Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, is crucial for truck drivers. PPE is required to make deliveries at many facilities, so it’s important that you keep your gear in your truck with you. This gear helps to protect you from hazardous materials that you may come into contact with while on the job.

Why is Personal Protective Equipment Important

When dealing with the tanker trucking industry, safety is of the utmost importance. Many of the tanks we pull have chemicals or heated products in them, so it’s crucial that our drivers take the proper steps to protect themselves before handling these types of products.

We follow the equipment and safety regulations set in place by OSHA, the DOT, and the FMCSA. These regulations hold us to a very high standard of safety for our drivers and those around us.

Types of PPE

There are different types of PPE that you may need to wear depending on the product you’re handling or the facility you’re delivering to. Some examples of PPE include:

  • Hard Hat –  Wear a hard hat to protect your head from falling debris or being hit by something. Depending on what you haul, hard hats may be required for your worksite. Some drivers are required to wear a hard hat with a full face shield to reduce the risk of burns.
  • Protective Eyewear – Regular glasses or sunglasses don’t meet the safety standards when it comes to protective eyewear. Special protective eyewear is made specifically for hazardous encounters. These glasses can protect your eyes from blunt impact, radiation, splashes, and dust.
  • Protective Gloves – Leather palm gloves are the best option for loading, unloading, hooking trailers, and general maintenance. If you are dealing with a product that is corrosive, irritating, or poisonous, you will need to take extra precautions by wearing gloves that are impervious to the material.
  • High Visibility Clothing – High visibility clothing is important to wear any time you’ll be working near traffic, driving, or at a worksite. Drivers are at a high risk of not being seen when walking around their trucks, so it’s important to make yourself as visible as possible.
  • Safety Boots – Proper footwear is a must in the trucking industry. Steel-toed boots and a steel shank on the bottoms are preferred for truck drivers. Your boots must be able to withstand objects stepping on sharp or falling objects and provide good support for your feet and ankles.
  • Hearing Protection – If you’ll be exposed to high noise levels, you’ll need to wear some form of hearing protection. This could be anything from earplugs to earmuffs.

DeliveRecon PPE Details

Ever been delivering to a new facility and not sure what is required of you? With the help of the DeliveRecon app, you can have access to a full list of the PPE required along with any other safety guidelines put in place by the facility. This app allows our drivers to share the most up-to-date details at every location so no other drivers will be caught off guard and will always be prepared. Check out DeliveRecon here: https://deliverecon.com.

Closing Thoughts

It’s important to know what type of PPE is required for the product you’re handling and the place you’re delivering to. If you have any questions about what type of PPE you should be wearing, please contact dispatch or the safety manager.

At Liquid Trucking, the safety of our drivers is always our top priority. To learn more about how we can make an efficient and safe delivery for you, call us at 844-GO-TANKS!