RPSA Clarifies Hazmat Placard Placement

June 13, 2000 9:35 AM, EDT

Hazardous materials placards may be placed at a level below the trailer’s floor and behind the rear underride guard as long as they are not obscured, according to a June 2 decision by the Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration.

	TT file photo
	Hazardous materials placards may be placed low on the rear of a trailer as long as they are not obscured in any way, RSPA said.

The decision was a reversal of an initial RSPA ruling that prohibited the practice of putting placards in such a location because they would easily be covered by dirt and debris.

American Trucking Associations argued that placards placed below the trailer bed were no more likely to be obscured by the natural elements than those placed on the trailer door.

Edward T. Mazzullo, director of the Office of Hazardous Material Standards at RSPA, acknowledged in a letter to ATA that the association and motor carrier representatives had convinced RSPA officials during a May 8 meeting that below-floor-level positioning of the signs was no more likely to obscured than a door position.

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