Security Awareness and Required HazMat Employee Training
Security awareness
Hazmat loads are potential targets, and the driver is the first line of defense. Know your load, keep the trailer locked and sealed, and do not discuss the cargo or its route with strangers, on the phone in public, or on social media. Watch for suspicious behavior at shippers, terminals, and rest stops - anyone asking what you carry, where you are going, or when you will be there; anyone trying to get into the vehicle; anyone photographing the truck, placards, or paperwork. Verify identity before releasing information, and report concerns to your dispatcher and to local law enforcement. Never pick up hitchhikers, and never leave a placarded vehicle running and unlocked.
Certain high-consequence materials - large quantities of certain explosives, poison-inhalation-hazard materials, radioactive material, and some bulk flammables - require the carrier to maintain a written security plan under 49 CFR 172.800. Employees with responsibilities under that plan need in-depth security training beyond general awareness.
Required training
A hazmat employee must be trained in four areas before working unsupervised: general awareness of the regulations, function-specific training for the job, safety training including emergency response, and security awareness training. New employees may perform hazmat work for up to 90 days while being trained, but only under direct supervision of a trained person. Training is repeated at least every three years. The employer keeps the training record - including the employee's name, the training date, and a description of the material - for as long as the employee works there and for two years afterward.
Traps
A favorite distractor is "every year." Recurrent hazmat training is every three years. Another is whether the driver must personally carry the training certificate - the recordkeeping obligation sits with the employer.
Rule of thumb
If a stranger asks what is in the trailer, the answer is always nothing. Report, don't chat.