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Thursday, December 12, 2024

FMCSA warns truckers of electronic smoking device safety hazards

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a safety advisory for battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices in or around commercial vehicles.

FMCSA’s safety advisory is geared toward truckers who use battery-powered smoking devices including e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, e-hookahs, personal vaporizers and electronic nicotine delivery systems. Explosions, serious personal injuries and fires have been reported as a result of the use of these and similar devices.

Although Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations do not address the risks involved using these electronic smoking devices, FMCSA wants carriers and drivers to be aware of the potential safety hazards. Particularly, those transporting hazardous materials should be careful when possessing, storing, charging or using any of these devices while loading or unloading.

A 2014 report from the U.S. Fire Administration reveals electronic smoking devices became available for sale in the United States in 2007, according to the FMCSA safety advisory. Depending on the source, anywhere from 25 to 150 incidents related to these devices have been reported between 2009 and 2014