Is Hazmat worth the trouble? In my opinion: NO.

it doesn’t cost anything, it is simply an inconvenience when every ounce of anything sensible says i should already qualify. i have to go back to the dmv and present my info while they do their voodoo. ill wait until it’s mandated, #### em.

 

Forget the hazmat.Its not worth it. Ltl, tanker, wheelbarrow... The extra hazards, scrutiny, and regulations make it a poor choice for drivers. Your pay wont increase enough but your workload will.
Alot of people in this industry sell the miles and the money but its the hours that matter. Drivers, DOT, and the fmcsa measure and regulate time not miles. Yet we agree to work for miles and then run 12-14 hr days to try and make up time and get the miles and call it " hard work"...and to this you want to ADD a hazmat and its accompanying responsabilties?

Driving on today's roads require us as drivers to assume responsabilty way beyond what would be considered normal in any other field. A friend of mine and 35 year veteran recently had to choose between his life or the people that attempted a u-turn at 65 mph not 80 feet from the front of his truck. He chose well and is still with us but after having spent 35 minutes with a corpse and a screaming and seriously injured passenger he now works at home depot. He was a 1075 tanker hauler. Thats too much responsabilty.
Anyone who thinks they are well compensated for operating a cmv is a fool at best or delusional at worst. Forget the hazmat and the cdl.

 

I would not even hazard a hazmat placarded guess at wtf you are on about.

 

Your statement does not make sense. Ive been hazmat for many years with success. After 9-11 things have changed permanently.

I'll go and put you on the list, you and I do not do well together. That much is obvious and unnecessarily disruptive to the topics at hand.

It's unfortunate that you are not able to articulate what you thought my mistakes or errors was. There isnt anything there for me to learn from you so. That's that. Bye bye.

 

I work on percentage. Hazmat bills at least 20% more than regular oilfield equipment. Hazmat adds about $20K in my pocket every year.

One of my favorite customers is all hazmat. A typical 100 loaded miles earns $1400 to the truck, maybe another 200 miles of deadhead (in a big triangle). That's a gravy run in my book, any way you slice it.

 

The 14 hour rule has been around since 2003 and went into effect in 2005. The only thing that is new is that there’s not a way to fudge it like the the old days.

And it was never about safety, it was a compromise to make the lawsuits stop. FMCSA was tasked to come up with new hours of service and every time something was proposed Public Citizen and other special interest groups would file a lawsuit. Public Citizen was originally wanting an 8 hour work day for drivers. The 11/14 with 10 off was what went through unchallenged because Public Citizen thought that in their perfect world that your schedule would be starting and stopping around the same time every day.

 

I wish more drivers would drop both their tanker and hazmat endorsements.
Winning!!!

 

That has nothing to do with the state. That's been federal law for awhile now, just some states were still doing it. You can't legally get the ticket turned into a non-moving violation anymore either. Gone are the days of $1500 parking tickets for speeding.

 

Yep!

I just did another hazmat run today. Seven straps, 190 mile triangle, and start to finish five hours. Four drivers had to be passed over on the load because they don't have their hazmat or tanker endorsements. Another easy gravy run.

I strongly encourage more drivers to avoid getting your endorsements.