NO Haz mat endorsement on CDL when hauling Nitrogen ?

If the driver pulls a placarded load on public roads he is required to have HazMat endorsement. The driver is responsible for knowing what the paperwork says is in the load and verify if he is legal to haul it. You have a CDL and you are required to know or look up the answer to "can I haul this?" Some, many, most drivers will ask someone else until they get the answer they like and then cry "it wasn't my fault."
"Not looking at the speed limit signs doesn't give you permission to speed."

 

Pick one (there's no "wrong" answer):

"It's my mistake -- but it's YOUR fault"

"I've made up my mind -- don't confuse me with the facts"



-- L

 

Actually, you’re referring to the placard rule.
Yes, some items requiring placards over 1000 pounds, but given that the op indicated BULK tanks for liquid nitrogen, that tells me the quantities are well over the minimum necessary for both placards and the hazmat endorsement.
You’re welcome to run however you see fit, of course.
Personally, the only way i would run that anywhere is with the X endorsement, with placards.
When i ran cryo, trailers were dedicated to specific products, being argon, oxygen, nitrogen, or hydrogen.
All were placarded accordingly, and sds sheets were in the door with the truck book.
I’m not pulling anything without being ansle absolutely sure my back side is covered completely.

 

Are you quotng my ex-wives?

 

Ain't that the truth. Both times I was DOT inspected at a scale one each week two weeks in a row was all fine and dandy until the officer who wasn't really paying much attention noticed I had placards. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning when he saw those, both times.

 

Any hazmat over 1,000 lbs requires placards. Under 1,000 lbs it depends on material and packaging size.

Coke can ship charged CO2 cylinders without placarding, but only up to 20 lbs cylinders and there is a limit on the number of cylinders.

Clorox can ship out 900 lbs or concentrated bleach in 2 gallon jugs without placards, but put the same amount in totes and it becomes placarded.

Same thing for paint thinner and resins. Under 1,000 total pounds of hazmat on the trailer and listed as "limited quanity" or "consumer quantity ", no endorsement needed. But put the same amount in one big container, and POOF, it needs placards.

My favorite part of this is when you have a consolidated load coming from a shipper to a DC, 20 different POs on 12 BOLs, all with 100 lbs of hazmat. You spend an hour adding everything up to make sure you're under the 1,000 lbs and if you're not another hour arguing with Grainger that you need placards. Fun times.

 

Placards…. Guaranteed to get you a rectal exam every time you’re pulled into the scales and someone needs an inspection to meet their requirements…,
My personal favorite was the time i was coming back from Cherokee NC on a gas run, and was getting speed up going downhill to catch the uphill easier…. At the top of the hill was a school…. Cop at the bottom…. Lit me up IN THE SCHOOL ZONE…. Figured i was so done i was extra crispy charcoal chicken…. Speeding in a school zone, with a hazmat placard load…
Pretty sure i saw Jesus soon as i saw those lights….
Walked away with a level 3 perfect score for both truck and trailer…. And no tickets…. But desperately needing a change of drawers and a crow bay to pry my booty off the seat.

 

Regardless, better to meet or exceed the requirements to keep yourself out of the hot seat.
I’ve never been wrong running placards and maintaining my X endorsement.
Even when my gas trailer is empty, technically i can run no placards, but i always keep them faced.
Only one instance where I’m incorrectly placarded, and that’s running a full load of E85. I’m supposed to run 3475, but i generally run 1203.
Full load of diesel is 1993.
In my experience, i generally get left alone when my truck is clean, my stuff looks tight, and I’m presentable.
I look professional, ace professional, and have everything at the ready when they ask for it.
That alone has gotten me out of pickles at scales more than once.
The main DOT cops at the two scales i frequent know me, know my truck number, and know I’m rolling clean. They pull me for inspections knowing it’ll be easy.
They also know my stuff is tight, paperwork is correct, and I’m loaded as evenly as possible.
They don’t fuss much if I’m a little heavy on my drives, though they do give me the stink eye if I’m more than 35k.
Only happens with full load of diesel though, so i don’t have 2 short and sloppy compartments.
Point being this… keep your business tight and you’ll be less prone to problems.
Keep your equipment tight too.
Run your placards to avoid issues.
If you look like a slob and your placards are duct taped on, you might as well drop your drawers and bend over cause you’re fixing to get the rectal exam without lube, and they ain’t gonna be gentle about it.

 

My only quibble is with the duct tape. I may not like using it, but it's a whole lot better than losing a placard from the holder and a whole lot easier than getting the stickers off the side of the trailer.

Okay, maybe two quibbles - if I can LEGALLY avoid running placards I will. Hazmat represents less than 10% of our freight volume but more than 40% of our random inspections (ie not inspections started due to a moving violation or overweight). If I can avoid any official conversation with LEO, I will.