Low prices are killing this month!ppl bending over like crazy!
I am new to expediting and I was under the Impression that vans only had to stop at the weigh station if they were placarded for HAZMAT AND the sign at the weigh station specifically says all HAZMAT placarded vehicles must enter the scale. Please correct me if I am wrong here. Hate to get a huge ticket for simply not understanding the law.
Probably a good Idea. Only had 1 hazmat load so far that required placards and I buzzed passed two weigh stations because they didn't have that specific sign telling me I needed to stop. Nobody came after me but I could have just been lucky that day.Yowpuggy post: 783247 said:
No reason not to stop I quess. I have the endorsement, correct placards, and log book. Also, no issue with being overweight so probably would have just slid right through without any problems anyway. I feel like a van entering the scale house is such a rare occurance that they would be more likely to want to mess with you a little though.
What about the other weigh stations? Are you saying that placarded vans do not have to stop unless they are in a state that requires it?
It's Friday. You've been busy. You land a Hazmat load and need to log.
Do you accurately recreate your last 7 days ? ( I can't remember what I had for lunch 2 days ago.)
Do you need 5 hours off before pickup or a full ten off ?
It seems the potential for falsification far outweighs the benefit of hauling HM in a van.
Yeah, I know that extra nickel may look good to the O/O but if I were a carrier I think it'd be more hassle than it's worth.
Do you accurately recreate your last 7 days ? ( I can't remember what I had for lunch 2 days ago.)
Do you need 5 hours off before pickup or a full ten off ?
It seems the potential for falsification far outweighs the benefit of hauling HM in a van.
Yeah, I know that extra nickel may look good to the O/O but if I were a carrier I think it'd be more hassle than it's worth.
The signs that say "all placarded vehicles" is just a strong reminder to cargo vans that when they are placarded they are in fact Commercial Motor Vehicles and thus need to stop at the weigh stations same as every other CMV.
It's a lot easier than you might think to recreate the previous 7 days in a cargo van. Unless you've had another placardable within the previous 7 days, you simply log those days as OOS.
Once you do get a placardable load, which requires logging, you should probably continue to log (accurately, as a CMV) the next 6 days, though, in case you get another placardable load within those 7 days, because once you get a placardable load you are still considered to be a CMV for the next 7 days unless you know for an absolute certainty that you will not haul placardable HAZMAT again within those 7 days.
You can't haul HAZMAT on Monday and then again on Friday do it again, while on Friday logging the previous 7 days as OOS, since that's a falsification, since on Monday you were in-service as a CMV. And on Friday those previous 7 days had better be legal. If you run HAZMAT on Monday and then on Tuesday run a load that's 16 hours straight through, you've got to show that on the logs for the HAZMAT load on Friday. You're better off turning down the load on Friday.
Logging those previous 7 days is what would make me pucker a little.
I don't like it when there's a "grey" area for an officer to misinterpret.
I don't like it when there's a "grey" area for an officer to misinterpret.
It's not really a gray area. I was initially told how to do this by a DOT officer and had it confirmed by two others. It was later confirmed many times over at scale houses across this fine country of ours.
Back in the days of yore when I was at Con-Way NOW, I ran a lot of HAZMAT. So much so that there were some periods, sometimes for 2 or 3 months at a time, where I'd haul HAZMAT more than twice in a 7 day period and I'd just be logging every day as if I were driving a straight truck. But once 7 days had finally passed since my last HAZMAT load, I could log the previous 7 days as OOS when I got the next load that required logging.
If you haven't operated a CMV in the last 7 days, you are technically and legally OOS for those 7 days, and that's precisely how they should be logged when you begin logging in a CMV again. And of course, the instant you affix placards to a cargo van (or even a Prius), the vehicle becomes a CMV.
If you occasionally run a HAZMAT load in a van, like once or twice a quarter, it's really the next 6 days after the HAZMAT load that you have to keep track of, just in case you get another one within those 7 days. If you know you won't get another one within 7 days, or will turn one down if offered, then just log the HAZMAT load correctly and then forget about logging the next 6 days. Then a month or two later if you get another one, log the previous 7 days as OOS and log the CMV load like normal.
The on again, off again logging of HAZMAT in a cargo van is why DOT officers at scale houses practically drool when a placarded van pulls into one, because they know the chances of finding a log violation are very good due to the inexperience of van drivers with logs. It's the main reason that Panther won't put placarded loads on a van, for example. The biggest thing is to have those previous 7 days logged correctly, whether it's as OOS or actual hours, and that no days show HOS violations.
Back in the days of yore when I was at Con-Way NOW, I ran a lot of HAZMAT. So much so that there were some periods, sometimes for 2 or 3 months at a time, where I'd haul HAZMAT more than twice in a 7 day period and I'd just be logging every day as if I were driving a straight truck. But once 7 days had finally passed since my last HAZMAT load, I could log the previous 7 days as OOS when I got the next load that required logging.
If you haven't operated a CMV in the last 7 days, you are technically and legally OOS for those 7 days, and that's precisely how they should be logged when you begin logging in a CMV again. And of course, the instant you affix placards to a cargo van (or even a Prius), the vehicle becomes a CMV.
If you occasionally run a HAZMAT load in a van, like once or twice a quarter, it's really the next 6 days after the HAZMAT load that you have to keep track of, just in case you get another one within those 7 days. If you know you won't get another one within 7 days, or will turn one down if offered, then just log the HAZMAT load correctly and then forget about logging the next 6 days. Then a month or two later if you get another one, log the previous 7 days as OOS and log the CMV load like normal.
The on again, off again logging of HAZMAT in a cargo van is why DOT officers at scale houses practically drool when a placarded van pulls into one, because they know the chances of finding a log violation are very good due to the inexperience of van drivers with logs. It's the main reason that Panther won't put placarded loads on a van, for example. The biggest thing is to have those previous 7 days logged correctly, whether it's as OOS or actual hours, and that no days show HOS violations.
Well NY state trooper once told me....note when I enter the country. what time, what border crossing and take note of route I take and anywhere I stop, right to deliver.....and keep that info for 7 days.....thats it.....no need to log any further....I used to take Aids blood samples to Buffalo airport from Toronto clinic every Tuesday...
When I was with Con-Way Now I used this handy, dandy Hours Of Service Certificate, graciously provided free of charge by them. I also used this very same HOS Certificate when employed by Con-Way Central Express. Prior to the existence of any Con-Way companies, Consolidated Freightways used this for years.
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True only if you have not worked (driving or not) for compensation during that 7 day period. Current van rates being what they are, one could argue that these rates don't qualify as compensation. The FMCSA does consider it compensation though, therefore you are neither technically or legally Out Of Service for those 7 days. Regulations Section
If you haul HazMat in a van, talk with your carrier's safety department about using the HOS Certificate.
The technically and legally OOS for the previous 7 days is the "grey" area for me.
Do any of our safety experts or industry execs care to chime in ?
As the young lady said to me last night "Where's a John when you need one ?"
Do any of our safety experts or industry execs care to chime in ?
As the young lady said to me last night "Where's a John when you need one ?"
I just know I'm going to slip one day and get into trouble!