Hazmat segregation and placard checker

How truck placards are decided

The placard rules sort hazardous materials into two tables:

• Table 1 materials need placards in any quantity: Divisions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, poison gas, dangerous when wet, temperature-controlled Type B organic peroxides, poison inhalation hazards and Radioactive Yellow III. Source
• Table 2 covers everything else, from flammable liquids to corrosives and Class 9. Source In non-bulk packages, a vehicle carrying less than 1,001 lb of Table 2 materials in total needs no placards. Source Bulk packagings are placarded at any amount.

With two or more Table 2 categories in non-bulk packages, one DANGEROUS placard can replace the separate placards, except that any category with 2,205 lb or more loaded at one facility still needs its own. Source A few more exceptions apply: no Class 9 placard domestically, no NON-FLAMMABLE GAS placard next to FLAMMABLE GAS, no POISON placard next to POISON GAS or POISON INHALATION HAZARD, and only the lowest explosive division is shown. Source

How hazmat segregation works

The segregation table lists which classes may not share a trailer. Source An X means not in the same vehicle at all. An O means only if the packages are separated so leaks could not mix. A blank means no restriction. Explosives against each other go to a separate compatibility group table, which the checker flags for you to look up.

Worked example EXAMPLE

A 26 ft box truck picks up 1,500 lb of paint in drums, Class 3, and 600 lb of a corrosive liquid cleaner, Class 8. Table 2 materials total 2,100 lb, over 1,001, so the truck needs FLAMMABLE and CORROSIVE placards, or one DANGEROUS placard instead, since neither category reaches 2,205 lb. Class 3 and Class 8 liquids have no segregation restriction, so they can ride together.

Add 200 lb of a Class 5.1 oxidizer and the picture changes: oxidizer with flammable liquid is an O, and Class 8 liquid can't be loaded above or next to it. The load is legal only if it is blocked and separated properly.

1993 placard meaning, and 1203 vs 1993

The four-digit number on an orange panel or placard identifies the material. 1993 is Flammable liquids, n.o.s.; in its NA form, it covers diesel fuel, fuel oil and combustible liquids. Source 1203 is gasoline. Source A tanker switching from gasoline to diesel changes its numbers to match the product. Look up any number with the UN number lookup.

Placards and your CDL

A placard changes who may drive the truck. Any vehicle used to haul placarded hazardous materials is a CDL vehicle, even a straight truck that would otherwise need no CDL, such as the box truck in the example above. Source The driver also needs the hazmat endorsement, which takes a knowledge test, and the state can only issue it after a TSA security threat assessment or with a valid TWIC. Source So before you accept a hazmat load, run it through the checker: if the answer is placards, check your license too, not just your trailer.

Truck placard mistakes

• Leaving placards up on an empty truck. Placards must match what is on board, and a cargo tank needs its placards until it is cleaned and purged.
• Counting only one product toward 1,001 lb. The threshold is the total of all Table 2 materials on the vehicle.
• Using DANGEROUS for a heavy category. 2,205 lb of one category from one shipper needs its own placard.
• Trusting the bill of lading alone. Check the class on every entry against the packages you are loading.

What the result means

The checker reads the placarding tables and the highway segregation table. It doesn't model special provisions, limited quantities or materials with their own rules, and it doesn't replace your shipping papers or the shipper's certification. If anything on the papers, the packages or the checker result looks wrong, stop and call the shipper before you load. A load refused at the dock costs an hour; a load loaded wrong can cost far more.

When you dispatch with us, your hazmat endorsement and equipment are on your rig card, and we check a load's class and placards before we call. See our hazmat tanker dispatch and dispatch for owner-operators, or send an application.