Safety radio hazards

As part of the security program, the driver of a vehicle canying a safety permit-required hazardous material must make contact with his/her carrier at the beginning and end of each duty tour and at the pick-up and delivery of the load. Contact may be made by phone, radio, or via an electronic tracking or monitoring system. 

The operator of a motor vehicle used to transport a hazardous material listed in 385.403 must follow the com-mvmications plan reqmred in 385.407(b)(2) to make contact with the carrier at the beginning and end of each duty tour, and at the pickup and delivery of each permitted load. Contact may be by telephone, radio or via an electronic tracking or monitoring system. The motor carrier or driver must maintain a record of communications for 6 months after the initial acceptance of a shipment of hazardous material for which a safety permit is required. The record of communications must contain the name of the driver, identification of the vehicle, permitted material(s) being transported, and the date, location, and time of each contact required under this section. 

In radio frequency (RF) communications, BLOS refers to communications beyond visual distance or beyond-line-of-sight. High-frequency (HF) communications in the 2-30 MHz band provide BLOS communication. Maintaining communications with an autonomous UMS has safety implications loss of communications or incorrect communications is a hazard source. 

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