MEC&F Expert Engineers : Unsecured Packages Tops in Top 10 HazMat Violations

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Unsecured Packages Tops in Top 10 HazMat Violations





Don’t get caught short by a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) roadside inspection. In its most recent data for fiscal year (FY) 2015, DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had performed 68,763 roadside inspections of trucks targeting compliance with hazardous materials transportation regulations. During these inspections, DOT inspectors found 14,860 violations.


The top violation DOT inspectors have found so far in FY 2015 is that packages are not secured in vehicles. At 1,207 violations, this mistake accounted for 8.12% of the total violations. Following at a close second, inspectors have found 1,197 instances when there was no copy of the U.S. DOT registration number in the vehicles.

Four of the top 10 violations have to do with placarding requirements. In some cases, the placards were not there at all and, in some cases, the placards were damaged or obscured.

Two of the top 10 violations are related to shipping papers.  For instance, did you realize that you cannot carry the shipping papers in a clipboard that has a metal cover unless you have clearly marked the clipboard to indicate that it contains the shipping papers?
Here’s a look at the top 10 hazmat transportation violations by trucks uncovered by DOT inspectors so far in FY 2015.

 
Regulation
Violation Description
# of inspections
# of violations
% of total violations
1
49 CFR 177.834
Package not secure in vehicle
1,158
1,207
8.12%
2
49 CFR 107.620
No copy of US DOT hazardous materials registration number
1,195
1,197
8.06%
3
49 CFR 172.516
Placard damaged, deteriorated, or obscured
920
998
6.72%
4
49 CFR 177.817
No shipping papers (Carrier)
746
770
5.18%
5
49 CFR 172.504
Vehicle not placarded as required
732
770
5.18%
6
49 CFR 177.817
Shipping paper accessibility
759
761
5.12%
7
49 CFR 172.602
Emergency response information missing
606
606
4.08%
8
49 CFR 172.202
Failure to enter basic description of hazardous materials in proper sequence
587
604
4.06%
9
49 CFR 172.502
Failure to provide carrier- required placards
564
571
3.84%
10
49 CFR 177.823
No placards/markings when required
392
459
3.09%