Newbie with hazmat

I have the endorsement, but to me it is not worth messing with. It brings attention to DOT when you cross the scalehouse, plus you have to watch your route. Can't go thru tunnels, certain areas etc. Plus it does not pay anymore so I don't want to fool with it.

 

If the company is going to foot the bill for it and you think you will get more miles then that will mean the you would get paid more. I would say go for it myself. Either way, good luck

 

don't be afraid of hazmat Yes the DOT does tend to look at you a bit closer as they should,obey the laws, make sure ALL of your paperwork is in order, [the company I am leased too has me fax in the paperwork so that their hazmat people can check it and once they ok it if there is anything wrong with it they pay any fines] do a good pretrip keep your logs up to date to the last duty status, don't fall for the bring in all your paperwork trick some scale masters use I was told that some of them do it just to see if you know what you are doing you do it right they give you a quick once over, you screw it up plan on a class one inspection. If you had the schooling,passed the test and do what you are suppose too as a professional you will be fine and your paycheck will look a lot better for it.
I do agree with the fact it should pay more than non hazardous cargo and as an O/o i will haul it in a heartbeat,----as long as the customer is willing to pay more for it usually 20 cents more a mile.

 

as far as hazmat goes ive hauled both hazmat and non hazmat loads and the trailer pulls the same way. now i wish even as a company driver that the company would pay a little more for hazmat due to the extra bull you have to put up with and the no hazmat through city bypass miles they dont pay you for (houshold movers) but as you said it will get you more miles so go for it. dont be affraid of hazmat remember laundry detergent is hazmat and im sure you use that at least once a week.

 

Fall of 2009 is the magic date my friend. Spring of 2010 even more so.

These 2 years are the years that those who have haz-mat endorcements, but have not gotten a background yet, either cough up the money or drop the endorsement.

That's when your endorsement will be worth something.

For now, few companies are paying enough to justify the cost.

Don't be afraid of haz-mat. It's no more difficult than a regular load. You just have to remember the restrictions and requirements.

Just don't sell out for any job. Some companies do not require haz-mat, but they pull it, then line drivers up for relays of haz-mat loads. Which may or may not leave you sitting for a rather long time for your load.

 

Dont worry about hazmat. I pull it everynight. and its always something different. Just check your bills. Check your manifest. make sure the bills are tagged and on top of the others. and marked on the manifest. Then you can purchase or recieve from your company a guide to hazmat. This will help you determine which materials are placarded at which weights. Some are any amount others are 1,001 pounds or more. As you do it more often you will get very good at knowing what you have and what you need to placard. Also make sure it is loaded properly. Some Hazmat cant be loaded with food others cant be loaded with other Hazmat. Just take your time (if you have it) and make sure everything is legal. As far as scales go... yes having placards on is basically like saying "Hey there DOT, how ya doin', please pull me around, Im just dying to be inspected!":smt040 But as long as everytings in order you wont have a problem. If you have any questions let me know.