MFA Oil Company recently loaned a bobtail propane truck to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) Motor Carrier Services/Safety and Compliance Division for a day of training.
Luke Fitzpatrick, west central district manager, and Chad Laune, plant manager, arranged for the delivery of the bobtail truck to a MoDOT facility in Jefferson City. Missouri Highway Patrol officers used the truck as a demonstration tool to show MoDOT transportation investigators proper procedures for hazardous materials vehicle inspections.
“It is crucial to use live mock-ups in our training,” says Travis Ellis, a MoDOT motor carrier investigations specialist. “It is too abstract to just talk about an inspection–it is imperative to have partners like MFA Oil to conduct proper inspection training.”
Scrutinizing vehicles transporting hazardous materials is integral to an investigator’s job and helps keep the state’s roads safe.
“We like our investigators to perform thorough inspections of all vehicles, especially those that haul hazardous materials,” Ellis says. “These inspections help to ensure that the hazardous materials being transported on our highways are in the approved package, that there are no leaks, and that the communications such as placards, markings, shipping papers, etc. are accurate.”
Proper documentation and communicative materials on the truck are vital in aiding first responders such as firefighters and emergency medical technicians in determining what materials may be present in the event of a crash, leak or fire.
“Our emergency responders need to know what they are dealing with to do their jobs to the best of their abilities,” Ellis says. “Depending on the material, the area may need to be evacuated, there could be poisonous inhalation risks, or they may need to know whether water is an appropriate suppressant in the event of a fire.”
Tom Procter, director of safety and maintenance, says MFA Oil drivers can all do their part in helping first responders by verifying that all DOT/hazardous materials labels and placards are correct and prominently displayed on their trucks.