To HazMat or not to HazMat?

Hazmat.

When you're a professional driver, not a hack, you treat everything the same way.

Dynamite or rubber dog ####.

Some loads also have just enough hazmat in them that they require the endorsement.

You want all your endorsements.

What possible reason is there not to be able to pull every load available?

 

It depends on what and how you’re transporting hazmat.

I have had full endorsements since I first started driving, except for passenger endorsement, and will continue to maintain them, because even if I don’t intend to use my tanker endorsement ever again, I don’t believe that I ought to remove the possibility that I can pull tankers again if there is no other work available.

I have in fact pulled chemical tankers in the past, and I have no intention of doing so again precisely because of the inherent risk involved. In fact, I had an incident where there was an equipment failure that caused me injury, but could have been much, much worse.

I also spent 18 years in the LTL segment, where I could handle anywhere from 1-8,000 lbs of hazmat, some of which I considered benign, some dangerous, some deadly given the right circumstances.

I recommend full endorsements to every student driver I come across.

 

Some tend to be scared of the DOT for what ever reason. And make the claim that if your hauling haz-mat that you have a target on you for DOT to pull you over. Or around the back of the scales.
However I don't see anything to be afraid of.

If everything is correct why try and avoid the scales? There was a notorious scale on 71 in the buckeye. At one point that drivers from a company I use to work for would avoid at all cost. This scale had wrote numerous violations on drivers before. And drivers would rund 70 west to 75 south to avoid it. But I would go through there everytime. And even ask for an inspection on occasion. Some drivers are just plane scared of either the DOT Or either the Haz-Mat that is being pulled. But in those cases I say why even drive a truck?

When I worked for KBR In Iraq. Drivers would get scared and go home after a convoy got attacked. Or when anaconda got motored or someone hit a IED. Well they knew it was a warzone before they came over. So why high tail back to the US when things pop off???

 

I'm not scared of the DOT. They lean to the side and fart just like I do so why fear them. Oh if I meet Mr I hate truckers, we'll that's fine go ahead a write me up. Me and my company will surely challenge it. I've hauled haz-mat 13 yrs. And didnt start getting pulled over till csa 2010 came out. Yes the. DOT will make stuff up. But I won't aviod them because I'm hauling haz-mat.

 

I had HazMat... Wasn't worth the pain in my ### lol.. extra pay was good.. but the placards, paper work, route restrictions... Yeah keep me in a dry van with drop and hook / no touch freight. Lol

 

Hazmat has been a joy of mine for decades. It everything has to be perfect in every way. Even adding metal spikes under each pallet when loading to wood floored trailers. (Acid bottles on pallets come to mind)

I am one of those people that need detail in the mind to make it all work and Hazmat has it all. HOWEVER....

One fine day not too long ago with a Hazmat load I was required to use the Keybridge to bypass Baltimore City to the south, about a 40 minute loss over the straight through the tunnel. The one dispatcher roared and made trouble over that 40 minutes lost.

I am also one of those who have a temper, I can stand a little bit but when she blows... that's it. So I went to the DMV, told the lady to take the hazmat clean off, furnish me a replacement in a few minutes without. Went back to work in the following morning. Mr Loudmouth hands me yet another hazmat load papers. I handed it back to him and said nope. Don't have that stamp on the license anymore and that is that.

Showed it to him, he exploded. I would imagine he's yelling to this day. Poor thing. 40 #### minutes. A straw that breaks the camel.

Since I got out of Hazmat I have eliminated many of the problems associated with people who do not understand the details of such work and the little bit of time and sometimes money it takes to do it right. Especially now that things have completely changed since 9-11 to weed out those who present a threat to the Nation and keep them from getting a Hazmat. It makes the few that can do it more valuable.

The pay? Stays the same as ordinary freight. Never see any difference in pay. This isnt toilet paper or potato chips we are in that box with diamonds all over it.

So that's my story short and long. Ive not had too much trouble with hazmat except one facility that was filling bottles of acid around me in real time near the dock. That took a few hours and I believe it was about maybe 3 days until I got the fumes out of my system it was not something to be messed with. I was told to stay away while they filled those bottles. A drop would erode the tissue, flesh and tendons clear to the bone and start working on that too. There was none of that protective anything in those days.

 

To be plain...

Truckers are not treated with professionalism and respect that they deserve in many areas.

I remember a small note written by a mechanic long ago in the farm milk route we had at the shop there in a undisclosed location, that note referring to a routine repair on the old R model walking beam mack of mine; wrote to the boss exactly as:

"It is a good idea to replace this boy with a more professional driver due to the cost of this repair which is unnecessary."

It's a very small note left on the mechanic's desk for all the world to see in those days, no computer anything addressed to our overall Boss man in his office. I was about 21 at the time and was doing fairly well, even in the face of careful rock crawling on one particular farm in Baltimore County where he is not known for quality milk, much of any and really bad ground to take a 18 wheeler off road hence the repair. (I think the spring hangers got stressed and a few leafs got loose from what I understand making the walking beams under there somewhat iffy)

To read that note and understand this is a 30 something year old mechanic who was not driving that truck when it got stressed over that one boulder was something that stayed with me all my life.

Fast forward 50 years plus.

When I see 21 year olds, I see children. Mostly. I would count on two hands very few out of all who are engaged in proper trades that will provide them with a lifetime of family and so on doing very well. Very few in trucking that was going to do well.

One time long ago in San Antonio, at the Petro there, we had a young pup come in. Sit at the lunch counter and spout off to the entire room about how he's hot dogging 4 logbooks run 100 hours and so on. bla bla bla. Half of us got up and left him there. We did not want to hear it. I remember that day because if someone was that stupid to brag on things that (I have done occasionally...) in public like that. No wonder no one gets the Professional Respect they deserve. One idiot destroys that really quickly.

Go to any truckstop at early evening. Pick any one. Watch the professionals squeeze large 18 wheelers or even B trains into places you yourself will hesitate to try. And then watch the dumb idiots make a hash of backing possibly tearing a front end off.

Considering the lack of actual training in our schools, we have a long way to go yet.