Driving Motor Vehicles

1. Driving Motor Vehicles

2. Reference Part 392 Driving of Motor Vehicles http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/392.htm

3. Ill or Fatigued Operator Drivers shall not drive when their ability and/or alertness is impaired by: • Fatigue • Illness • Any other cause that makes it unsafe to drive the vehicle

4. Drugs No driver may be on duty and possess, be under the influence of, or use: • Any Schedule I drug • Any amphetamine or formulation (including pep pills and bennies) • Narcotics or derivatives • Any other substance that makes driving unsafe

5. Alcohol A driver is forbidden to: • Consume or be under the influence of alcohol within four hours of going on duty, while on duty, or while driving • Possess an alcoholic beverage while on duty, unless it is a manifested part of the shipment

6. Follow the Speed Limit No motor carrier shall schedule a run that would necessitate the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) being operated at speeds greater than the posted speed limits.

7. Equipment Inspection and Use • No commercial motor vehicle shall be driven unless the driver is satisfied that the parts and accessories are in good working order • No driver shall fail to use or make use of such parts and accessories when needed

8. Safe Loading No one may drive or require anyone to drive a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) unless the cargo is properly loaded and secured.

9. Operating Authority A motor vehicle providing transportation requiring registration may not be operated without the required registration or operated beyond the scope of its registration.

10. Railroad Crossing • Motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials, and most buses transporting passengers, are forbidden to cross railroad tracks without first stopping and looking both ways

11. Railroad Crossing • The driver MUST not shift gears while crossing the track

12. Hazardous Conditions • Extreme caution in the operation of a CMV shall be exercised when hazardous conditions affect visibility or traction • Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist • If conditions become dangerous, the operation of the CMV shall be discontinued and shall not be resumed until the vehicle can be safely operated

13. Seat Belt A driver MUST NOT drive before correctly restraining him/herself, if the vehicle is equipped with seat belt assemblies.

14. Emergency Signals • When a vehicle stops on a highway or shoulder the vehicles flashers must be activated at once. • The driver must leave the flashers on until warning devices are activated • The flashers must be used while the warning devices are being picked up

15. Placement of Warning Devices • One warning device must be placed on the traffic side of the vehicle, within 10 feet, in the direction of approaching traffic • A second device must be placed facing approaching traffic about 100 feet away in the center of the lane/shoulder where the vehicle is stopped • The third device must be placed about 100 feet away from the stopped vehicle away from approaching traffic

16. Placement of Warning Devices No driver shall attach or permit anyone to attach any flame-producing emergency signal to any part of the vehicle.

17. Obscured Lamps/Reflectors No commercial motor vehicle shall be driven when any of the required lamps or reflectors are obscured.

18. Ignition of Fuel Prevention No driver or any employee of a motor carrier shall: • Fuel a CMV with the engine running • Smoke or expose any open flame in the vicinity of a CMV being fueled • Fuel a CMV unless the nozzle of the fuel hose is continuously in contact with the intake pipe of the fuel tank • Permit any person to engage in activities that would result in fire or explosion

19. Unauthorized Passengers No driver shall transport any person or permit any person to be transported on any CMV, other than a bus, unless specifically authorized in writing to do so by the motor carrier.

20. Safe Operation of Buses No person shall drive unless : • All standees on the bus are behind the standee line • Baggage or freight on the bus is stowed and secured in a manner which assures: • Unrestricted freedom of movement to the driver • Unobstructed access to all exits • Protection of occupants of the bus against injury resulting from the falling or displacement of articles transported in the bus

21. Proper Exits No person shall ride within the closed body of a CMV or its trailer unless there are means on the inside of easily exiting.

22. Carbon Monoxide No person shall drive any CMV or permit any passengers thereon, when the following conditions are known to exist: • an occupant has been affected by carbon monoxide • carbon monoxide has been detected in the interior • a mechanical condition of the CMV is discovered that would likely produce a carbon monoxide hazard to the occupants

23. Flame-producing Heaters No open flame heater shall be in operation while the commercial motor vehicle is in motion.

24. Radar Detectors Radar detectors shall not be used by a driver in a CMV A driver shall not operate any CMV that is equipped with a radar detector Motor carriers shall not require or permit a driver to violate the radar detector provisions

25. Thank You!