Two Shipping Paper Lines and a Blank Certification
At a freight terminal in Columbia, Missouri, a shipper hands you a shipping paper for a 12-drum LTL load bound for Sedalia. It reads: 'Gasoline, UN1203, 3, PG II - 12 drums, 480 lb net. Emergency contact: (573) 555-0142, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.' A second line reads: 'Paint, UN1263, PG II - 6 pails, 90 lb.' The shipper's certification block at the bottom is blank. The clerk says the office line rolls to his cell phone after hours and that the signature is a formality because the customer signs at delivery anyway. Your trailer is empty and placard-free, you have four placard holders per side, and the run is 130 miles, all inside Missouri. Dispatch wants you out in ten minutes.
1. List every defect on this shipping paper and write the corrected basic description for both lines.
Read the worked answer
Defects, in order of seriousness:
- Basic description order. It must be UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group. Corrected line one: UN1203, Gasoline, 3, PG II.
- Line two is missing the hazard class. Corrected: UN1263, Paint, 3, PG II.
- Emergency response telephone. The number must be monitored at all times while the material is in transportation, or be a contract service such as CHEMTREC with the contract number shown on the paper. A Monday-Friday, 8-to-5 office line fails on its face.
- Shipper's certification signature is missing. That signature is the shipper's certification that the material is properly classified, described, packaged, marked, and labeled, and in condition for shipment. It is not a formality.
- Check for items not shown: an RQ notation if a reportable quantity of a hazardous substance is in one package, and package type and count in a consistent format.
Also confirm labels match the descriptions and that the paper is within reach in the cab.
2. Do you sign and drive? Walk through the sequence, including whether placards are needed at all.
Read the worked answer
Do not move yet. You are the last check in the chain, and a defective paper follows the load down the road.
Start with placards, because it changes your equipment needs. Gasoline at 480 lb plus paint at 90 lb is 570 lb of Table 2 material, well under the 1,001 lb aggregate threshold, so no placards are required for this load. Labels on the packages, the shipping paper, the emergency response information, and your own knowledge of the hazards are still required.
Next, hand the paper back and go through each defect with the clerk rather than summarizing. Get a corrected paper with the description order fixed, the Class 3 added to line two, and a signed certification. Call the emergency number once before you leave to confirm a human answers and can actually provide response information for these two materials.
If the shipper cannot produce a compliant paper and a working 24-hour contact, the load does not leave with you.
3. The clerk says the office line rolls to his personal cell after hours. Is that acceptable?
Read the worked answer
Possibly, but it needs proof rather than a promise. The rule is about monitoring, not about which phone rings: someone must answer at all times the material is in transportation, and that person must either have the emergency response information at hand or be able to reach someone who does, immediately. A cell phone that is genuinely answered around the clock can satisfy that. A cell phone that goes to voicemail at 11 p.m. cannot.
Practically, test it. Call the number after hours, ask the person who answers to state the proper shipping names and hazards for both lines, and see whether they can do it. If they hesitate, the number is not adequate.
The cleaner solution, and what most LTL shippers use, is a contract emergency response service with the contract number printed on the shipping paper. Suggest it rather than arguing about the cell phone.