Hazmat qualified drivers

[Telecaster]

Midway told me my order of primers is delayed in the UPS system because UPS "is short on hazmat qualified drivers and are running behind on hazmat orders."

What does it take to become hazmat qualified?

 

[Rustyt1953]

I don't know what that entails but I typed in: hazmat driving jobs in the Cincinnati area.

My screen regurgitated a long list of companies offering good pay, sign-up bonuses and bennies.

 

[StakeOut]

Midway told me my order of primers is delayed in the UPS system because UPS "is short on hazmat qualified drivers and are running behind on hazmat orders."

What does it take to become hazmat qualified?

From UPS:
The required areas of training include general awareness/familiarization training, function-specific training, security, and safety training. DOT and IATA regulations require that hazardous materials employers train, test, and maintain records for all hazardous materials employees. Training must be documented at least once every three years for DOT and at least every two years for IATA. New employees must be directly supervised by a trained hazardous materials employee until this training has been completed, which DOT specifies must occur within 90 days of employment, within 90 days of change of responsibilities, or within 90 days of a change in the hazardous materials regulations.

It can be as little as watching a video or working on the truck as a helper for a day with a company certified driver if the employer states the employee is properly trained.

 

[326MOD10]

I think the training depends on what you are hauling as well.

There has been a shortage in this area for some time and with the extra pay and jobs available it has to be tougher than what we are thinking.

This has also affected the gas industry because fuel haulers have to be hazmat trained.

 

[Tom S.]

Basically, they teach them to NOT throw the packages. Takes weeks of training.

 

[Nevada Ed]

If you look at some of the trucks on the road.......

they will have a square attachment on the side of the trailer and it will have
placks that are inserted, to tell if they are holding chemicals, combustables etc. or any other hazardus materials.

I don't do much driving now, and don't know if this is still done?

 

[CH4]

It's an endorsement on your commercial drivers license. Requires taking an additional written test at DMV and a background check every five years. I dropped my hazmat endorsement. Still have endorsements for tank and doubles/triples.

 

[Bald1]

I'm a 33 yr Teamster driver. Although I don't need a HAZMAT endorsement on my license for my primary job. I always had it for some side jobs I did. It's basically a written test to show understanding of all the harardous cargo u may haul. For example, flammables, explosives, chemicals etc. You have to show an understanding of what chemicals can and cannot be hauled together, u have to show an understanding of how to deal with said cargo in the event of an accident. You have to know how to placard your load. And much more but u get the picture. After 9/11 u had to undergo a background investigation of sorts. Seems like a good idea except it's expensive and most drivers have to pay out of pocket. It's also not an easy test to pass. I let my endorsement expire when it became to expensive.

 

[Telecaster]

Is it a State by State thing, or Federal?

 

[jbtrucker]

Is it a State by State thing, or Federal?

Federal D.O.T I didn't renew my Hazmat several years ago company only paid extra $20 wasn't worth the trouble.

 

[Bib]

I've been driving a fuel tanker for over 40 years. Every time you renew your license you must take the HazMat exam. The thing that sucks for me is that the exam includes radioactive, corrosive and other things that I never haul....have to really study the handbook each time about things i don't need to know!

 

[Beemerguy53]

I'm a 33 yr Teamster driver. Although I don't need a HAZMAT endorsement on my license for my primary job. I always had it for some side jobs I did. It's basically a written test to show understanding of all the harardous cargo u may haul. For example, flammables, explosives, chemicals etc. You have to show an understanding of what chemicals can and cannot be hauled together, u have to show an understanding of how to deal with said cargo in the event of an accident. You have to know how to placard your load. And much more but u get the picture. After 9/11 u had to undergo a background investigation of sorts. Seems like a good idea except it's expensive and most drivers have to pay out of pocket. It's also not an easy test to pass. I let my endorsement expire when it became to expensive.

After 9/11 Uncle Sam tightened up the qualifications for anyone working in critical infrastructure positions. (For example, if you work in a seaport, you have to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential -- a TWIC -- which requires a criminals records check.)

All CDL holders have to pass a periodic physical, and that physical can be administered only by doctors who are certified by the D.O.T. to do so. (Of course, health insurance doesn't cover the cost of the physical.) If you have a Haz-Mat endorsement, you have to pass a test and, IIRC, a criminal records check.

After having a Class A license since 1974, I gave up my CDL a couple of years ago because I wasn't using it, and because the cost of renewing it was more trouble than it was worth...

Transportation Worker Identification Credential - Wikipedia

 

[Skeet 028]

As the previous poster I gave up my Class A hazmat CDL after rules changes after 9/11. Working on an Intl airport I had to know so many rules on what could be transported in both a/c and trucks. It was actually legal to put air to air missiles on cargo aircraft(no warheads). The haz mat test for OTR trucking just got too involved and I didn't want to drive commercially anymore. I still have Class B and motorcycle endorsements. I used to have a hazmat shipper license? with UPS. Didn't use it enough to keep it. The rules have changed significantly over the years as have the quantities of items considered hazardous

 

[zeke]

When a lot younger, occasionally drove the dynamite truck out to job sites. Better than paying gas in own vehicle. Apparently, the only qualification needed was getting a brand name dynamite ball cap given out by the supplier.

 

[Telecaster]

Was this triggered by a rash of truck explosions that I didn't notice in the news? Yeah, I know; it was security theater.

One day after Midway addressed my question, I got an email from UPS saying my primers were scheduled to arrive Friday. They must have suddenly found a driver.

 

[30-30remchester]

Possessing every type of driver's license available for the last 45 years I some knowledge. If it has wheels and stays on the ground, I am licensed to drive it. The hazmat endorsement is the worst for me. When renewing my CDL every 5 years, my record is checked, and it is an automatic renewal. Except for the hazmat endorsement. A written test is required to renew every 5 years. Nothing to terribly difficult, just lots of memorization. It is a proven fact that when this type of concentrated memorization is required, @85% if forgotten within a month and less than 5% is retained after 3 months. We have to carry in every truck a handbook we can look up the stuff we are required to memorize for the test. Big fines if we are caught carrying hazmat and not having the book.

 

[Jessie]

Airlines require the same for the pilots. Basically it trains you where to locate the info you need for specific items in the huge DOT/IATA manual.
Some items require a certain amount of space between them to prevent interactions( which I thought kind of important) and how to handle concerning a spill or, Lord forbid, a fire.
It was mostly very monotonous training that actually was important to have a basic handle on.
Nobody liked the the training but everyone needed it.

 

[ACORN]

I think this woman failed the final exam.
Toy fireworks explode when worker unloads parcel in China | South China Morning Post

 

[Bill Raby]

I have a hazmat endorsement. It is just a written test test at the DMV. Then you have to get fingerprinted and pass a TSA background check. That is all it takes to legally haul it. Actually getting a job hauling hazmat is a whole different story.
I work with corrosives, toxic, and poison gas. It is very dangerous stuff. I need certifications for handling all of it. There is a whole lot of training involved. Even the protective gear can kill you. Level A hazmat suit is airtight and heat stroke hits you really fast. There is a lot more involved in it than you would ever realize.
I have a hazmat endorsement and certifications coming out my ears, but I could not haul primers. I imagine that would be classified as explosives. I can legally haul them, but could not get a job doing it without a lot of additional training. There are several classifications of hazmat and each of them has a whole lot of regulations. For example, for a truckload of explosives the driver can never be out of sight of the truck unless it is parked in an area designated for explosives. That means no bathroom stops. Explosive trucks typically operate with two drivers so one of them can always be in the truck.
Anyone with a hazmat endorsement can legally haul primers. But no driver is getting in a truck with explosive placards until he gets lots of extra training. Primers are not a big deal, but if they get classified as explosives then getting qualified to haul them is a real big deal.