Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

I had a customer awhile back who was shipping something in dry ice. So the package had a class 9 placard on it for the dry ice. Well that didn't reflect on the bol. So I had to have him add it on the bol in the correct order and the right format and add emergency contact. He argued that one since the product wasn't hazmat. But the dry ice was so it had to be done.

 

It's funny because it's true.

 

You guys are referring to pickups mostly, but I hope linehaul guys check their paperwork too and make sure it's in order. I know by the time it gets to me it has been checked and rechecked, but people make mistakes. I rarely find anything wrong, but sometimes I'll find a missing signature or a single page that says it's one of two pages. Everything else might be correct but little stuff like that will still burn you in an inspection.

 

It was diesel, just dead, tranny must have been going or something, about 6 months later it was in the scrap yard.

 

Are highly flamables considered hazmat, like gasoline? They would just explode on impact with a train right? Diesel maybe not so much?? I was told once, not sure if it's true, but if diesel fuel is in a puddle on the ground, you can throw a cigarette on it and it's won't light up. Just find that hard to believe.

 

Oh ya, the school bus training was crazy, lots of procedures, country turn around which is backing the bus from one road to another and only be about 2 feet from the ditch behind a stop sign (that's really the only time, other than the yard, that we are allowed to back a bus) then there's serpentine, nailed that one on the first shot, that's forward and backing the bus in a snake pattern, pivoting the wheels around cones without hitting them, lots of mirror checking. Then we had to be able to drag 100 lb. bag of something across a certain distance representing pulling a child off a bus in a fire situation. We don't have seat belts on buses as it's impossible for one driver to get 72 kids off a bus in a hurry, we have a seat belt cutter that will only cut 3 seat belts before it's unusable, this is for drivers who take their own kids with them and have seat belts in the two front seats for car seats. Then there is the uncontrolled train crossing, pulling up to curb/no curb bus stops, how to turn the wheels the right way depending on the curb side and up/down hill, good drivers can do a pre-trip in 7 minutes, but we have 15 for the test. What I love is the mirrors on the bus, there are 7, the two front ones allow us to pull up to each other with only about a foot distance. Plus the "look up your ##*" safety background checks we go through, need to be squeaky clean !!