hazmat

My employer does not haul hazardous, but they wanted at least one of their dozen drivers to be qualified. Two of us volunteered to renew our endorsements with the new background check, and the employer was going to pay for it. Then, I dropped out when the finger-printing agent was no longer scheduled at the Benton Harbor Flying J. Eventually, my wife and I went to Portage, MI where I was fingerprinted at a Kinko's on our way to Red Lobster. I paid the fee without reimbursement because I like to have all of the endorsements on my CDL. I have not hauled hazardous since I pulled tanker in the early 1980s. I have not pulled doubles since the early 1970s, but it looks good on the resume. The employer should realize that their hazardous training program must be documented before they can haul hazardous, regardless of the qualifications of their drivers.

 

While many companies do not haul a "lot" of haz-mat. They do haul some, so you'll need that endorsement (for that company).

A "smart" company will want you to have one. It gives them more choices to load you out with. But then again, a smart company would have you pulling triples everywhere you went also. 1 flatbed, 1 tanker, 1 reefer. Thankfully the law prevents that or they would.

I'm keeping my endorsements. While the industry has not "paid" for that little extra. They will within the next few years. And they will pay dearly The number of drivers retiring or simply refusing to renew their haz-mat, are about to create a HUGE void that will need to be filled. And they will be doing everything they can to steal drivers from other companies, if they are short.

 

I got a call back from Con-Way. (applied a few weeks ago) They said I'd need a hazmat to be considered. I said it wouldn't be a problem, as I'm moving and I'd just take the exam when I put in the change of address.

I asked, "just how neccesarry is a hazmat anyway?"

he said, "well, we don't want to turn down a load if it's hzmt. Because a competitor will snatch it up."

Hmmm, valid point.

Still, I don't know that I want to get a hzmt, because if I had it, I could probably get more steady work with a fuel hauler. Now I'm hearing that Conway does their training out of MO. Is that for ALL drivers or just OTR? Because I don't know if I wanna go all the way out there Greyhound for what's supposed to be a local LTL position.

(plus, I'm kinda hoping to get picked up by a local tow shop that should be starting interviews next week)

 

How about a Container chasis pulling a box full of air conditioners?

I just talked to Conway today.

They said, "We don't always pull hazmat, but these days if we tell a customer we can't do something, they don't call us back."

So,,, it's kinda understandable. But I think I'll wait a bit to get my hzmt. I've got 2 other non-hzmt offers on the table.

 

Hazmat...Just make's you more hirable,as long as license is clear.

 

Like Dance says, it looks better on the application.

If you have the endorsement you have a lot more to offer on the market. The money you spend is also tax deductable.

You hear all of these people sitting here waiting on loads and have to wonder how many got passed up because they didn't have the proper endorsements.

Something to think about.

 

If you've already paid for and gotten you're background check then just go do it. If not, then go get it then do it. Never hurts to have more options in your favor even if you aren't using them right now.

 

Personally, I wont even haul a Haz-Mat load! It's not woth the risk. You could be the safest, most legal driving professional the world has ever seen and all it takes is one idiot to cross your path and you could be involved in "The Big One". People get hurt or killed and everything you've ever done gets sifted thru with a fine tooth comb! You'll have lawyers and investigators so far up your rectum that you can taste them! B/c as we all know, who's fault is the accident???
Not to mention, most companies dont pay their drivers more money for pulling Haz-Mat, but you sure have to jump thru alot more hoops. All the weigh stations see those placards as a big "pull me over and sodomize me pls!" sign.
Please correct me, anyone if this logic is wrong as I really dont know for sure! But ut seems to me Haz-Mat freight would have to pay better to the company as they are required to have more insurance, more certifications and additional requirements just to offer that type of service to their customers, right? Wouldn't make sense that they would charge more money to move that load? If so, where is the driver's cut of that premium? After all, aren't we the ones ultimately responsible for the safe conveyance of that load??? Or is that just another example of companies exploiting the driver and keeping that extra money for themselves???
Just my stupid truckdriver opinion!

 

The company I wanted to work for required it, or I would not have gone thru the hassle and expense. Truckerdave has it right. Weigh stations target you, having to route yourself around the city, accidents, etc. Only get it if you need to to get hired for that particular company. They will usually give you a couple months to get it. I have only had to haul one hazmat load, and it was uneventful. Not sure if I got paid extra for it.