Pennsylvania Code › Title 67 - TRANSPORTATION › Part I - Department of Transportation › Subpart A - Vehicle Code Provisions › Article VII - Vehicle Characteristics › Chapter 181 - HOLD-DOWN AND TIEDOWN DEVICES FOR JUNKED VEHICLES AND VEHICLE HULKS › Section 181.5 - Securement systems

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
General requirements.
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 cargo to motor vehicles in transit. Devices which are used to
					 secure cargo to a motor vehicle in transit under this chapter shall conform
					 with the requirements of this section.
(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. Chain used as a component of a tiedown assembly shall
					 conform with the requirements of the August 1961 edition to the Welded Chain
					 Specifications of the National Association of Chain Manufacturers, 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 St., Chicago, IL 60601. 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, U. S. 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 that tiedown assembly in subsection
					 (b).
(d)
Attachment to the
					 vehicle.
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.
(e)
Winches or other fastenings.
The anchorages 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.
(f)
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 the provisions of
					 this section.
(g)
Tiedown
					 limitations.
Limitations on tiedowns shall be as follows:
(1) No chain may be used if any link is:
(i) Worn or gouged through over 10% of its
					 thickness.
(ii) Cracked to an
					 extent.
(iii) Bent, twisted,
					 stretched or collapsed.
(iv) If a
					 replacement or connecting link is not as strong in tension as the minimum
					 required by subsection (b).