Hazardous Materials: Attendance And Parking

4 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.

Sources: 49 CFR 177.835, 49 CFR 397.5

What you need to know

397.5(d)(3) makes it an administrative status, not a description of the ground.

A well-chosen lot with no written approval is not a safe haven.

A safe haven is an area specifically approved in writing by local, State, or Federal governmental authorities for the parking of unattended vehicles containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials.

49 CFR 397.5

397.5(d)(1) pairs the distance with the sightline.

Awake on board also counts, but a sleeper berth does not, however close you are.

A motor vehicle is attended when the person in charge of the vehicle is on the vehicle, awake, and not in a sleeper berth, or is within 100 feet of the vehicle and has it within his/her unobstructed field of view.

49 CFR 397.5

397.5(d)(2)(iv) is the one that gets forgotten.

Somebody watching a load they cannot move is a witness, not an attendant.

Is authorized to move the vehicle and has the means and ability to do so.

49 CFR 397.5

177.835(k) names NFPA 498 as the conforming standard, which is how a site becomes federally approved rather than approved only by the local authority.

A safe haven that conforms to NFPA 498 (IBR, see § 171.7 of the subchapter) constitutes a federally approved safe haven for the unattended storage of vehicles containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 materials.

49 CFR 177.835

Check yourself

• What makes a place a safe haven?

• You are 100 feet from your explosives load. When does that count as attended?

• What must a qualified representative be able to do with your vehicle?

• Which standard gives a federally approved safe haven for explosives?

Answers are in the practice test for this topic.