Post-Crash and Hazardous Materials Awareness
Immediate post-crash duties
Stop, set the parking brake, and turn on hazard lights. Warn traffic with reflective triangles when it is safe to do so. Call 911 with location, injuries, and passenger count. Check passengers and give first aid within your training; do not move an injured person unless there is immediate danger. Exchange required information, notify your carrier, and complete reports. Preserve the scene and do not discuss fault.
Hazardous materials awareness
You are not expected to clean up a spill. You are expected to recognize the hazard and keep people away. Look for placards, labels, shipping papers, and the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG). The nine hazard classes are explosives (1), gases (2), flammable liquids (3), flammable solids (4), oxidizers and organic peroxides (5), toxic and infectious substances (6), radioactive material (7), corrosives (8), and miscellaneous hazardous materials (9).
If a placarded vehicle is leaking, isolate the area, stay upwind and uphill, and call 911. Give the dispatcher the placard number and name if you can do so from a safe distance. Do not touch the spill, do not apply water or chemicals, and do not let passengers reboard near the hazard.
Passenger baggage
Do not accept hazardous materials as passenger baggage. Watch for suspicious bags, fumes, or leaks. If you find one, stop, evacuate, and call for help.
Worked example: A bus is struck by a placarded tank truck that begins leaking. The driver moves passengers upwind, calls 911, and reports the placard information. Reasoning: the placard identifies the hazard class; upwind isolation reduces exposure; the driver does not attempt cleanup.
Traps that cost marks: re-entering the bus near a spill; moving injured passengers next to a leak; ignoring placards; and guessing at a chemical name instead of reporting the placard.