Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Each flatbed vehicle on which objects meeting the limits
indicated in paragraph (d) or (e) of this section are being transported must be
equipped with devices providing protection against shifting or falling cargo.
These devices must meet the requirements of at least one of the following
paragraphs - (a), (b), (c), or (d) - and, in addition, must conform to the
rules in Sections
558.50,
558.60, and
558.70.
a) The flatbed vehicle must have sides,
sideboards, or stakes and a rear endgate, endboard, or stakes. Those devices
must be strong enough and high enough to assure that cargo will not shift upon,
or fall from, the vehicle. Those devices must have no aperture large enough to
permit cargo in contact with one or more of the devices to pass through
it.
b) The flatbed vehicle must
have at least one tiedown assembly that meets the requirements of Section
558.50 for
each 10 linear feet of lading or fraction thereof. In addition, the vehicle
must have as many additional tiedown assemblies meeting the requirements of
Section
558.50 as are
necessary to secure all cargo being transported either by direct contact
between the cargo and the tiedown assemblies or by dunnage which is in contact
with the cargo and is secured by tiedown assemblies. Tiedown assemblies or
dunnage in contact with sufficient exterior (including topmost) pieces of the
cargo and securely holding each interior piece comply with this
requirement.
c) The flatbed vehicle
must have other means of protecting against shifting or falling cargo which are
at least as effective as those specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this
Section.
d) Whenever a motor
carrier transports one or more coils of metal which, individually or as a
combination banded together, weigh 5,000 pounds or more and the vehicle does
not conform to the rules in paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) of this Section, the
coils shall be secured as listed below. The same tiedown assembly shall not be
used to comply with more than one of the requirements of paragraphs (d)(1)(A),
(B), or (C) of this Section.
1) Coils with
eyes vertical (see Illustration A - Figure 1): One or more coils which are
grouped and loaded side by side in a transverse or longitudinal row must be
secured by all three of the following tiedown assemblies -
A) A tiedown assembly against the front of
the coil or row of coils, restraining against forward motion; and
B) A tiedown assembly against the rear of the
coil or row of coils, restraining against rearward motion; and
C) A tiedown assembly over the top of each
coil or transverse row of coils, restraining against vertical motion.
2) Coils with eyes crosswise (see
Illustration A-Figure 2): Each coil transverse row of coils loaded side by side
and having approximately the same outside diameters must be secured by -
A) A tiedown assembly through the eye of each
coil, restricting against forward motion and making an angle of less than 45
degrees with the horizontal when viewed from the side of the vehicle;
and
B) A tiedown assembly through
the eye of each coil, restricting against rearward motion and making an angle
of less than 45 degrees with the horizontal when viewed from the side of the
vehicle; and
C) Timbers, having a
nominal cross section of 4 x 4 inches or more and a length which is at least 75
percent of the width of the coil or row of coils, tightly placed against both
the front and rear sides of the coil or row of coils and restrained to prevent
movement of the coil or coils in the forward and rearward directions.
D) If coils are loaded to contact each other
in the longitudinal direction and relative motion between coils, and between
coils and the vehicle, is prevented by tiedown assemblies and timbers -
i) Only the foremost and rearmost coils must
be secured with timbers; and
ii) A
single tiedown assembly, restricting against forward motion, may be used to
secure any coil except the rearmost one, which must be restrained against
rearward motion. However, in every case, at least one tiedown assembly shall be
used for each coil or transverse row of coils.
3) Coils with eyes lengthwise (see
Illustration A-Figure 3): A coil or transverse row of coils having
approximately equal outside diameters and loaded side by side or a longitudinal
row of coils having approximately equal outside diameters and loaded end to end
must be secured as follows:
A) The coil or
coils must be restrained against side-by-side and fore-and-aft movement by -
i) One or more tiedown assemblies over the
top of each coil or transverse row; or
ii) Two or more tiedown assemblies through
the eye of each coil or longitudinal row; or
iii) One or more tiedown assemblies, crossing
from one side of the vehicle to the other, through the eye of each coil or
longitudinal row of coils in a transverse row.
B) Timbers having nominal cross section of 4
x 4 inches or more must be tightly placed against the sides of each coil or
against the outboard sides of each transverse row of coils which are loaded
side by side so that the timbers restrain against side-to-side
movement,
C) If, in accordance with
paragraph (d)(3)(A)(i) of this Section, only one tiedown assembly over the top
of each coil or transverse row of coils is used to restrain against
side-to-side movement and fore-and-aft movement, timbers a nominal cross
section of 2 x 4 inches or more and which are firmly secured to longitudinal
blocking must be tightly placed against the front and back of each coil, each
longitudinal row of coils, and each transverse row of coils in a manner which
restricts forward and rearward movement.
4) Timber which is used for blocking must be
sound lumber which is free of defects (such as knots or cracks) that materially
reduce its strength.
5) Timbers
need not be used on vehicles which have depressions in the floor or are
equipped with other restraining devices which perform the functions specified
for timbers by the rules in this Section.
6) As used in this Section, the term
"nominal", when used to describe timber, means commercially dressed sizes
generally designated by the dimensions indicated.
e) Except as provided in paragraph (e)(3) of
this Section, whenever a motor carrier transports steel rolls or other objects
including, but not limited to, cut-to-length bars, plates, rods, sheet and tin
mill products, billets, blooms, ingots, slabs, structural shapes, or pipe, and
other tubular products and those objects, either individually or as a
combination of objects banded or boxed together and handled as a single unit,
weigh more than 2,000 pounds, and the vehicle does not conform to the rules in
paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) of this Section, the object shall be secured in the
following manner:
1) A single object, a group
of objects, or a combination of objects loaded side by side across the width of
the vehicle must be secured by at least one tiedown assembly over its top for
at least every 8 feet of its length and at least two tiedown assemblies
securing each individual object or combination of objects banded or otherwise
secured together and handled as a single unit. However, objects which
individually have a strength of 8 feet or less and which are securely butted
against each other in the fore-and-after direction may be secured by metal
angles secured by tiedown assemblies, or they may be secured by a timber having
a nominal cross section of 4 x 4 inches or more placed longitudinally over the
objects and secured by tiedown assemblies. Tiedown assemblies may not be
located beyond the ends of the object which they secure.
2) If objects are tiered and each tiered
object rests securely on the one beneath it, the tier may be secured in the
same manner as a single level of those objects is secured in accordance with
the rules in this Section.
3) The
rules in this paragraph do not apply to special loads consisting of machinery
or fabricated structural items, such as beams, girders, and trusses, which are
fastened by special methods. However, those loads must be securely and
adequately fastened to the vehicle.
