Best route to go to get into tankers, hazmat?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Tricky Two, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. cowboy_tech

    cowboy_tech Road Train Member

    2,290
    1,091
    Sep 27, 2008
    Avondale, CO
    0
    Not being dramatic. In the Rockies, the label is just as I said. As for the data, according to USDOT/FMCSA, cargo tank bodies involved in an accident have a higher rate of fatality. This is not saying the accident rate is higher. The rate of involvement is lower than non hazmat due to safety and training. Also according to their data for hazmat transport, tank bodies are higher than van bodies. In contrast, non hazmat in van bodies has a higher percentage than van bodies with hazmat.

    Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Nevermind

    Nevermind Bobtail Member

    22
    7
    Aug 13, 2011
    Bessemer, AL
    0
    You didn't sound dumb at all! I was under the same impression when I first started driving. It's truly a shame that today's drivers aren't regarded with more esteem than we are. We certainly deserve more respect than we get.

    On a slightly different note, at least 75% of what you and your husband hear from recruiters will be misleading. It's more realistic to think of motor carriers as meat packing plants - we are the fresh meat. I think most drivers here will agree with me to some degree.

    But it sure as heck beats any other job I'm qualified to do.
     
    Tricky Two Thanks this.
  4. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

    19,726
    18,731
    Apr 18, 2010
    Tennessee
    0

    I agree with Bigarmin. Because of the high wash out rate of young drivers, let them do the bump and crash in a vehicle that won't blow up until they get hands on experience driving. It doesn't matter how much training you have if you have zero experience driving. Once they decided they want to stay trucking and got all the basics down, then let them progress to more dangerous freight hauling.
     
    Bigarmin88 Thanks this.
  5. wsyrob

    wsyrob Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    5,769
    5,462
    Sep 14, 2007
    Winston Salem
    0

    The other side of that argument is 1-2 years worth of bad habits with a dry box or reefer. They are more forgiving to being jerked around. That 1 year mark is about when new drivers lose a bit of the fear, become accustomed to the larger vehicle, speed up and get into trouble. I agree they shouldn't be hauling class 6 or explosives but there are many more non hazmat tanker loads than hazardous out there.

    I have talked to many tanker drivers who started on vans talk about "seeing air underneath trailer tires" in a sharp turn or evasive maneuver. More often than not they did something that wouldn't have effected a box.
     
    LaBubba Thanks this.
  6. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

    19,726
    18,731
    Apr 18, 2010
    Tennessee
    0
    I agree they get ####y and comfortable from the 1-3 year range. Perhaps they should wait until they get past that?? :)

    But it seems everything is okay. It's not like tankers are blowing up everywhere. It just seems like with all the rules out there, there might be some more in that area.

    People just don't jump into oversize and heavy haul. They work their way up.
     
  7. Firebird

    Firebird Light Load Member

    292
    56
    Aug 13, 2006
    Bristol, VA
    0
    I came straight out of driving school and went to pull tanks at TWT. I would not recommend it for someone with no experience. I did it and am certainly not going to say it can't be done, but I just wouldn't recommend it.

    As an inexperienced driver you have a lot going on that is new to you. Just shifting can be a source of trouble. Add the fact that 4500 gallons of product is moving forward and backwards with enough force to push you into an intersection or pull you backwards off a scale.

    But on the other side of the coin..the habits that you get into coming straight out and pulling tanks are habits that will stick with you throughout your career.

    I would have to say that it depends on the person. Some can handle it some can't.

    Oh and as far as baffled tankers go, don't expect to see any baffles. I have been pulling chemicals for 6 years now and have never pulled a baffled tank.
     
    Tricky Two Thanks this.
  8. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

    12,812
    6,135
    Jul 22, 2008
    Owensboro , KY
    0
    The only training QC new hires get on loading /unloading is airing off 500 gallons of water from a trailer into a second compartment then pumping it back to the first . PPE training is just suited up . Chemtape isn't used and not a word on decontamination . No one ever gets in a moving truck .
    I worked on a HAZWOPER crew before coming to QC . I told them on a scale from 1 to 10 I'd rate their training a 2 .
     
  9. wis bang

    wis bang Road Train Member

    3,049
    3,391
    Jan 12, 2011
    Levittown, PA
    0
    PPE for a tank driver is not Hazwoper level stuff. I always taught my students that it was simply to get their butt out of a bad situation. I made them understand that it didn't draw a big red 'S' on their chest, just get out and stay out.

    If the receiver's guy was there getting burned because his employer didn't give him as much PPE [a common occurance], it was not the driver's place to re-enter the dangerous area to make a rescue; he was not trained to do that...

    In the same idea they were not trained to tape up, we taught them to get under the chem shower and strip.

    Most of the drivers I had who were burned by corrosives didn't follow some safety rule, either they didn't wear their PPE or took someother short cut.

    I also used a graphic demonstration in group training, I'd put a raw chicken leg in a bowl and pour in drain cleaner...Anyone who saw that learned that the PPE was their personal safety net.

    Hazwoper is a step above this. I did my OSHA 1910.120 long before Hazwoper came out; it was something needed. I did several mock spills for the NJ DEP and you would have been surprised how poor first responder training was before Hazwoper, etc. I also taught a section of the 'First Responder' course the NJ State Police Haz Mat gave to police, fire and municipal responders, I did one day out of a weeks course doing DOT 407 and DOT 412 trailers before they sent out into the fireschool yard and actually see the old CLTL tankers and do some hands on.
     
  10. wsyrob

    wsyrob Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    5,769
    5,462
    Sep 14, 2007
    Winston Salem
    0
    That's pretty much the point I was making. Habits are being developed. You tend to fall back into them during those times when the mind wanders.
     
  11. SmokeyCowboy009

    SmokeyCowboy009 Heavy Load Member

    717
    315
    Mar 4, 2009
    Watertown, WI
    0
    First thank your husband for his service to our nation. other look around your area for community colleges that do cdl training and work with him to get a qualified job in his expertise.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.