I see what you're saying, Turtle, but the difference between me & the guy in the Camry is that he's hauling it for personal use, while I'm hauling it for profit, which means proper licensing & insurance to do so. And I still wouldn't haul any amount of hazmat without an endorsement, period.
OK, the use of the term "Camry" was for humor. Replace "Camry" with "Expedite Cargo Van" or any other for-profit term you like, and all else still applies. As for not hauling any amount of HAZMAT without an endorsement, well, yeah, cause it's HAZMAT and you need a HAZMAT endorsement to haul it. But if it's not placardable, it ain't HAZMAT. The definition of "any amount of HAZMAT" is, in fact, any amount that requires placards.
And I'm not the one making this up or reasoning it out, it's a stone cold fact. Why do you think Panther won't put placardable HAZMAT on a van, but they will put it on there if it's not placardable? It's because you don't have to log and scale
OR have a HAZMAT endorsement to haul non-placardable HAZMAT. Panther requires van drivers to have a CDL, and in the case of a van it's a Class C, and a Class C
requires an endorsement
of some kind in order for it to be a CDL, but it doesn't have to be HAZMAT. It could be a passenger endorsement just as easily, and Panther would accept it.
HAZMAT paint, couple of drums that weight 1500 pounds has to be placarded, and Panther will not put that on a cargo van because that makes the van a CMV and most van drivers are too stupid to understand how to log and scale and behave like an actual commercial motor vehicle. But that same exact paint, one drum at 750 pounds, and they'll put that on a cargo van regardless of whether you have a HAZMAT endorsement or a passenger endorsement, because one drum of HAZMAT paint at less-than 1001 pounds ain't HAZMAT. You can call it HAZMAT all day long, but that won't make it HAZMAT.
Even if it is legal which i am not convinced it is.
Ask any DOT officer, or go read the regs, or study for and take the HAZMAT endorsement test, as it's in there, too. From the CDL Manual, HAZMAT section:
"You must have a commercial driver license (CDL) with a hazardous materials endorsement before driving vehicles carrying hazardous materials which require placards."
The Hazard Materials Regulations are found in parts 171-180 of title 49 of the Federal Code of Regulations (49 CFR 171-180). I've read it cover to cover. The regulations define Hazardous Materials as those substances or quantities which require placards, period. Those which do not require placecards are not defined as Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT).
Think about the cop that looks at your bol and sees the {x} in the hazmat collum and you without the endorsement.
If it is marked in the HAZMAT column with an {X} then, it's either HAZMAT and you need an endorsement to haul it (and if you haul HAZMAT without an endorsement you deserve exactly what you get, and it'll be more than a mere ticket) or it's a clerical error on the paperwork and it should be corrected before you roll.I recently picked up just such a load, pointed out the clerical error, and they corrected it immediately.
Having said that, there are a few shippers who routinely ship out HAZMAT and will require all drivers to have a HAZMAT endorsement on all shipments regardless of whether the endorsement is legally required to actually haul the cargo. That's their perogative. But the paperwork
must accurately reflect the shipment. If it's HAZMAT it must be so designated on the paperwork, just as if it is not HAZMAT it cannot erroneously be designated as such (that's in 49 CFR 171-180, too).
What is the product?
