Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Application of section. The requirements of this section
applies to tiedown assemblies-including chains, cables, steel straps, other
securement devices and attachment or fastening devices used in conjunction
therewith-which are used to secure metal cargo or logs to vehicles in
transit.
(b)
Tiedown
assemblies. The aggregate static breaking strength of the tiedown
assemblies used to secure an article against movement in a direction shall be
at least 1 1/2 times the weight of that article.
(1) Chain used as a component of a tiedown
assembly shall conform with the requirements of the August 1961 edition of the
National Association of Chain Manufacturers' Welded Chain
Specifications, as amended, applicable to all types of chain. Copies
of these specifications may be secured by writing to the National Association
of Chain Manufacturers, 111 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois
60601.
(2) Steel strapping used as
a component of a tiedown assembly shall conform with the requirements of
Federal Specification No. QQ-S-781 (1973). Copies of these specifications may
be secured from the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Steel strapping that is one inch wide
or wider shall have at least two pairs of crimps in each seal and, when
end-over-end lap joints are formed, shall be sealed with at least two
seals.
(c)
Load
binders and hardware. The strength of load binders and hardware that
are part of, or used in conjunction with, a tiedown assembly shall be equal to
or greater than the minimum strength specified for the tiedown assembly in
subsection (b).
(d)
Attachment to vehicles. Tiedown assemblies shall be attached
to vehicles as follows:
(1) The hook, bolt,
weld or other connector by which a tiedown assembly is attached to a vehicle,
and the mounting place and means of mounting the connector, shall be at least
as strong as the tiedown assembly when that connector is loaded in a direction
in which the tiedown assembly may load or place a stress on it.
(2) The anchorage of a winch or other
fastening device mounted on a vehicle and used in conjunction with a tiedown
assembly shall have a combined tensile strength equal to or greater than the
strength of the tiedown assembly.
(e)
Adjustability. A tiedown
assembly and its associated connectors and attachment devices shall be
designed, constructed and maintained so that the driver of an in-transit
vehicle can tighten them. However, the provisions of this subsection does not
apply to a securement system in which the tiedown assembly consists of steel
strapping or to a tiedown assembly which is not required by this
section.
(f)
Limitations. Limitations on tiedown assemblies shall be as
follows:
(1) No chain may be used if a link is
or has been:
(i) Worn or gouged through over
10% of its thickness.
(ii) Cracked
to any extent.
(iii) Bent, twisted,
stretched or collapsed.
(iv)
Replaced by a link not as strong in tension as the minimum required in
subsection (b).
(2) On
load binders:
(i) The hook of the binder may
not be spread or distorted.
(ii)
The attaching pin may not be bent, worn over 10% of its thickness or
inadequately secured to the hook.
(iii) The binder parts may not be bent,
repaired by welding or so worn or distorted as to prevent the chain from being
tensioned properly or retaining tension when in the secured position.
(3) Cables may not be worn, frayed
or have over 10% of their strands broken at any point.
