Placard.....
- Thread starter denny2010
- Start date
Doggie Daddy
Veteran Expediter
You should also get the type where you put the actual placard into the holder, for the loads that the flip type won't cover.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
OK first thing is the shipper is not required by law to give you placards, if they don't have them, then you have to note it on your paper work and get them. You as the driver have to ensure that the proper placard is used, which means you have to get it if they don't have it or refuse the load. I was loaded all ready to go on one load and they didn't have all the placards so I had to have my truck unloaded, drive to the nearest truckstop (60 miles away) and buy the right one. This has happened to me a few times and I always ALWAYS ask for three extra when I get them whether I need them or not.
Second, the flip type are the best to get, I doubt you are going to be hauling anything special that requires a special panel so a standard one is good enough, I would also add a slide in holder type next to the flip type just in case you haul two hazmat items. You don't want to tape the placard to the truck because some DOT officers get all bent over the tape thing crossing the lines and if you use the sticky ones, then they may screw up your paint or even peel it off.
You will pay about $35 to $45 for each flip type and the slide in type will run under $20 (this is not from the link below, they are cheaper from the link), money should not be a factor because if you ever get a hazmat related fine, it is cheaper to spend $200 on placard holders than the $700 for the fine.
Where to get them?
A good truck dealer will have them, trailer repair and supply places have them too. I would see them before buying them, I bought a bunch online once and was p*ssed that they sent me three different types with different hazmat placards on them.
If you want really good ones;
Placarding Systems from Labelmaster
LabelMaster will sell you a 10 panel style for about $27 each which is a good price. If you do a lot of Hazmat like I do, consider getting the 17 panel one. The slide in types are under $10 each.
OH and one last thing, the little clips or snap levers on them sometimes pop off, you can put them back on with a small flat screwdriver. Also after a while you may lose a couple, Speedway motors and the above link were the two places I could find them at a reasonable price. AND before I forget, sometimes the rivets will fatigue and pop off, just get pop rivets (steel) and use them to fix it.
Second, the flip type are the best to get, I doubt you are going to be hauling anything special that requires a special panel so a standard one is good enough, I would also add a slide in holder type next to the flip type just in case you haul two hazmat items. You don't want to tape the placard to the truck because some DOT officers get all bent over the tape thing crossing the lines and if you use the sticky ones, then they may screw up your paint or even peel it off.
You will pay about $35 to $45 for each flip type and the slide in type will run under $20 (this is not from the link below, they are cheaper from the link), money should not be a factor because if you ever get a hazmat related fine, it is cheaper to spend $200 on placard holders than the $700 for the fine.
Where to get them?
A good truck dealer will have them, trailer repair and supply places have them too. I would see them before buying them, I bought a bunch online once and was p*ssed that they sent me three different types with different hazmat placards on them.
If you want really good ones;
Placarding Systems from Labelmaster
LabelMaster will sell you a 10 panel style for about $27 each which is a good price. If you do a lot of Hazmat like I do, consider getting the 17 panel one. The slide in types are under $10 each.
OH and one last thing, the little clips or snap levers on them sometimes pop off, you can put them back on with a small flat screwdriver. Also after a while you may lose a couple, Speedway motors and the above link were the two places I could find them at a reasonable price. AND before I forget, sometimes the rivets will fatigue and pop off, just get pop rivets (steel) and use them to fix it.
DOT placarding requirements for motor vehicles carrying hazardous materials are found in 49 CFR 172, Subpart F. Under paragraph 172.506(a) of Subpart F, “Each person offering a motor carrier a hazardous material for transportation by highway shall provide to the motor carrier the required placards for the material being offered prior to or at the same time the material is offered for transportation, unless the carrier's motor vehicle is already placarded for the material as required by this subpart.”
I have a feeling where the, "to provide placards for the product they ship over 1,000 pounds," came from, but while technically a correct statement within the limited context, it implies shippers do not have to supply placards for HAZMAT weighing less than 1000 pounds. They do. For example, 7 pounds of ammonium perchlorate (a 5.1 oxidizer) is gonna require a placard despite it being less than 1000 pounds.
All hazardous material shipped requires placarding, and all shippers are required to provide placards for hazardous materials.
All hazardous material shipped requires placarding, and all shippers are required to provide placards for hazardous materials.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
OK I will go along that there is a regulation but it is the driver who is on the hook for properly placarding the vehicle and ensuring that the paper work is in order, not the shipper.
The regulation can't be enforced unless there is negligence on the part of the shipper and even then the driver is responsible to ensure that the regulations are followed.
When a shipper offers the placards, the driver can refuse them, using the flip style of placards mounted on his/her truck and the paper work is noted that the carrier provides the placard. When the shipper has run out of placards or does not ship a specific type of hazmat causing them not to have them, the carrier can provide them too, which in my case the shipper compensated me for my time, mileage and other costs as a mutual agreement for those shipments.
Any way you look at it, the driver is responsible for the placard on the truck, not the shipper.
The regulation can't be enforced unless there is negligence on the part of the shipper and even then the driver is responsible to ensure that the regulations are followed.
When a shipper offers the placards, the driver can refuse them, using the flip style of placards mounted on his/her truck and the paper work is noted that the carrier provides the placard. When the shipper has run out of placards or does not ship a specific type of hazmat causing them not to have them, the carrier can provide them too, which in my case the shipper compensated me for my time, mileage and other costs as a mutual agreement for those shipments.
Any way you look at it, the driver is responsible for the placard on the truck, not the shipper.
60MPH
Expert Expediter
That's right the DOT officer ain't gonna write the shipper a ticket, The driver is ALWAYS responsible for his/hers equipment/load. If you leave the yard without the placards YOU get the ticket, shipper supply YOU the wrong placards YOU get the ticket. Its ALWAYS YOU!!