Mortgage Insurance. Joe Trzepla works a lot in the truck insurance industry. He's a consultant for the Direct Truck Insurance Company, which is a direct insurer and specializes in