Hazmat Cert - Is It Worth It?

I wish more drivers would drop their tanker hazmat endorsement.
More money and loads for the rest of us!
WINNING!!

 

Seems the only thing around here paying better is oil.

And with all the economic ups and downs with oil. And the biggest collapse just on the horizon. And everything from air filters to spark plugs coming with it.

 

Yeah, that 100 mile or two hour tire check rule was a pain when you had a HazMat load going from New Jersey to Los Angeles. And you had to flag the stops in your "coloring book".

 

En Route Inspections
Two en route inspections are required by the regulations:

Cargo securement inspections (§392.9) are required within the first 50 miles after loading, and then every 3 hours, 150 miles or at a duty change, whichever comes first. If transporting cargo sealed in the cargo area or loaded in such a way that checking securement is not possible, the driver is not required to do so.

Drivers transporting hazardous materials must check the condition of their tires (§392.17) before beginning the trip, any time the vehicle is parked, and at the end of the trip. If the driver discovers a low or flat tire, the driver can proceed to the nearest place to have it repaired. However, if the tire has overheated, the driver may not operate the vehicle again until the tire has been repaired.

 

For some Mega Carrier that deals with grumpy grocery warehouses 90% of the time, probably not. For the more lucrative spots like FedEx Freight and other LTL's like that, it's part of the ticket to running with them and making some decent money.

 

The hopes of getting on with an LTL is why I got hazmat the second time around as I dropped it when they brought out the fingerprint stuff.

LTL didn't pan out, seems 3rs experience and hazmat, doubles, tanker etc wasn't good enough for them, not in the South Florida market anyway.

Still looking for that $100K gig hazmat is supposed to afford.

 

Really got to suck it up, bite the bullet, act cute., etc and make that move. I mean like I mentioned here plenty of times, I moved from CA to NM for a multitude of reasons. Might have to put on my "city hipster" act and dive into the Denver or Phoenix markets just to snag that $100k LTL position. Sacrifices and puppy love, or something.

Yeah, it's a hard one for sure.