First of all, before a truck driver reports an incident he must be sure that the incident is meeting the following points:
- The incident involved only one shipper;
- The incident involved only one type of hazardous material;
On the other hand, if the incident doesn’t happen to fit these points then the truck driver who is involved in the incident shall report it by using an electronic XML filing mode or using the paper form DOT F 5800.1.
5. HAZMAT Shipping Papers
As I mentioned before one of the shipper’s responsibilities is to properly prepare the shipping papers. Therefore, the shipper shall prepare shipping paper documentation separately for each hazardous material.
It is of a great importance that the hazmat transportation shall be accompanied by a properly prepared shipping papers. Speaking of that, shipping papers must properly describe the hazardous material that is being transported.
In order for the shipper to achieve a proper shipping description of hazardous material shall include:
- Basic description of the hazmat materials;
- Additional information about the materials and mode of transport;
- Quantity of hazardous materials;
- Type of packaging;
The first point or more precisely the basic description of the hazardous materials shall include the ID number. Later on the name as well as the packing group, and the hazard class shall be included in the shipping papers.
