Interpretation Response #13-0069 ([Go Glow Placard] [Mr. Patrick D. Nimtz])

Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 05/06/2013

Company Name: Go Glow Placard

Individual Name: Mr. Patrick D. Nimtz

Location State: WI Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

May 6, 2013

Mr. Patrick D. Nimtz 
Go Glow Placard
P.O. Box 741
Onalaska, WI  54650

Reference No. 13-0069

Dear Mr. Nimtz:

This responds to your March 29, 2013 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to certain placarding requirements.  You ask for a letter of recommendation that states that your product, a light emitting diode (LED) placard frame, is “legal.”  In your letter, you state that your transport vehicles have LED placard frames that hold standard 10-3/4” placards, and the frames have amber LED light strips that border the placards.  In addition, you state that the LED light strips get wired directly in to the marker lights and brake lights, and that they will function as such.  You also state that these LED’s are low lit, and are no brighter than the marker lights that are already on the trailer.  Finally, you note that this interpretation letter request is in addition to a petition you had previously submitted to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), P-1600, for which you received a response from PHMSA dated March 13, 2013.  Your questions are paraphrased and addressed below.

Q1: Is the use of these LED placard frames prohibited by the HMR?

A1: The answer is no, provided the use of them complies with all the applicable requirements in Subpart F of Part 172.

Q2: As submitted in the original petition, can PHMSA revise the HMR to require all placards to be lit in low light and night time driving?
A2: In accordance with 49 CFR § 106.105, your petition was previously denied because your petition did not include a safety analysis demonstrating justification to require placards to be illuminated during low light driving conditions.   In addition, your petition did not include a quantitative estimate of the costs to upgrade cargo vehicles.  Generally, such an estimate would include the initial cost of installation and maintenance.  If you can provide the required information as stated in the response to the petition (P-1600), we will be glad to review it.  
Please contact Mr. Steven Andrews in the Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch of the Standards and Rulemaking Division at 202-366-8553 for more information.  I look forward to working with you and your organization to ensure that hazardous materials are transported safely and securely.
I hope this information is helpful.  

Sincerely,

T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

172.516

Regulation Sections