Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration February 15, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces its decision to grant the Automobile Carriers Conference (ACC) of the American Truck Associations (ATA) for a limited 5-year exemption to relieve motor carriers operating stinger steered automobile transporter equipment from the requirement to place warning flags on projecting loads of new motor vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require any commercial motor vehicle (CMV) transporting a load which extends more than 4 feet beyond the rear of the vehicle be marked with a single red or orange fluorescent warning flag at the extreme rear if the projecting load is 2 feet wide or less, and two warning flags if the projecting load is wider than 2 feet, located to indicate the maximum width of loads which extend beyond the sides and/or rear of the vehicle. The Agency has determined that the lack of warning flags on stinger steered automobile transporter equipment when transporting motor vehicles would not have an adverse impact on safety and that adherence to the terms and conditions of the exemption would achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety provided by the regulation.