DOT Releases 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released the 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released the 2016 Emergency Response Guidebook.
The Emergency Response Guidebook provides first responders with an updated go-to manual to help respond to hazardous materials transportation accidents during the critical first minutes. The guide will help emergency personnel identify specific risks associated with compromised hazardous materials and the recommended safety measures and procedures they should take to protect themselves and contain the incident.
The 2016 version of the ERG includes general revisions, expanded sections and added guide pages for absorbed gases. The ERG2016 is available free to public safety agencies in all states, territories and Native American Tribes through designated state emergency management coordinators’ offices.
The ERG contains an indexed list of dangerous goods and the corresponding 4-digit United Nations identification numbers. It also identifies the general hazards associated with the dangerous goods and recommends safety precautions.
Because hazardous materials regulations require carriers to maintain emergency response information in a readily-available location when shipping hazards materials, the ERG is an easy way to comply. Some carriers place the ERG in the vehicle to cover any hazmat situation they need it for rather than having specific solutions for each load.
PHMSA has also partnered with the National Library of Medicine to provide a free smartphone version of the ERG2016. The mobile application will be available this spring. A copy of ERG2016 is posted online here and is available for sale to the general public through the U.S. Government Printing Office Bookstore and other commercial suppliers.
More Safety & Compliance
Kodiak Lines Up Fleets for Driverless Trucking
An agreement for 75 trucks, a new Texas freight lane, and progress on safety validation move Kodiak closer to its planned driverless highway launch.
Read More →
More Trailer Data Through the Same Seven-Way [Video]
Can trucking’s standard seven-way connector handle more cameras and trailer data? Grote’s Adam Slade shows HDT how the company is using new technology with its 4See trailer system, not only to add a new backup camera but also to expand other capabilities — without adding another connection.
Read More →
PrePass Intelligence Mines Fleet Bypass, Toll and Safety Data
PrePass Intelligence helps fleets measure bypass savings, flag potential toll overcharges, and spot suspicious transactions by combining data from separate systems.
Read More →
Fatal Crash Exposes Toll Plaza Risks
An NTSB investigation found that last-minute lane changes and large speed differences at an Ohio toll plaza created a hazard the truck driver couldn't avoid in time.
Read More →
When Language Stops the Truck: The Return of ELP Out-of-Service Orders
English language proficiency rules for commercial drivers aren’t new, but renewed out-of-service enforcement has raised the stakes. Here’s what carriers need to know before a driver reaches a roadside inspection.
Read More →
A Camera Isn't a Safety Program. Here's What Brokers Are Screening for Now
Footage alone may not be enough to pass broker vetting processes. Here's what counts as a defensible safety program now.
Read More →
Marijuana and Trucking’s Drug-Testing Dilemma
Marijuana is getting stronger, laws are changing, and drug tests still can’t reliably establish impairment. What does that mean for truck drivers and the fleets that employ them?
Read More →
PrePass, Kodiak Connect Driverless Trucks to Roadside Enforcement
The system will allow enforcement agencies to verify Enhanced Inspection information and decide whether Kodiak’s autonomous trucks can bypass roadside screening sites.
Read More →
From One Generation to the Next: How Mentorship Builds Safer Truck Drivers
After three decades in trucking, Harold Perry shares what he's learned about driver safety, mentorship, and helping the next generation build confidence behind the wheel.
Read More →
FMCSA Pauses Biennial-Update Enforcement Amid Motus Transition
Carriers whose updates were due on or after June 1 have more time, while FMCSA works to stabilize its new registration system and warns of phishing sites impersonating its new carrier registration system, Motus.
Read More →