Hazmat ?
- Thread starter Ange5670
- Start date
Pruittplum
Seasoned Expediter
I personally would not want hazmat. Two many regs to deal with having to find different routes and such. Guess it would get you more loads, but I don't think it is worth the trouble.
In Missouri, you can take the test. If you fail you can take it again right away if you wish or wait and keep trying until you pass. Then your given a list of sites Nation wide where you can be fingerprinted. After you get the results back you go to DMV with a Valid birth certificate or Pass Port and are photographed and issued a new License.
Great news ! Cost of background check has been reduced from $94 to $89.25 !
(Reported under FYI News Briefs in January 2008 "Truckers News" )
Husb arrived at a pickup last week, to discover it was a hazmat load.. company did not indicate this on qc or otherwise.. he knows they are aware becuz he knows it is a reg cust; will have to wait til mar.15th pay to know whether he got paid extra for it! You would think you'd at least be told what kind of goods you're picking up, at least if they are hazardous? nevermind how much you will get paid!
dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
I just don't "get" why any company would expect you to agree to a load without all of the pertinent information.
When we arrive at a shipper, if the load is not as the shipper said it would be, i.e. hazardous or overweight for the class load it was offered at, we simply don't leave the dock until the pay is straightened out and recorded on the c-link. Fed Ex has NEVER argued this point with us.
As far as paying the $89.75 or what ever the charge is for the back ground check, why not pass the test first?
After reading some posts on here, and seeing how things are 'supposed to be', we don't 'get' it either!
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
If you're at the dock and find you now have a Haznat load, I wouldn't start loading the truck until dispatch straightens the pay out on the QC. If you're waiting till later to see if you got more, you probably won't. It's kind of like trying to get detention time when you didn't call dispatch at the time you actually arrived or left. A lost cause.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
I arrived at a shipper a few months ago and they loaded me up before I got the paperwork. Then when I got the bill and was checking all the information on it, I noticed that the load was hazmat, which apparently they had not bothered to tell the broker I got the load from. I asked the broker if they were aware that the load was hazmat and I was told that they weren't notified by the shipper. I went back into the shipping office and asked why I was given a hazmat load and the clerk just handed me a plackard and said, "Oh, here you go. I guess you need this." I then informed the clerk that I didn't have a hazmat endorsement and since this load was over 1000 # (actually 2800) that I couldn't haul it. She just looked at me funny for a minute and asked her boss what to do. They ended up having to unload me and call the broker back asking for a hazmat truck. The funny thing (or sad) is that I could have kept my mouth shut and hauled the load with no plackards or anything, but if I had been in a wreck, I would have been screwed and there was no way I was going to take that risk. It just seems kind of scary that a shipper was trying to send a hazmat load out without making sure that the driver was hazmat endorsed. Or maybe they were trying to save some money by not mentioning that the load was hazmat and hoping that the driver wouldn't catch it.
It appears from these posts, that carriers and shippers alike, are trying to get something for nothing, at the expense of the O/Os. Being newer and having somewhat of an amount of faith in honesty and goodwill, husb figured it was a given that the carrier knew the load was hazmat, so didn't need to inform them; didn't realize it was a tactic on the carrier's part, to make more money for themselves.
Well next time, he'll know, and that's why this forum is so important, especially for those of us who are newer to the industry! We shall see if the extra pay is given, as it should be, but I guess we won't hold our breath or we'll find ourselves dead!
You're right, that is sad. Risk your career/business, possibly risk the health and/or lives of you, the public, and the emergency workers if there were an accident, all to save a few bucks. Sadder yet to think they might have gotten away with it with an unscrupulous or less observant driver.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
jaminjim
Veteran Expediter
Panther apparently has a policy that they don't want you hauling other freight with theirs. They want exclusive use. I've double dipped a few times and the shippers don't really care if there's already something else in there when they load you, as long as their load fits and you deliver it on time. I understand this exclusive use thing, but I have a policy of trying to make as much money as possible for the miles I'm running and with a Sprinter fitting a couple loads on at the same time isn't that difficult.
I hope that does not come back and bite you one day.
I hope that does not come back and bite you one day.
Shippers may or may not care, consignees may or may not care, but the paying customer usually does, as exclusive use of the truck is part of the higher cost for expedite, and it's usually part of the contract (often understood via prior arrangements and loads) of the load with the customer. Most of my freight isn't 'time-critical' expedited, it's 'exclusive use of the truck' expedited. Double up on the wrong Panther load and it could very well cost you far more than just future Panther loads. But, hey, it's your truck, your policy, and you know best.
CharlesD
Expert Expediter
Re: CPM
I guess I ought to be careful, but the other night I was about to pass through Harrisburg on the way to Philly and there was a single piece picking in Harrisburg and going to Philly. I was six hours ahead of schedule and the Harrisburg load was picking up in an hour. I did the math and figured out I'd be able to grab that one on the way and drop it before I went to my other drop and still make the other drop four hours ahead of schedule. Things like that can be awfully tempting when you see them. I do a few brokered loads from FedEx and they always tell you up front if the load is exclusive use or not. Most of the ones I do for them aren't, but occasionally one will be and those are usually on a pretty tight time frame anyway.
I guess I ought to be careful, but the other night I was about to pass through Harrisburg on the way to Philly and there was a single piece picking in Harrisburg and going to Philly. I was six hours ahead of schedule and the Harrisburg load was picking up in an hour. I did the math and figured out I'd be able to grab that one on the way and drop it before I went to my other drop and still make the other drop four hours ahead of schedule. Things like that can be awfully tempting when you see them. I do a few brokered loads from FedEx and they always tell you up front if the load is exclusive use or not. Most of the ones I do for them aren't, but occasionally one will be and those are usually on a pretty tight time frame anyway.
I drive for FedEx and by in large the all mile rate is higher on hazmat than non-hazmat loads. There are hassles from time to time but I take them more often than not. They have been keeping me rolling the last couple of weeks. Layoutshooter
Jefferson3000
Expert Expediter
It's not always the shipper or the carrier's fault. They may not be trying to screw the O/O. Sometimes it's info that got missed when booking the load, and/or you have a dispatcher (who punches a clock as an employee) that just doesn't understand the gravity of whether or not the load is hazmat,or whether or not you have to wait without detention for a load. All they care is that their que has no loads left on it. Maybe they get a pat on the back from the boss for it.