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SAIA | Dock will placard all loads

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instigator55

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Has anyone heard anything about pj safety department, sending out a preshift topic letter telling the terminals to placard the loads when the trailer is closed and before the trailer leaves the dock?
 
It's done 98% of the time in GVL. They are never placarded correctly in ATL though. The only exception being when I pulled my lead out of the door and a dock supervisor told me what it needed on it.
 
cokeman77 said:
as drivers we should all make sure our trailers are placard correctly, it"s our responsibility!
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It is the responsibility of the dock personnel to placard the trailer at the time of loading the hazmat if there is sufficient quantity to require placarding. The purpose of placarding is to communicate a hazard.

There may arise situations on company property that would require the moving of trailers containing hazmat away from a potentially dangerous situation to lessen the chances of aggravating that situation. (An example of this is a fire on the dock or in a trailer.) The easiest and quickest way is by moving properly placarded trailers rather than searching thru paperwork of each trailer to determine which trailers should be moved.

It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that prior to the trailer moving on public roadways the trailer(s) (is)are properly placarded.

The same applies to removing placards once the hazmat is unloaded. If one pulled an improperly placarded trailer and was involved in an accident that required emergency response, resources could be called to the scene unnecessarily. Things would get really ugly after that.
 
Brother Trucker said:
It is the responsibility of the dock personnel to placard the trailer at the time of loading the hazmat if there is sufficient quantity to require placarding. The purpose of placarding is to communicate a hazard.

There may arise situations on company property that would require the moving of trailers containing hazmat away from a potentially dangerous situation to lessen the chances of aggravating that situation. (An example of this is a fire on the dock or in a trailer.) The easiest and quickest way is by moving properly placarded trailers rather than searching thru paperwork of each trailer to determine which trailers should be moved.

It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that prior to the trailer moving on public roadways the trailer(s) (is)are properly placarded.

The same applies to removing placards once the hazmat is unloaded. If one pulled an improperly placarded trailer and was involved in an accident that required emergency response, resources could be called to the scene unnecessarily. Things would get really ugly after that.
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well said...
 
very well said, and makes sense, but it is not true, dot regulations do not specify when or who has to placard a trailer and the regulations only apply when the trailer is on public roads, by law the trailer does not have to be placarded unless it is on a public road.

If a placarded trailer comes into a terminal the dot says the placards can not come off until the hazmat comes off.
 
Overnite said:
very well said, and makes sense, but it is not true, dot regulations do not specify when or who has to placard a trailer and the regulations only apply when the trailer is on public roads, by law the trailer does not have to be placarded unless it is on a public road.

If a placarded trailer comes into a terminal the dot says the placards can not come off until the hazmat comes off.
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So it's okay to load a trailer with haz mat at a terminal and let it just sit there with no placards, but if one comes in with haz mat and placards, the placards can't come off untill the unit is unloaded? The end result is that you have two trailers in the dock, and lawfully one has to have placrds while the other does not..... I read it differently. ::shit::
 
What I posted is the dot law, if you see it differently then your not following the law.

Post a link don't post false info that could get someone fired.
 
US federal law require's the transport vehicle to be placarded when an applicable amount of haz mat is loaded, (keyword here LOADED) that doesn't mean to wait before it's ready to actually hit the road..which could be several hours or more. Don't get your feathers ruffled, I'm not arguing by any stretch of your imagination. Post the section from the federal haz mat rulebook that you are referring to for clarity and for my benefit. Thanks.
 
i have always thought it being a good idea to placard when the stuff is loaded on a trailer at dock.....i still do.....they tell us that they dont have to because when the trailer is at the dock it is part of the dock...thus the fire dept already knows this and will react to haz material senario at dock anyway.....at another carrier one morning...one of the dock guys stuck a fork in a drum of very bad stuff.....the vapor was very bad and taking our breath....i got the trailer moved on the yard with the thing still spilling...we tried to unhook the tractor but just had to get away from it....fire trucks came and stopped on the street...would not come on property..till they knew what it was....dock guys tried to tell them but we dont know what...supeahydroclorintoxicana means...not sure of spelling...anyway no placards on trailers when load is not a good idea...more to story but want bore you.....sometimes it takes me and a couple drivers to figure out what placards are needed...i always ask another driver for help if dont know...but we get them placard before we hit the street..............
 
My bid calls for dockwork before driving. We always placard the trailers we send out......ut most of the time at the end of the night. If I load a tote bin requiring a UN #, 90% of the time I go ahead and throw the placards on. If I do not, it's b/c I forgot. If I load Toxic/poison, I always placard the new trailer and unplacard the old trailer. There is nothing worse than being at a terminal, get your bills, see UN placards are needed, and then see the trailer does not have them.
 
:clap:so we all have come to the conclusion that its everyones job to make sure that the trailers get placarded right, thats teamwork guys lets keep it up!!!!!! Thats how we get down in NRF:shift:
 
very well said, and makes sense, but it is not true, dot regulations do not specify when or who has to placard a trailer and the regulations only apply when the trailer is on public roads, by law the trailer does not have to be placarded unless it is on a public road.

If a placarded trailer comes into a terminal the dot says the placards can not come off until the hazmat comes off.


Slow down folks: JUST maybe it has something to do with OSHA !!
DOT enforcement = roads and highways
OSHA = would enforce safety on the yard and dock.
(as far as any laws are concerned)
I was told from a driver that this was started from a "pre shift safety topic" sent out from Phil Jennings "saia safety depart. stated that the trailers must be placarded when the door is closed before the trl leaves the dock or when the trl is closed/made ready for dispatch. DOCK SUPERVISORS are responsibly for placarding the trl and the driver is to "verify" that the placards are correct.
SO!! Think about it. IF the driver does not LOOK at the bills and check that the hazmat/placards are correct.. then a DOT inspection/out of service would fall back on the driver.
If a hazmat mistake ( with the bills) is found you better report it to safety and the local dispatcher so action can be taken to train the dock supervisor
Sounds like the safety department is trying to help with this company wide problem. want to be a team player? help the safety department help correct this problem once and for all. The Company cannot fix what they do not know is broken..
Want to see if they are serious. lets do the right thing and report all hazmat problems to the safety department. Now might be a good time to report insecure loads, top heavy loads etc to the safety department.
 
I have never seen Houston placard a trailer. The placards are in the dispatch office, not the dock office, and there are not any placards at the dock supervisors stands. If I need placards, I get them while in the dispatch office waiting on paperwork and placard the trailer(s) myself. I don't mind and it is certainly faster that way.
 
Dracula said:
I have never seen Houston placard a trailer. The placards are in the dispatch office, not the dock office, and there are not any placards at the dock supervisors stands. If I need placards, I get them while in the dispatch office waiting on paperwork and placard the trailer(s) myself. I don't mind and it is certainly faster that way.
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I placard in houston, too, because they don't, but I don't see how you can placard the trailer without having the paperwork first, and in Houston you often have to wait for the paperwork long after you have hooked the set. And, the safety guy is in and out of the dispatch office frequently so I don't see how he cold NOT know what is going on there.
 
Sorry, what I wrote was confusing. I grab my placards after getting the paperwork and then I placard the trailer. You're right about having to wait on paperwork, but lately it has not been too bad. Usually my lead trailer is closed by the time I arrive so that paperwork is in the dispatch office.
 
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