Motorized Vehicles & Mechanical Equipment

All vehicles in use will be checked at the beginning of each shift to assure that the following parts, equipment, and accessories are in safe operating condition and free of apparent damage that could cause failure while in use:

• Service brakes, including trailer brake connections;

• Parking system (hand brake)

• Emergency stopping system (brakes)

• Tires

• Horn

• Steering mechanism

• Coupling devices

• Seat belts

• Operating controls

• Safety devices

All defects will be corrected before the vehicle is placed in service. These requirements also apply to equipment such as lights, reflectors, windshield wipers, defrosters, fire extinguishers, etc., where such equipment is necessary.

All equipment left unattended at night, adjacent to a highway in normal use, or adjacent to construction areas where work is in progress, will have appropriate lights or reflectors, or barricades equipped with appropriate lights or reflectors, to identify the location of the equipment.

A safety tire rack, cage, or equivalent protection will be provided and used when inflating, mounting, or dismounting tires installed on split rims, or rims equipped with locking rings or similar devices.

Heavy machinery, equipment, or parts thereof, which are suspended or held aloft by use of slings, hoists, or jacks will be substantially blocked or cribbed to prevent falling or shifting before employees are permitted to work under or between them.

Whenever the equipment is parked, the parking brake will be set. Equipment parked on inclines will have the wheels chocked and the parking brake set.

All equipment covered by this standard will comply with the following requirements when working or being moved in the vicinity of power lines or energized transmitters, except where electrical distribution and transmission lines have been deenergized and visibly grounded at point of work or where insulating barriers, not a part of or an attachment to the equipment or machinery, have been erected to prevent physical contact with the lines:

• For lines rated 50 kV or below, minimum clearance between the lines and any part of the crane or load will be 10 feet;

• For lines rated over 50 kV, minimum clearance between the lines and any part of the crane or load will be 10 feet plus 0.4 inch for each 1 kV over 50 kV, or twice the length of the line insulator, but never less than 10 feet;

• In transit with no load and boom lowered, the equipment clearance will be a minimum of 4 feet for voltages less than 50 kV, and 10 feet for voltages over 50 kV, up to and including 345 kV, and 16 feet for voltages up to and including 750 kV;

• A person will be designated to observe clearance of the equipment and give timely warning for all operations where it is difficult for the operator to maintain the desired clearance by visual means;

• Cage-type boom guards, insulating links, or proximity warning devices may be used on cranes, but the use of such devices will not alter the requirements of any other regulation of this part even if such device is required by law or regulation;

• Any overhead wire will be considered to be an energized line unless and until the person owning such line or the electrical utility authorities indicate that it is not an energized line and it has been visibly grounded;

• Prior to work near transmitter towers where an electrical charge can be induced in the equipment or materials being handled, the transmitter will be de-energized or tests will be made to determine if electrical charge is induced on the crane.

No employee will use any motor vehicle equipment having an obstructed view to the rear unless:

• The vehicle has a reverse signal alarm audible above the surrounding noise level; or

• The vehicle is backed up only when an observer/spotter signals that it is safe to do so.

All vehicles with cabs will be equipped with windshields and powered wipers. Cracked and broken glass will be replaced.

All cab glass will be safety glass, or equivalent, that introduces no visible distortion affecting the safe operation of any machine.

All haulage vehicles, whose pay load is loaded by means of cranes, power shovels, loaders, or similar equipment, will have a cab shield and/or canopy adequate to protect the operator from shifting or falling materials.

Seat belts will be provided on all equipment covered by this policy. The use of seat belts will be enforced even if the equipment has a roll-over protection canopy (ROP) or adequate canopy protection. If that is the case, both the seat belt and ROP should be in place.

All haulage vehicles, whose pay load is loaded by means of cranes, power shovels, loaders, or similar equipment, will have a cab shield and/or canopy adequate to protect the operator from shifting or falling materials.

Trucks with dump bodies will be equipped with positive means of support, permanently attached, and capable of being locked in position to prevent accidental lowering of the body while maintenance or inspection work is being done.

Operating levers controlling hoisting or dumping devices on haulage bodies will be equipped with a latch or other device which will prevent accidental starting or tripping of the mechanism.

Trip handles for tailgates of dump trucks will be so arranged that, in dumping, the operator will be in the clear.

All vehicles will have a service brake system, an emergency brake system, and a parking brake system. These systems may use common components, and will be maintained in operable condition.

Whenever visibility conditions warrant additional light, all vehicles in use will be equipped with at least two headlights and two taillights in operable condition.

All vehicles, or combination of vehicles, will have brake lights in operable condition regardless of light conditions.

All vehicles will be equipped with an adequate audible warning device at the operator’s station and in an operable condition.

Seat belts and anchorages meeting the requirements of 49 CFR Part 571 (Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) will be installed in all motor vehicles.

Vehicles used to transport employees will have seats firmly secured and adequate for the number of employees to be carried.

Tools and material will be secured to prevent movement when transported in the same compartment with employees.

Unauthorized personnel will not be permitted to ride on powered industrial trucks. A safe place to ride will be provided where riding of trucks is authorized.