§397.5(a) requires that a motor vehicle containing Division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 (explosive) hazardous materials be attended at all times by its driver or a qualified representative. §397.5(b) extends a more limited attendance requirement to other hazardous materials at certain locations. §397.5(c) defines "attended" — the person is awake, not in the sleeper berth, and within 100 feet of the vehicle with an unobstructed view of it, or in the vehicle itself.
Severity weight
Severity weight 7 in the HM Compliance BASIC. The cite is consequential because the rule defends against the highest-consequence HM incidents — an unattended load of Class 1 in a populated area is the failure mode the §397 series was written to prevent.
How it gets cited
The two patterns: (1) the driver leaves the vehicle for a meal or a rest period at a location not designated as a safe haven and without arranging a qualified representative; (2) the qualified-representative arrangement does not meet §397.5(c) — the substitute is not within 100 feet, not awake, or not aware they are responsible for the load.
How to prevent it
- Plan HM routes around designated safe havens (§397.7); attended-load requirements apply between safe havens.
- Train every driver on what "qualified representative" means — informal arrangements are §397.5 cites waiting to happen.
- For Class 1 loads, build the trip plan around continuous attendance — there is no driver meal break that satisfies §397.5(a) at a roadside.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
HM Compliance findings link to the driver's HM training record (§172.704) and to the route documentation, so the §397.5 attendance failure is visible alongside the §397.7 parking and §397.13 smoking findings in a single HM corrective-action stream.