Just some of the stupid things I see

I got my hazmat pre 9/11, so periodic tire check rules were in place. It expired and I never bothered to renew it. The rule didn't state you had to pull over after X amount of time and log 15 minutes on duty for a VI. You could have done the TC on line 1. You just had to show a TC about every 4 hours on your logs.

 

I think you had better reread 397.7 in regards to parking on the side of the road (cannot be within 5 feet of the traveled portion of a public street or highway), as well as 397.17(b) which contains an exception stating "However, the vehicle may be driven to the nearest safe place to perform the required repair, replacement, or inflation"....not to mention 397.17(d) which clearly states that "Compliance with the rules of this section does not relieve a driver from the duty to comply with the rules in 397.5 (attendance/surveillance) and 397.7 (parking).

 

As I stated, I got my hazmat pre 9/11. 9/11 changed quite a few regulations regarding hazmat trucks.

 

No. You're correct. We do not log 15 minutes. We flag it. A tire check (thump thump, back of hand for heat) takes less than three minutes. But it does need to be documented.

 

That's what I was referring to. A simple 'TC' flag on the logbook. I could have sworn that was still a requirement for hazmat.

 

Good to know. I've never personally been in a wreck, just know drivers who have been cited for defects resulting from the crash.

 

It's not a requirement for hazmat, but proper logging of a change of duty status of less than 7.5 minutes, you flag it. Usually you'll be going from driving to an offduty for a break. So to CYA, you just let everyone know that you did check them. After all a logbook is a diary of sorts. If you get in a wreck, anyone can look at your logbook. Yep he did check his tires. It says it right here. It's like flagging a post trip. It was a short change of duty status.

When you stop and 397.17 says check your tires every stop, that can mean a driver can drive all day. Anyone that's had hazmat training is taught to stop every 2 hours or 100 miles. That's not in the regulations but in the hazmat bible and most, if not all driver handbooks.

A driver is also allowed to drive to a shop or safe haven with a flat tire. That doesn't give you the right to drive down the interstate below the minimum speed limit. One has to use common sense and make a decision on what they are hauling and how much weight you are hauling on whether they can drive somewhere. If a tire is coming apart, you don't want to be slinging it everywhere like you see some dummies do. If you are heavy you don't want to be climbing hills on 3 tires because the weight shifts. Drivers have blowouts and don't even stop. They don't know it didn't pop the tire next to it. One needs to stop and analyze the situation before proceeding.

 

Not bad, but two points; 1) "flagging" applies to stops of less than 15 minutes, and 2) there is no FMCSA requirement to write what is being done in the remarks section, although company policy may dictate otherwise.