Truck Safety Decals: Which Warning Decals Go Where

Truck safety decals are short warning or information lines, such as STAY BACK or FIRE EXTINGUISHER INSIDE, placed where the person who needs the message will see it. Plan them by spot: the rear of the truck or trailer for other drivers, the cab for your own crew, and the equipment for whoever runs it.

Truck safety decals for the rear of a truck or trailer

On a tractor-trailer these lines double as semi truck warning stickers (see semi truck door decals). Trailer warning decals usually sit on the back doors (trailer decals for business).

• Stay back. The Stay Back Decal prints STAY BACK / 200 FEET. Change the distance to your fleet's own.
• Broken windshields. The Not Responsible for Broken Windshields Decal suits gravel haulers, so dump truck safety decals often start here (dump truck decals). A sign does not change who is responsible. Covering and securing the load matters more, and load-covering rules vary by state.
• Wide turns. The Caution Wide Turns Decal is a caution sticker for truck rears that asks drivers alongside a long unit to leave room.
• Do not follow. The Do Not Follow Decal suits trucks that turn into closed work areas (construction truck decals).
• Speed limited. The Speed Limited Decal prints SPEED LIMITED / TO 65 MPH. You type your own top speed. It states a figure and limits nothing.

Each is $22.99. A decal is a request and cannot make another driver back off.

Safety decals for the cab door and inside the cab

Safety stickers for trucks in this group mostly speak to your own crew. Each is $22.99.

• Fire extinguisher. Fire Extinguisher Inside shows where it is kept. It does not replace the extinguisher or training.
• First aid kit. First Aid Kit Inside does the same for the kit.
• No smoking. The No Smoking Decal prints NO SMOKING / IN THIS VEHICLE. A fuel or propane truck can type NO SMOKING / WITHIN 25 FEET.
• How's my driving? The How's My Driving? Decal prints the phone number you type. Use one somebody answers.

Safety decals for equipment

The Emergency Shut Off Decal is one line at $18.99, for fuel trucks (tanker truck decals), generators, compressors and pumps. It labels a control you already have, so you place it beside that control.

What the federal rules ask for, and what is your choice

• The marking. 49 CFR 390.21 asks for the motor carrier's name and USDOT number on both sides of each self-propelled commercial motor vehicle it covers, in lettering that contrasts sharply with the background. See the USDOT number display rules.
• Fire extinguisher. 49 CFR 393.95 asks for the extinguisher itself, mounted and ready to use. It does not ask for a sign.
• Smoking. 49 CFR 397.13 says no one may smoke within 25 feet of a vehicle carrying certain hazardous materials. It does not ask for a sign.
• Hazmat placards. These are a separate regulated product we do not sell. 49 CFR 172.502 forbids signs that could be confused with a placard by color, design, shape or content, so keep safety decals to plain lettering.

As far as we know, no federal rule asks for the other wording above; those are fleet choices. Rules differ by state, so check with FMCSA, OSHA or your state agency.

Making safety decals readable

• Contrast. Pair light lettering with a dark sticker, or the reverse; a wide gap in lightness reads more easily than two mid-tones. Yellow lettering suits black or blue stickers, not white, yellow or silver.
• Width. Choose a 12, 18 or 24 inch decal width, at the same price: wider for a trailer's rear, narrower for a cab label.
• Reflective film. The whole decal can be printed on reflective film so headlights show it up at night. For 1 or 2 lines it adds $5 (12 in), $9 (18 in) or $15 (24 in) per decal (reflective versus standard vinyl).
• Contour cut. For $5 more per decal it is cut as one piece following the outline of all the lettering, so no rectangle sits behind it.
• Fleets. For fleet safety decals, order the same wording for every unit; fleet pricing (5% off at 5 decals, 10% at 10, 15% at 25 or more) is automatic. Unit numbers: fleet guide.

Installation is DIY (install guide). See the safety decal category or try your wording in the door builder.