§392.9 puts the cargo-securement responsibility on the driver: the driver must confirm distribution, securement, devices, and accessibility before driving, must inspect within the first 50 miles, and must re-inspect every 3 hours or 150 miles (whichever comes first), at every change of duty status, and after any event affecting securement. §393 subpart I sets the performance standards; §392.9 enforces the driver's check.
Severity weight
Severity weight 5 in the Unsafe Driving BASIC. The carrier-side counterpart (§393.100 et seq.) is in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC — a single shifted-load finding can hit both BASICs.
OOS
Cargo that does not meet §393 securement performance is placed out of service. The driver cannot continue until the load is re-secured, and the carrier must document the corrective action.
How to prevent it
- Train drivers to the §393 subpart I standards — most violations come from missing or insufficient tiedowns, not from no tiedowns at all.
- Build the 50-mile / 3-hour / 150-mile re-inspection into the route plan so it is not skipped.
- Commodity-specific rules (logs, metal coils, large boulders, intermodal containers) live in §393.116–.136 — train per commodity.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
Roadworthy HQ logs §392.9 citations against the driver and vehicle, retains the §391.51 securement training acknowledgment, and surfaces the corrective action in the audit binder.