...
Scope
The driver of a motor vehicle transporting hazardous materials must receive training on the applicable requirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Regulatory citations
- 49 CFR 172.704 — Training requirements
- 49 CFR 177.816 — Driving training
- 49 CFR 390-397
Key definitions
- Hazardous material: A substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under section 5103 of Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions.
- Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR): The regulations at 49 CFR parts 171 through 180.
- Motor vehicle: Is a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer, or any combination thereof, propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property. It does not include a vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.
Summary of requirements
The driver of a motor vehicle transporting hazardous materials must receive hazmat training on the applicable requirements specified in 172.704. This includes General Awareness/Familiarization, Function-specific, Safety, Security Awareness, and In-depth Security training. See the topic Training for more information on these. In addition, the driver must receive driver training on the safe operation of the motor vehicle that will be transporting hazardous materials. 177.816
The driver must receive thorough training in the applicable requirements of 49 CFR Parts 390-397, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation (FMCSR), and the procedures necessary for the safe operation of the motor vehicle.
Driver training must include the following:
- Pre-trip safety inspection;
- Use of vehicle controls and equipment, including operation of emergency equipment;
- Operation of vehicle, including turning, backing, braking, parking, handling, and vehicle characteristics including those that affect vehicle stability, such as effects of braking and curves, effects of speed on vehicle control, dangers associated with maneuvering through curves, dangers associated with weather or road conditions that a driver may experience (e.g., blizzards, mountainous terrain, high winds), and high center of gravity;
- Procedures for maneuvering tunnels, bridges, and railroad crossings;
- Requirements pertaining to attendance of vehicles, parking, smoking, routing, and incident reporting; and
- Loading and unloading of materials, including—
- Compatibility and segregation of cargo in a mixed load;
- Package handling methods; and
- Load securement.
In addition to the above driver training requirements, each person who operates a cargo tank or a vehicle with a portable tank with a capacity of 1,000 gallons or more, must receive specialized training applicable to the requirements found in the hazardous materials regulations and have the appropriate state-issued commercial driver’s license required by 49 CFR Part 383.
Specialized training shall include the following:
- Operation of emergency control features of the cargo tank or portable tank;
- Special vehicle handling characteristics, including: high center of gravity, fluid load subject to surge, effects of fluid-load surge on braking, characteristic differences in stability among baffled, unbaffled, and multi-compartmented tanks; and effects of partial loads on vehicle stability;
- Loading and unloading procedures;
- The properties and hazards of the material transported; and
- Retest and inspection requirements for cargo tanks.
The driver training requirements may be satisfied by compliance with the current requirements for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with a tank vehicle and/or hazardous materials endorsement. However, the hazmat employer must determine the applicability of the CDL and endorsements to the specific functions the hazmat employee will be performing and provide training for the functions not covered by the CDL and endorsements.