HAZMAT/fingerprints (Michigan)

Roommate had to get his fingerprints while on the road. It took him nearly 3 months before he was in the right place at the right time to get them. Once he got them done, it didn't take too long to get the paperwork in the mail saying that he was not a threat to national security. Then, it only took another month until he was home during the week so he could take the test at the DMV. Took almost 6 months, but he got it. He's not looking forward to going through that again when he has to renew.

 

While I understand and appreciate the need for all the hoops a driver has to go through to get that hazmat endorsement, this is exactly why I don't have it on my license anymore. Since the background check and fingerprinting law went into effect, companies that once required a hazmat endorsement no longer do. Since it's now an option to me, I'll just go without it. And for those who say that they have it just so they won't have to sit, the odds of you sitting because you don't have hazmat is slim to none, if you're with a good company to begin with that is. I never really liked the idea of hauling something dangerous anyway.

 

Here in West Virginia they set up the HAZMAT fingerprinting in Dunbar (west of Charleston). I live in the southern part of the state and for me it's only 2 hours up there but I pass through a lot so I'll arrange it when I'm coming through. Lots of folks here, especially in the eastern panhandle are quite upset about the drive. Someone here really bungled that one...

I gotta say, though, them sending you tips to expedite clearing security at an air port may well come in handy the next time you're carrying a HAZMAT through the checkpoint, no? That's quite rich and a very comical indicator of just how well our bureaucracies work.

Happy flying!!!

 

i'm still carrying the VA. cdl. i gotta change it over to ga. but i don't want to go thru the hazmat process again. it is such a pain and time consuming and i don't want to go thru it again. and it's a little pricey too.

 

PA sends you to a state police barrack.....

 

not sure where i gotta go here in hotlanta yet but probably will do it next year if i stay in ga.

 

Mine expires in 2008. I am not even going to try to renew it. I really don't need it anymore.

 

mine is good til 02/2010 but ga wants me to have one in this state.

 

Where i work, we only have one product that we haul that is considered as a hazmat item. It's powdered lead, and the loads have to be placarded. I could hul it if i so desired, but I took a close look at the economics of it, and decided against it. As long as I stay away from it I don't have any reason to have a Hazmat endorsement, which make renewing the license a much cheaper proposition.

And though the loads pay reasonably well, the trailers are all dedicated and that means that you are running empty 50% of the time to return them to the shipping customer. When you work on percentage as I do, you want to stay loaded the maximum amount of miles that you can, and I average well over 70%. So there is no attraction to running empty 50% of the time.

I talked to a buddy of mine hauling lead the other day, and he told me that the lead runs were working out to around 90 cpm for loaded miles, but that means that he is only pulling down 45 cents per mile for all miles, and that's terrible. I average 52-53 cents per odometer mile each year, so in financial terms, hauling hazmat would actually cost me more money that it is worth.

I get by just fine without the hazmat license, and unless things change drastically, plan to remain as I am.