§ 183.5. Securement systems.
(a) Application of section. The requirements of this section applies to tiedown assemblies—including chains, cables, steel straps, other securement devices and attachment or fastening devices used in conjunction therewith—which are used to secure metal cargo or logs to vehicles in transit.
(b) Tiedown assemblies. The aggregate static breaking strength of the tiedown assemblies used to secure an article against movement in a direction shall be at least 1 1/2 times the weight of that article.
(1) Chain used as a component of a tiedown assembly shall conform with the requirements of the August 1961 edition of the National Association of Chain Manufacturers’ Welded Chain Specifications, as amended, applicable to all types of chain. Copies of these specifications may be secured by writing to the National Association of Chain Manufacturers, 111 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601.
(2) Steel strapping used as a component of a tiedown assembly shall conform with the requirements of Federal Specification No. QQ-S-781 (1973). Copies of these specifications may be secured from the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Steel strapping that is one inch wide or wider shall have at least two pairs of crimps in each seal and, when end-over-end lap joints are formed, shall be sealed with at least two seals.
(c) Load binders and hardware. The strength of load binders and hardware that are part of, or used in conjunction with, a tiedown assembly shall be equal to or greater than the minimum strength specified for the tiedown assembly in subsection (b).
(d) Attachment to vehicles. Tiedown assemblies shall be attached to vehicles as follows:
(1) The hook, bolt, weld or other connector by which a tiedown assembly is attached to a vehicle, and the mounting place and means of mounting the connector, shall be at least as strong as the tiedown assembly when that connector is loaded in a direction in which the tiedown assembly may load or place a stress on it.
(2) The anchorage of a winch or other fastening device mounted on a vehicle and used in conjunction with a tiedown assembly shall have a combined tensile strength equal to or greater than the strength of the tiedown assembly.
(e) Adjustability. A tiedown assembly and its associated connectors and attachment devices shall be designed, constructed and maintained so that the driver of an in-transit vehicle can tighten them. However, the provisions of this subsection does not apply to a securement system in which the tiedown assembly consists of steel strapping or to a tiedown assembly which is not required by this section.
(f) Limitations. Limitations on tiedown assemblies shall be as follows:
(1) No chain may be used if a link is or has been:
(i) Worn or gouged through over 10% of its thickness.
(ii) Cracked to any extent.
(iii) Bent, twisted, stretched or collapsed.
(iv) Replaced by a link not as strong in tension as the minimum required in subsection (b).
(2) On load binders:
(i) The hook of the binder may not be spread or distorted.
(ii) The attaching pin may not be bent, worn over 10% of its thickness or inadequately secured to the hook.
(iii) The binder parts may not be bent, repaired by welding or so worn or distorted as to prevent the chain from being tensioned properly or retaining tension when in the secured position.
(3) Cables may not be worn, frayed or have over 10% of their strands broken at any point.
Source The provisions of this § 183.5 adopted September 14, 1979, effective September 15, 1979, 9 Pa.B. 3179.
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