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Part 397

§397.1 Application of the rules in this part.


Question 1: Who is subject to part 397?

Guidance: Part 397 applies to motor carriers that transport HM in interstate commerce in types and quantities requiring marking or placarding under 49 CFR 177.823. The routing requirements of part 397 establish guidelines State and Indian tribal routing agencies must employ in designating and/or restricting routes for the transportation of HM. Interstate motor carriers transporting HM, in interstate or intrastate commerce, must comply with the designations and restrictions established by the routing agencies.

Question 2: Is the interstate transportation of anhydrous ammonia, in nurse tanks, subject to part 397?

Guidance: The requirements of part 397 do not apply to the direct application of ammonia to fields from nurse tanks. However, part 397 does apply to the transportation of nurse tanks on public highways, when performed by interstate motor carriers.

§397.5 Attendance and surveillance of motor vehicles.


Question 1: What defines a ‘‘public highway’’ or ‘‘shoulder’’ of a public highway for the purpose of determining violations under §397.5(c)?

Guidance: The applicable engineering/highway design plans.

Question 2: Must a driver of a motor vehicle transporting HM, other than Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (Class A or B) explosives, always maintain an unobstructed view and be within 100 feet of that vehicle?

Guidance: No. If the vehicle is not located on a public street or highway or on the shoulder of a public highway, then the vehicle need not be within 100 feet of the driver’s unobstructed view, unless it contains Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (Class A or B) materials.

Question 3: May a motor carrier consider fuel stop operators as ‘‘qualified representative(s)’’ for purposes of the attendance and surveillance requirements of §397.5?

Guidance: Yes. However, the fuel stop operator must be able to perform the required functions.

Question 4: Who determines what is a ‘‘safe haven’’?

Guidance: The selection of safe havens is a decision of the ‘‘competent government authorities’’ having jurisdiction over the area. The definition found in §397.5(d)(3) is purposely void of any specific guidelines or criteria. A truck stop may be considered a safe haven if it is so designated by local or State governmental authorities.

Question 5: Section 397.5(d)(3) describes a safe haven as ‘‘* * * an area specifically approved in writing by local, State, or Federal governmental authorities for the parking of unattended vehicles containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials.’’ Do guidelines exist for establishing approval criteria for safe havens? Is there a national list of approved safe havens available to the public?

Guidance: The FHWA believes the safe haven concept is becoming increasingly obsolete due to readily available alternatives for providing ‘‘attendance at all times’’ for vehicles laden with explosives. The FHWA is aware of two documents that may be used as resources for establishing approval criteria for safe havens. The first document, Construction and Maintenance Procedure Recommendations for Proposed Federal Guidelines of Safe Havens for Vehicles Carrying Class A or Class B Explosives (1985), contains design, construction, and maintenance guidelines. The second document, Recommended National Criteria for the Establishment and Operation of Safe Havens (1990), contains recommended national uniform criteria for approval of safe havens and an inventory of all State-approved safe havens in existence at the time of the report. These two documents may be used both as resources for establishing guidelines for safe haven design and construction, and as source documents for finding other materials that may be used toward the same purpose. These two documents are available to the public through the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161 (phone: (703) 487-4650). The NTIS publications database is also accessible on the internet’s world wide web at http://www.fedworld.gov/ntis.

Question 6: May video monitors be used to satisfy the attendance requirements in §397.5?

Guidance: The purpose of the attendance requirement is to ensure that motor vehicles containing hazardous materials are attended at all times and that, in the event of an emergency involving the motor vehicle, the attendant is able to respond immediately. The use of video monitors could satisfy the attendance requirements in §397.5, provided the monitors are operable and continuously manned, the attendant is within 30.48 meters (100 feet) of the parked vehicle with an unobstructed view, and the attendant is able to go to the vehicle immediately from the monitoring location.

§397.7 Parking.


Question 1: When is a vehicle considered ‘‘parked’’?

Guidance: For the purposes of part 397, ‘‘parked’’ means the vehicle is stopped for a purpose unrelated to the driving function, (e.g., fueling, eating, loading, unloading).

Question 2: What constitutes ‘‘knowledge and consent of the person in charge,’’ as used in §397.7(a)(2)?

Guidance: In order to satisfy the requirement for ‘‘knowledge and consent,’’ actual notice of ‘‘the nature of the hazardous materials the vehicle contains’’ must be given to the person in charge, and that person must affirmatively agree to allow the vehicle to be parked on the property under his/her control.

Question 3: Is the motor carrier or driver relieved from the requirements of §397.7(a)(3) if the person in charge of the private property is notified of the explosive HM contained in the vehicle?

Guidance: No. A vehicle transporting Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (Class A or B) explosives must meet the 300-foot separation requirement, regardless of any notification made to any person.

Question 4: What is meant by the term ‘‘brief periods when necessities of operation require * * *’’ in §397.7(a)(3)?

Guidance: Brief periods of time depend upon the ‘‘necessities of operation’’ in question. Parking a vehicle containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (Class A or B) materials closer than 300 feet to buildings, dwellings, etc. for periods up to 1 hour for a driver to eat would not be permitted under the provisions of §397.7(a)(3). Parking at fueling facilities to obtain fuel, oil, etc., or at a carrier’s terminal would be considered necessities of operation.

Question 5: May a safe haven be designated within 300 feet of an area where buildings and other structures are likely to be occupied by large numbers of people?

Guidance: The selection and designation of safe havens are a decision of the ‘‘competent government authorities’’ having jurisdiction over the area.

Question 6: If a motor vehicle is transporting Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (Class A or B) explosives and is parked in a safe haven, must it be in compliance with the parking requirements of §397.7?

Guidance: Yes. Safe havens, as outlined in §397.5, relate to attendance and surveillance requirements. The parking restrictions of §397.7 still apply.

Question 7: May a driver transporting Division 1.1, 1.2, or1.3 (Class A or B) materials park within 100 feet of an eating establishment in order to meet the attendance and surveillance requirements?

Guidance: No, because it will result in a violation of §397.7(a)(3).

§397.9 [Removed and Reserved]


Editor's Note: This section was removed from the regulations. Regulatory information related to this interpretation is now contained in §397.67.

Question 1: May a motor vehicle which contains HM use expressways or major thoroughfares to make deliveries within a populated area?

Guidance: Yes, unless otherwise specifically prohibited by State or local authorities. In many instances a more circuitous route may present greater hazards due to increased exposure. However, in those situations where a vehicle is passing through a populated or congested area, use of a beltway or other bypass would be considered the appropriate route, regardless of the additional economic burden.

§397.13 Smoking.


Question 1: May a driver of a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) transporting HM, listed in §397.13, smoke while at the controls or in the sleeper berth of the vehicle?

Guidance: No. All persons are prohibited from smoking or carrying lighted smoking materials at any time while on or within 25 feet of such a vehicle. The word ‘‘on’’ includes any time while in the cab, sleeper berth, etc.

Part 399

§399.207 Truck and truck-tractor access requirements.


Question 1: If a high-profile COE truck or truck-tractor is equipped with a seat on the passenger’s side, must steps and handholds be provided for any person entering or exiting on that side of the vehicle?

Guidance: Yes, all high-profile COE trucks and truck tractors shall be equipped on each side of the vehicle where a seat is located, with a sufficient number of steps and handholds to comply with the requirements of §399.207(a).

Question 2: What does the foot accommodation rule mean when it states: ‘‘The step need not retain the disc at rest’’?

Guidance: The note under §399.207(b)(4) states that the disc referred to is a measuring device. The step or rung does not have to be configured in such a manner as to keep the measuring disc from falling off the step or rung.

Question 3: In §399.207(b)(4), Illustration III, what does the unshaded area within the disc suggest?

Guidance: The unshaded area illustrates the height of the open area required for a driver to insert his or her foot.

Question 4: May the step be a rung? If so, what minimum diameter must the rung be?

Guidance: Yes, the step may be a rung. There is no minimum requirement for the diameter of a step rung. However, it must meet the performance requirements in §399.207(b)(5).



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