§ 392.6 is the only rule in this chapter aimed entirely at somebody else, and that is the reason to read it. No motor carrier shall schedule a run, nor permit nor require the operation of a commercial motor vehicle between points, in such a period of time as would necessitate operating at speeds greater than those prescribed by the jurisdictions in or through which it is being operated. The duty falls on the carrier and it falls at the planning stage — before anyone gets in the truck. A schedule that only works if you speed is a violation by the person who wrote it, whether or not the driver ever exceeds a limit, which makes this the rule to know about when a dispatch time looks impossible.

§ 392.16 is shorter and reaches further than most drivers expect. No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle that has a seat belt assembly installed at the driver’s seat, and no carrier shall require or permit them to, unless the driver is properly restrained by it. Paragraph (b) then extends the same rule to everyone else aboard a PROPERTY-carrying commercial motor vehicle: where seat belt assemblies are installed at the seats for other occupants, the vehicle may not be operated unless all of those occupants are properly restrained too. So the duty is not only about the driver’s own belt — a passenger unbelted in the sleeper-side seat puts the DRIVER in violation of the section, because it is the operation of the vehicle that the rule prohibits.

§ 392.9 is the longest of the three and the only one with clocks in it. Before driving, the driver must be satisfied that the cargo is properly distributed and adequately secured as §§ 393.100 through 393.136 specify — securement standards that sit outside this book, so what § 392.9 puts on the driver is the duty to be satisfied the load meets them rather than a set of measurements to memorize; that the tailgate, tailboard, doors, tarpaulins, spare tire and other equipment, and the means of fastening the cargo, are secured; and that neither the cargo nor any other object obscures the view ahead or to either side, interferes with free movement of the driver’s arms or legs, prevents free and ready access to emergency accessories, or prevents free and ready exit from the cab. Then the trip itself carries duties. A driver of a truck or truck tractor must inspect the cargo and its securement devices within the FIRST 50 MILES after beginning a trip and make any adjustments needed — including adding more securement devices — so that cargo cannot shift or fall. And they must re-examine and adjust again whenever one of three things happens first: a change of duty status, 3 hours of driving, or 150 miles. Two situations are excepted in § 392.9(b)(4): a sealed vehicle the driver has been ordered not to open, and a vehicle loaded in a way that makes inspecting the cargo impracticable.

The three rules assume a vehicle that is already fit to drive, and § 392.7 and § 392.8 are where that assumption is written down — the parts and accessories a driver must be satisfied are in good working order, and the emergency equipment that must be in place and ready for use. Chapter 11 takes both apart alongside the inspection and reporting machinery they belong to; here it is enough to know that the driving rules rest on them.