TWIC + Hazmat = Better treatment for Newbie?

thats why i would imagine you get them to put that on the qualcom or some other recorded way of communicating with the company.

 

Takes fewer points from tickets to be kicked out of trucking when you have that hazmat endorsement. I have 2 tickets, I'm right on the edge. I guess I wasn't taking the job as seriously as I should have. Drive like your family is counting on you.
That said, having the hazmat, when I started out at $0.25 a mile, seemed like every other load for a while was hazmat. I don't care to do them anymore, because the only bonus is a paltry $35 bucks extra on the load for the huge risk of potentially losing my livelihood.
My advice, even after you pass the endorsement at the DMV, still go back before each hazmat load and read your DMV book chapter on hazmat and have it fresh in your mind. Keep your little green book and orange book all together with the bills of lading within your reach and put on your seat every time you get out, stuff like that is so easy to forget. Another one is railroad tracks, I lost count how many times when I was starting out, I just drove over them not thinking to stop and look first (4 wheeler mentality).

 

If you haul hazmat on a dedicated manner, it's just muscle memory. No need to be paranoid or reread stuff all the time. The important stuff is in the big red hazmat book. Read the main points, remember them, and do the thing.

You're not required to keep the green fmcsa on the seat. Just the ERG.

Most hazmat does not require some "safe haven". You simply can not park near bridges, neighborhoods, and tunnels. Explosives can not be left unattended. Unsure on radioactives. Don't haul them.

I haul nothing but hazardous waste. Period. I've been inspected numerous times and I have pretty much the entirety of that big red book memorized. Lol. I've forgotten what it's like to NOT haul hazmat.

 

Are those tickets related to hazmat loads?

 

No, but they hold hazmat endorsees to a higher standard.

 

That's not necessarily true. If you're hauling a regular load, you're generally treated as such. Hazmat has nothing to do with non hazmat loads. All it is, is an endorsement saying you're trained and able to meet regulations regarding hazardous materials. It's not some kinda magical trinket that makes you more important. Also, there is no such thing as extra points just because you have a hazmat endorsement. At least, in North Carolina.

 

I think what he's saying is that having the hazmat endorsement lowers the CDL disqualification threshold as far as CSA points. I was not aware of this, and was wondering if he could point out in the regulations where this information can be found?

 

I understand, but there is no such regulation.

 

Good. I passed the hazmat, but was going to opt out of the endorsement when I get my CDL if that was the case...

 

Man, don't let clueless people talk you out of it. It's a valuable endorsement that will improve both job prospects and the loads you can run. I haul hazmat every single day of my life and I am well paid for it. I also have a TWIC card and it gives me extra loads other guys can't run. I don't go to ports, but I go to petroleum terminals near the coast that only TWIC holders can do.