Federal Rules To Avoid Cargo Spill Accidents
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recognizes the potential hazards of a tractor-trailer cargo spill. In 2002, the FMCSA published new federal and state trucking regulations that impose load limits and standards for securing, blocking and bracing cargo.
In Part 392.9 of the FMCSA regulations, the agency states that “a driver may not operate a commercial motor vehicle and a motor carrier may not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle unless the commercial motor vehicle’s cargo is properly distributed and adequately secured.”
Every motor carrier, its officers, agents, representatives, and employees responsible for the management, maintenance, operation, or driving of commercial motor vehicles, or the hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers, must be instructed in and comply with the rules of Part 392, the FMCSA states.
Just a few of the items addressed by Part 392 concerning tractor-trailer cargo include:
- Performance requirements concerning actions by the truck, including braking, that cargo securement systems must withstand
- Cargo placement and restraint
- Requirements for securement devices
- Minimum number of tiedowns
- Proper use of tiedowns
- Unrated and unmarked anchor points.
FMCSA rules require truck drivers to frequently inspect and, if necessary, adjust their cargo. This includes:
- Inspecting the cargo and the devices used to secure the cargo within the first 50 miles after beginning a trip
- Reexamining the commercial motor vehicle’s cargo and its load securement devices during the course of transportation
- Reexamining the commercial motor vehicle’s cargo and making any necessary adjustments whenever the driver makes a change of his duty status or the CMV has been driven for 3 hours or 150 miles – whichever comes first.
Clearly, the FMCSA means for drivers and carriers to see to it that tractor-trailer cargo is secured to ensure against cargo accidents resulting from shifts or spills.
Still, accidents happen. According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, “cargo shifted” serves as one of the leading “critical events.” When cargo shifts, a truck can abruptly swerve within a lane or go across lanes. It can also jackknife or rollover. Cargo that spills from improperly loaded trucks can cause other cars to crash, harm pedestrians or, in cases of hazardous material spills, cause property and/or environmental damage. When cargo spills occur because a driver failed to inspect, adjust and secure cargo as required, or a truck carrier did not properly supervise their employee, the driver and/or carrier can be held liable for the accidents that follow.
