Reader Comments – 04-02-09 – Hazmat Truck Routing

Fred Millar posted a comment to last Thursday’s blog about hazmat truck security about a requirement “for hazmat trucks to avoid cities” and refers us to 49 CFR 397.71 for the source of that mandate. Well, it is not often that I get to say this, but I think that I caught Fred in a mistake. Section 397.71 sets the “Federal Standards” which any State or Indian Tribe must comply with to establish hazmat route restrictions. I can’t find anything in that extensive section that calls for hazmat trucks to avoid cities. Actually, what I think Fred was referring to was § 397.67(b) which states that:

“A motor carrier carrying hazardous materials required to be placarded or marked in accordance with 49 CFR 177.823 and not subject to a NRHM [Non-Radiological Hazardous Material] routing designations pursuant to this subpart, shall operate the vehicle over routes which do not go through or near heavily populated areas, places where crowds are assembled, tunnels, narrow streets, or alleys” (emphasis added).

As Fred noted there are a significant number of ‘except where’ provisions that follow that make a general prohibition of transiting urban areas essentially unenforceable. Additionally there is no definition of ‘heavily populated areas’, ‘places where crowds are assembled’, or ‘narrow streets’; the lack of definition makes these terms ‘vague’ and unenforceable. The sole exception is the transportation of “explosives in Class 1, Divisions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, as defined in 49 CFR 173.50” {§ 397.67 (d)}; these hazmat require a written route plan so these are subject to some sort of potential review. The one saving grace for this hazmat regulation is that is specifically allows States and Indian Tribes to establish/prohibit hazmat routes; § 397.71 provides details on how those routes can be set up. This is different from the railroad routing that provides a near blanket pre-emption for federal rules. The reason is that if a state were to make large portions of urban areas off-limits to hazmat trucks (except for local deliveries – the ultimate exception) there would be routes around those areas truckers could use that would not require shifting their load to another company. With the wide availability of electronic navigation aids and GPS devices, it might be time to re-look at the hazmat route selection issue for truck borne shipments of hazardous chemicals. Restricted routes could be programmed into these devices and could even be designed to alert local authorities if the hazmat truck entered certain restricted areas.