Truck Stop Coffee Reclassified as Class 8 Corrosive; Drivers Must Now Placard Their Travel Mugs
Regulators say the 3 a.m. pot "meets every definition we have" after a sample dissolved the lab's sample jar. Shippers ask whether it can be hauled in a dry van.
Drivers across North America were told this week that the coffee they have relied on for decades is now, officially, a hazardous material.
The fictional Joint Office of Beverage Safety announced that truck stop coffee brewed before 4 a.m. and left on the burner for more than six hours will be treated as a Class 8 corrosive. Starting immediately, any driver carrying more than 20 ounces must display a placard on their travel mug.
"We tested a sample from a pot that had been on since Tuesday," said office spokesperson Gail Thermos. "It went through the beaker, the counter and part of the floor. At that point, we had to call it what it is."
New rules for the cab
Under the new guidance, drivers must:
- Keep a shipping paper for each cup, listing the brew time and the number of times it was reheated.
- Store the mug upright, away from the ELD, which "has suffered enough."
- Stop at all railway crossings while sipping.
- Never carry it through a tunnel without a permit.
Drivers who take their coffee with three creamers and four sugars may qualify for an exemption. Testers found that mix "no longer chemically counts as coffee."
Industry reaction
Fleet safety managers were quick to point out that their drivers have been doing hazmat work for years without the endorsement or the pay.
"I've been hauling that stuff in my cupholder since 1994," said long-haul driver Duane Kettle, 58, who is not a real person. "If anything, I'd like hazard pay retroactive to the first pot."
Shippers had questions too. One asked whether a full pot could move in a regular dry van or needs a tanker. A broker offered $1.40 a mile to haul it "basically next door."
What happens next
The office says it is now reviewing the gas station hot dog roller. Early results show the oldest hot dog on the roller has been there "since before the current hours-of-service rules."
A 90-day comment period is open. Comments must be filed in person, between 3 and 4 a.m., at any counter with a pot that hasn't been washed since spring.