I came up with an interesting question the other day. We are required to put hazmat placards on all kinds of Flammable loads, like fuel and glue and all kinds of things that are protected by a container. This partly alerts other drivers not to smoke around that load.

So why isn't a load of HAY considered a hazmat load. It is highly flammable substance. It is not usually protected by a container so a simple spark could ignite it. It could even ignite during travel from a spark or hot brake. And yet placards are not required. :lol:

Every load of hay I've ever hauled had to be tarped to keep it dry. That would also help to protect it from any sparks. However, I have also seen a number of the big round bales hauled as oversized loads and no tarp. Also got to see one going down the road, smoldering because the driver threw a cigarette butt out the Window and it got lodged in the hay.

You're right. It does burn easily, but it does not tend to EXPLODE. Most often, it just smolders unless it's given enough time to get going better. And, in that case, the driver is not checking his mirrors.

But, have faith in your government. If you tell them, they'll take care of that too. :wink:

Actually, over heated hap bales can explode. Saw many a hay stack, when I was a kid, that had reputured from heat.

Now the reason that loads like hay and lumber (which will also burn) are not placarded, is for the simple fact that they will not pose a danger to the population of the general vacinity. Once you get into the "bulk liquid" quantities, then you begin endangering lives and property, because liquids spread out, run into sewage drains, down creeks and rivers...and remain flammable, poisonous, toxic, or corrosive. No such worry with hay or lumber.

Having been brought up on a farm, I also have seen barns burn to the ground because of the hay. Factors involved are the type of grass used to grow the hay, and whether or not it was properly dried before it was baled. Clover is very bad for SPONTANIOUS COMBUSTION if it is not completely dry. Alfalfa is much more forgiving about the drying conditions.

Many, many times, we would set bales aside because they were much too heavy to be dry. And, if we broke them open, they were already starting to heat up. These days, with the big round bales and square bales, you are not able to pick them up by hand like we did the smaller ones. You don't get the feel that we did. If there is a bunch of hay that is not properly dried in the center, you don't know. Lying in an open field, it will burst into flame and burn.

Farmers may transport their own hay that way, but generally it does not come off the field and go directly onto a truck to be shipped across the country. At least, that has not been my experience.

I remember reading a story a couple of years back where some 10 year old kid died when he jumped into a hay pile that had spontaneously combusted inside. When the kid went in, the hay went up....burned him to death. He never had a chance.

:sad:

The placards are NOT to warn people not to smoke, they are to warn emergency workers of the hazrads of the product when handling it. since hay wont hurt you, it isnt placarded

The hay we put up was always alfalfa. Dad's rule was to wait for the dew to evaporate, then cut it. In June, under a clear sky, we'd be baling it by 3PM. Dry as a match-stick. You could break the stems between your fingers. Then, in winter, when we were feeding it, it was just as green as it was growing on the field. If he sold some of it, he always got top dollar for that reason. The neighbors with clover had to wait until the sun bleached it out, and even then it was iffy. A couple of thier barns burned with it.

I can believe that he got burned. Once it starts to smolder inside, any disturbance will set it off. In the center of the pile, there is no oxygen available. It just keeps on heating until it must go somewhere. At that point, it bursts open and you have open flames. Burning hay is also not that easy to put out. You can pour water on it all day, and just like a thatched roof, it runs off of where you need it.