reflective tape on rear of truck

Here's the regulation that deals with reflective sheeting on trailers. I'm not familiar with tape on the mud flaps of trailers.
Sorry thought you asked about the trailer. Anyway here is the trailer regulation. A lot of driver's ask me about this.

§393.13 Retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors, requirements for semitrailers and trailers manufactured before December 1, 1993.

(a) Applicability. All trailers and semitrailers manufactured prior to December 1, 1993, which have an overall width of 2,032 mm (80 inches) or more and a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, except trailers that are manufactured exclusively for use as offices or dwellings, pole trailers (as defined in §390.5 of this subchapter), and trailers transported in a driveaway-towaway operation, must be equipped with retroreflective sheeting or an array of reflex reflectors that meet the requirements of this section. Motor carriers operating trailers, other than container chassis (as defined in §393.5), have until June 1, 2001, to comply with the requirements of this section. Motor carriers operating container chassis have until December 1, 2001, to comply with the requirements of this section.

(b) Retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors. Motor carriers are encouraged to retrofit their trailers with a conspicuity system that meets all of the requirements applicable to trailers manufactured on or after December 1, 1993, including the use of retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors in a red and white pattern (see Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 (49 CFR 571.108), S5.7, Conspicuity systems). Motor carriers which do not retrofit their trailers to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 108, for example by using an alternative color pattern, must comply with the remainder of this paragraph and with paragraph (c) or (d) of this section. Retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors in colors or color combinations other than red and white may be used on the sides or lower rear area of the semitrailer or trailer until June 1, 2009. The alternate color or color combination must be uniform along the sides and lower rear area of the trailer. The retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors on the upper rear area of the trailer must be white and conform to the requirements of FMVSS No. 108 (S5.7). Red retroreflective sheeting or reflex reflectors shall not be used along the sides of the trailer unless it is used as part of a red and white pattern. Retroreflective sheeting shall have a width of at least 50 mm (2 inches).

(c) Locations for retroreflective sheeting.
(c)(1) Sides. Retroreflective sheeting shall be applied to each side of the trailer or semitrailer. Each strip of retroreflective sheeting shall be positioned as horizontally as practicable, beginning and ending as close to the front and rear as practicable. The strip need not be continuous but the sum of the length of all of the segments shall be at least half of the length of the trailer and the spaces between the segments of the strip shall be distributed as evenly as practicable. The centerline for each strip of retroreflective sheeting shall be between 375 mm (15 inches) and 1,525 mm (60 inches) above the road surface when measured with the trailer empty or unladen, or as close as practicable to this area. If necessary to clear rivet heads or other similar obstructions, 50 mm (2 inches) wide retroreflective sheeting may be separated into two 25 mm (1 inch) wide strips of the same length and color, separated by a space of not more than 25 mm (1 inch).

(c)(2) Lower rear area. The rear of each trailer and semitrailer must be equipped with retroreflective sheeting. Each strip of retroreflective sheeting shall be positioned as horizontally as practicable, extending across the full width of the trailer, beginning and ending as close to the extreme edges as practicable. The centerline for each of the strips of retroreflective sheeting shall be between 375 mm (15 inches) and 1,525 mm (60 inches) above the road surface when measured with the trailer empty or unladen, or as close as practicable to this area.

(c)(3) Upper rear area. Two pairs of white strips of retroreflective sheeting, each pair consisting of strips 300 mm (12 inches) long, must be positioned horizontally and vertically on the right and left upper corners of the rear of the body of each trailer and semitrailer, as close as practicable to the top of the trailer and as far apart as practicable. If the perimeter of the body, as viewed from the rear, is not square or rectangular, the strips may be applied along the perimeter, as close as practicable to the uppermost and outermost areas of the rear of the body on the left and right sides.

(d) Locations for reflex reflectors.
(d)(1) Sides. Reflex reflectors shall be applied to each side of the trailer or semitrailer. Each array of reflex reflectors shall be positioned as horizontally as practicable, beginning and ending as close to the front and rear as practicable. The array need not be continuous but the sum of the length of all of the array segments shall be at least half of the length of the trailer and the spaces between the segments of the strip shall be distributed as evenly as practicable. The centerline for each array of reflex reflectors shall be between 375 mm (15 inches) and 1,525 mm (60 inches) above the road surface when measured with the trailer empty or unladen, or as close as practicable to this area. The center of each reflector shall not be more than 100 mm (4 inches) from the center of each adjacent reflector in the segment of the array. If reflex reflectors are arranged in an alternating color pattern, the length of reflectors of the first color shall be as close as practicable to the length of the reflectors of the second color.

(d)(2) Lower rear area. The rear of each trailer and semitrailer must be equipped with reflex reflectors. Each array of reflex reflectors shall be positioned as horizontally as practicable, extending across the full width of the trailer, beginning and ending as close to the extreme edges as practicable. The centerline for each array of reflex reflectors shall be between 375 mm (15 inches) and 1,525 mm (60 inches) above the road surface when measured with the trailer empty or unladen, or as close as practicable to this area. The center of each reflector shall not be more than 100 mm (4 inches) from the center of each adjacent reflector in the segment of the array.

(d)(3) Upper rear area. Two pairs of white reflex reflector arrays, each pair at least 300 mm (12 inches) long, must be positioned horizontally and vertically on the right and left upper corners of the rear of the body of each trailer and semitrailer, as close as practicable to the top of the trailer and as far apart as practicable. If the perimeter of the body, as viewed from the rear, is not square or rectangular, the arrays may be applied along the perimeter, as close as practicable to the uppermost and outermost areas of the rear of the body on the left and right sides. The center of each reflector shall not be more than 100 mm (4 inches) from the center of each adjacent reflector in the segment of the array.
[64 FR 15605, March 31, 1999, as amended at 66 FR 30339, June 6, 2001.]

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Canadian rules:

[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standards/conspicuity/TBMpstr.html

 

section 571.108 part s5.7.1.4.3

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=571.108

S5.7.1.4.3 Rear of truck tractors. Retroreflective sheeting shall be applied to the rear of each truck tractor as follows:
(a) Element 1: Two strips of sheeting in alternating colors, each not less than 600 mm long, located as close as practicable to the edges of the rear fenders, mudflaps, or the mudflap support brackets, to mark the width of the truck tractor. The strips shall be mounted as horizontal as practicable, in a vertical plane facing the rear, on the rear fenders, on the mudflap support brackets, on plates attached to the mudflap support brackets, or on the mudflaps. Strips on mudflaps shall be mounted not lower than 300 mm below the upper horizontal edge of the mudflap. If the vehicle is certified with temporary mudflap support brackets, the strips shall be mounted on the mudflaps or on plates transferable to permanent mudflap support brackets. For a truck tractor without mudflaps, the strips may be mounted outboard of the frame on brackets behind the rear axle or on brackets ahead of the rear axle and above the top of the tires at unladen vehicle height, or they may be mounted directly or indirectly to the back of the cab as close to the outer edges as practicable, above the top of the tires, and not more than 1525 mm above the road surface at unladen vehicle height. If the strips are mounted on the back of the cab, no more than 25 percent of their cumulative area may be obscured by vehicle equipment as determined in a rear orthogonal view.

 

LMAO...all this bureaucratic BS and just for reflective tape. No wonder we cannot keep up or possibly be compliant with everything all the timei think. I think officers really need to keep this in mind when the cite minor infractions.

 

This is mostly for the trailer manufacturer's now. I know there is still some old trailers out there, but a good majority are from 93 and newer. Obviously you must have never seen a trailer ride down the road without lights. Because when the trailer has the tape that is required, you can see it. Numerous fatal collisions are the reason that the tape is required. I can think of one in my career where a car was driving down the road in the fog. Unknowingly a driver was backing his tractor trailer into a driveway, in the dark on a two lane roadway, with no trailer lights. The trailer did not have any tape either. Car never hit the brakes and ran under the trailer, decapitating the two occupants.

 

I thought the same thing. It does make your head spin...doesn't it?

 

well, it might seem like it, but there are reasons for it all...
a guy i went to school with (same name and age as myself, but no relation whatsoever) had his pigtail unexpectedly fail as he was making a left turn across a divided highway into a truck stop. it was in the dead of the night, in a misty, rainy drizzle. a witness later testified that his trailer lights were completely inoperative as he started his turn. suddenly, a local driver forced his way out of the truck stop driveway, making him stop before his trailer had cleared the divided highway... wait, there's more...
an ambulance was headed down the divided highway, rushing a man to the hospital who was barely clinging to life following a bad fatality accident which had previously occurred a couple dozen miles up the road... yeah, you guessed it...
the ambulance came over a small rise in the roadway, unable to see the trailer through the hazy mist until it was too late. the paramedics were both killed instantly when the ambulance smashed into the side of the trailer at full speed (by some stroke of divine intervention, the patient in the back of the ambulance survived, leaving him as the survivor of 2 multiple fatality wrecks within an hour of each other)...
reflective tape would have prevented the accident.
absolute compliance with the reflective tape mandate is absolutely expected, as it very well should be. there is no disagreement from me, nor should there be any disagreement from anybody who values life.
i do, however, take issue with the officers who take out a measuring tape, subsequently citing a truck for violations consisting of mere fractions of an inch. i have seen trucks cited for violations that could only be measured in millimeters...
"the reflective tape on the upper left door of your trailer is 294 millimeters long. that's 6 mm short of the required 300 millimeters. you are currently being placed out of service, and violations will be added to your csa basic score. understand that your signature below is not a plea of guilty, and you have 30 days to remit a cashiers's check or money order to the address listed on the reverse side of this citation..."
really? are we seriously at the point where exact specifications cause enforcement criteria to override basic human logic?
are we really, even in a trial lawyer's wildest imaginations, going to picture the accident which might have been avoided, if the reflective tape on the upper left door of a trailer had been 6 millimeters longer?
compliance? absolutely!!! but how about adding in just a little bit of common sense into the enforcement aspects?

 

What is a "rear orthogonal view"?