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Interpretation Response #11-0007 ([The Law Offices of Paul D. Borghesani] [Paul D. Borghesani])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: The Law Offices of Paul D. Borghesani

Individual Name: Paul D. Borghesani

Location State: IN Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

May 11, 2011

 

 

 

Paul D. Borghesani

The Law Offices of Paul D. Borghesani

307 S. Main Street, Suite 300

Elkhart, Indiana 46516

Ref. No.: 11-0007

Dear Mr. Borghesani:

This responds to your December 14, 2010 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if the HMR apply to the transportation of personal belongings by a driver who is operating a leased pick-up truck in commerce. The belongings in question include: battery operated cell-phones, medical devices and GPS devices, and gas cans used to fuel the driver"s non-commercial vehicles and machinery. You also reference a letter of interpretation issued by PHMSA on April 29, 2010 (Ref. No. 09-0220), which clarified that transportation of scuba tanks for personal, non-commercial use (e.g., recreation, sport fishing) is not subject to the HMR.

A driver who transports his/her own personal belongings (e.g., battery operated cell phones, medical devices and GPS devices, gas cans, etc.) for personal, non-commercial use is clearly not in commerce. Therefore, in the scenario you describe, those personal belongings are not subject to the HMR. However, any hazardous material that the driver is transporting on behalf of the motor carrier is in commerce and subject to the HMR.

You also refer to the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) 2010 program in your letter. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implements the CSA 2010 program. Information on CSA 2010 is available at the following website: http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/.

I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Ben Supko

Acting Chief, Standards Development Branch

Standards and Rulemaking Division

171.8

Regulation Sections