Need some advice from the tanker vets in here.......

hummm! You're testing my memory . I think late 70s , maybe early 80s . My Brother-in-law tried , he had a DUI , long before then , was told he could get the license , but would never get a job. Insurance , I think.

 

Depends on the insurance carrier.
I used to see 3 yrs but that company changed to 5 yrs.
When I was doing Haz mat & Tanker it was 10 yrs.

All of this was the time frames just to be considered. the insurance may look at the rest fo the abstract and decide not to insure the person anyway.

 

Yes , it was .

 

I've pulled for 3 tanker haz mat companies...they may never touch you with a DUI on your record. They may say 10 years but that is a huge stigma in an industry with so many liability issues. Food grade tankers are another beast all together.

It's not just the driving, it's the unloading, you can injure and kill yourself and others unloading a tanker. Tankers in the specialty chemical industry pull really concentrated, dangerous stuff. Driving is just part of the issue.

 

I also know a driver that had a DUI and spent only a year doing other things for the company before back to hazmat tank yanking... However:

1) He was a veteran driver that knew tanks well and had tons of experience at it.
2) He was going through a bad divorce at the time of the DUI.
3) He knew he F'ed up big time.
4) He was with the company prior to this, for years.. (not trying to land a new job).
5) Boss was well aware of the circumstances of the DUI.
6) Boss went to battle with insurance carrier, in regards to his returning to drive after one year.

 

That's not true. Some of the major oil companies still do their own hauling and they can hire who they want. Those companies are self-insured. There was a time where my company ONLY wanted local gasoline experience. They were having trouble with drivers that came off the road and could not adjust to city driving all day or night long. Way back when there was also a time they would not hire anyone from a truck driving school. That's when the schools were just starting up and most were lousy.

 

Yeah around here, if your a current fuel hauler and are carded at many of the terminals and refineries... A couple of phone calls will get you in a truck with a new company the next day, if you want. I've seen it happen many many times.

 

Honestly, the only way to know for sure is to go ahead and start applying, partner. You never really know if and when somebody is going to take a chance on you. If I were in your shoes, and dead set on going tanker and hazmat, I would look at companies that are self-insured. But you know, you there's nothing that says you have to limit yourself like that. There are so many different types of trucking, even different types of tanker hauling. Heck, you might even be able to get a gig hauling those cargo tanks in and out of one of the ports in your area. It might take driving around and looking at the trucks running around on your roadways, but you can find something, especially in such a big urban core with a massive port system.