The transport of a hazardous material can be accomplished by four modes (rail, highway, air, or water) and by even more forms of a transport vehicle. If the mode of transport is highway, the transport vehicle used must be a motor vehicle. But just what is a motor vehicle?
Motor vehicle is defined at 49 CFR 171.8:
Motor vehicle includes a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer, or any combination thereof, propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property. It does not include a vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.
So, let’s break it down:
A motor vehicle includes, but is not limited to, the following or any combination of them:
- Vehicle
- Machine
- Tractor
- Trailer
- Semitrailer
Now, you might be thinking, “Hold on, how can a trailer or semitrailer be a motor vehicle?” Well, we’re not done. A motor vehicle must be, “propelled or drawn by a mechanical power”. So, a trailer just sitting there is not a motor vehicle. Combined with a vehicle, machine, tractor, or some other mechanical power, and it becomes a motor vehicle.
Where you can go with a motor vehicle is limited solely to highways. This doesn’t mean just the interstate, it means any road with public access.
And, for the purposes of the USDOT/PHMSA Hazardous Materials Regulations, a motor vehicle must be used for the transportation of passengers or property.
That’s about it. The rest of the definition is spent explaining what a motor vehicle is not: a vehicle, locomotive, or car operated on rails or a passenger trolley.
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Contact me with any questions you may have about the transportation of hazardous materials by air, highway, vessel, or rail International and Domestic Daniels Training Services, Inc. 815.821.1550 |
Frequently asked questions:
Q: Is this a motor vehicle? (see images below)
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- This is not a motor vehicle
A: No. Since it is not, “…propelled or drawn by mechanical power…” it can’t be a motor vehicle.
Q: But what if I use one of the above to transport a hazardous material by highway? Would it be subject to the HMR?
A: No, again. Since it is not a motor vehicle, it does not fall with USDOT/PHMSA’s regulatory scope of transportation functions at 171.1(c) which includes “…movement of a hazardous material by rail car, aircraft, motor vehicle, or vessel…” (emphasis mine). So, no mechanical power, no motor vehicle. No motor vehicle, no applicable Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Q: Well, is this a motor vehicle? (see images below).
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- Cargo Tank Motor Vehicle
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- Semi-trailer
A: Yes. Each of these is a motor vehicle.
Q: How do a motor vehicle and a transport vehicle (also defined in §171.8) differ?
A: Though they sound similar, a motor vehicle and a transport vehicle are defined separately and have distinct requirements under the HMR. Refer to this article for a full explanation of a transport vehicle. In brief, the cargo carrying components of a motor vehicle, e.g. the trailer or trailers of a semitrailer, are considered separate transport vehicles (Q1/A1 of LOI 12-0220).