Deisel Cop's

[Autocar]

Anyone having to deal with these fellows ? My medical card ran out and they got me for a hundred dollars a few months back. I aways got it from my family doctor then she told me she wasn't aloud to do it anymore and a fellow had to go to a state aproved doctor . So it went from $15.00 to $160.00. In the end it cost me 160 bucks I guess the joke was on me. Then a month later I got pulled over I was empty but is was rainning so they did a walk around inspection I got the green light. A few weeks later I got it again and was loaded this time , they checked my truck over then my load. I had ten footers on the bottom and topped the load out with 20 footers on top with three chains and binders. He say's that my twenty footers should be moved ahead eight inches to reach the next bunk. They already had three bunks holding them, he said he could write me up for it but then got his book out ,it looked like a phone book from New York city and then after twenty minuites of looking turned me lose. I don't understand why they just don't make a fellow go every four or six months and then just give you a sticker and leave a guy alone. I could go on and on the over width permit for my skidder to be moved down the road went from ten dollars to one hundred dollars. O well life is still good 

[Dave Shepard]

DOT fines are a huge revenue generator. They have no interest in you having a thorough understanding of the law.

[treefarmer87]

yea thats how they get their $$$, and when they try to explain it, you get the run-around

[Tim/South]

They are more active in this area. They are setting up just outside the larger sawmills now and ticketing just before the trucks enter.
As one told my uncle....We can find multiple violations on any truck if we look hard enough.
His one ticket was $240.
People are calling the mills now to see if DOT is there before hauling.

[Ironwood]

One CDL driver I spoke to said Ct. DOT fined him $35 for each of all of his 18 wheels for having plastic valve caps instead of metal Great stuff. 

Ironwood

[treefarmer87]

WOW

[captain_crunch]

In the mean time how MANNY Moter homes went by No Driveing experiance required All preyvost coaches weigh 19,000 on front axle and gross 48-50 thousand Now where is the justice

[D Hagens]

In the mean time how MANNY Moter homes went by No Driveing experiance required All preyvost coaches weigh 19,000 on front axle and gross 48-50 thousand Now where is the justice

   Yeah and on a long weekend they wait till the last minute and rush home like Indy drivers but the diff is that they really have no control over the RV with wife nagging and kids screaming!
 Seen way too many RVs flipped and down embankments between here and the Alberta boarder because they think they can, they think they can…….

[Ironwood]

Told a very angry friend of mine that had been popped for $1500 w/ his 3/4 ton and empty gooseneck to have a tarp made to look like an RV camper, he could go ANYWHERE untouched/ unharassed. He could weigh 500 lbs and have high blood pressure and no one would care either. #@$%%% NUTS
 
 Ironwood

[chucker]

?? so what cost him 1500.00 smackers ?? running red fuel down the highway!

[Ironwood]

Nope, no DOT#, no med card, no extinguiser, no triangles, no log book, no stopping at scale, and a few others no doubt. They made him drop the trailer (red tagged it) for 10 hours and he had to come back for it, as he did keep a log book and hey did not know where he came from. He was 5 hours from home, so went home and came back the next day, so also a days lost wage. I LOVE this stuff! DOT, ahhhhh our friends keeping us safe.

 Ironwood

[Woodhauler]

Don't even get me started about the dot up here in maine! Hauling wood is worse then being a crack dealer! Can't go one week with out getting stopped!

[jim king]

Are you saying my cant hauling truck would have an inspection problem up there ?¿

 

[Warren]

As one told my uncle....We can find multiple violations on any truck if we look hard enough.

I worked at a paper mill in N.E. PA about 20 years ago.  One of the local state troopers would set up about a mile from the front gate of the plant once a month.  Would have his coveralls on and a creeper.  Would write a citation for every truck he pulled over.  The more the driver fussed, the more the trooper would find to write up.

-w-

[nas]

Are you saying my cant hauling truck would have an inspection problem up there ?¿

 

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

No way
It looks like a RV

[Gary_C]

The only reason why those old guys with RV are left alone is because they are not afraid to complain to their Congressmen and Representatives. So guess why the rest of us get the bad treatment?

Is it because we complain to each other and that does not do a DanG'ed thing to help?  

And many of those big rig RV drivers are pretty good careful drivers and aren't in any big hurry. It's those other guys with the overloaded snowmobile and four wheeler trailers behind some little vehicle that is not capable of pulling a trailer in the first place and they are running at over 70 MPH and fishtailing all over the road that are the biggest problem.

Then I guess we should not say anything about the home made log trailers with car tires that the springs are squashed down till the bed is sitting on the frame.  

PS: And the way to avoid these problems is to have everything working the way it's supposed to and make your vehicle look like you have everything under control. In short, don't give them any reason to stop you. None, Nada!

That's the advice I got from another trucker. Just wish I could figure out how to do that everyday. 

[Banjo picker]

PS: And the way to avoid these problems is to have everything working the way it's supposed to and make your vehicle look like you have everything under control. In short, don't give them any reason to stop you. None, Nada!

That won't always work...Tim

[Bro. Noble]

When we cut utility poles a while back,  some of the poles were 67' long.  The guy that hauled them liked to haul when it was raining.  He said those DOT guys don't like to get wet   He hauled close to 100 loads for us,  most over weight or over length and never got stopped.  He loaded everything so it looked good and chained the load well.  He also liked to haul before daylight and on Sundays.

[Woodhauler]

Looking pretty ain't going to cut it here in maine! They ride around and randomly stop trucks on the interstate and on the back roads! Don't matter if you are loaded or empty!

[Samuel]

Here at our mill I coordinate our winter overweight permits etc. which includes independent mechanical inspections which we hire a heavy duty mechanic to randomly inspect 1% of all the trucks that come into our mill.  Lets just say I am happy that DOT is out harassing some truck drivers...if you have nothing to hide then there shouldn't be an issue.  I do  hear you that some of the DOT officers have a mind of their own, and common sense is something that they have not found yet, but they have a mandate to fulfil as well as we do.

[mr T]

Now I remember why I parked my truck I got stopped 3 times in one day during june safety week Theres no end to these guys now they even have unmarked vans

[Tom]

The argument "...if you have nothing to hide then there shouldn't be an issue." may be good logic in some countries, but it has failed, miserably, in the USA, because we have a Constitution whose purpose it is to protect us from that kind of thinking.   That is the kind of thinking that leads to illegal search and seizure, a crime, apparently, only in the USA where we have a Constitution and 4th amendment that protects citizens from an overbearing government and ruling class.

Individual Freedom is the mindset here, over "toeing the line", especially when it's someone elses line.

[Autocar]

Here I will round it out ! We have to many safety cops !

[Gary_C]

That is the kind of thinking that leads to illegal search and seizure, a crime, apparently, only in the USA where we have a Constitution and 4th amendment that protects citizens from an overbearing government and ruling class.

Individual Freedom is the mindset here, over "toeing the line", especially when it's someone elses line.

Here is a good explanation of the 4th amendment to the Constitution:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

The Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" was adopted as a protection against the widespread invasions of privacy experienced by American colonists at the hands of the British Government. So-called "writs of assistance" gave royal officers broad discretion to conduct searches of the homes of private citizens, primarily as a way of discovering violations of strict British customs laws. This practice led to a unique awareness among our Founding Fathers of the threat to individual liberty and privacy that is created by unchecked government search powers.

Today, the Fourth Amendment has lost its preferred status among our cherished Bill of Rights Protections. In recent decades, growing concerns regarding crime and public safety in America have forced our Courts to sacrifice the privacy rights contained in the Constitution with the ever-expanding demands of law-enforcement interest. The Supreme Court's rulings in Fourth Amendment cases demonstrate the challenge involved in reconciling these competing ideals.

Ultimately, the Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures has been stripped in recent years and tailored to suit the needs of modern law enforcement as we wage wars against drugs and terrorism. For this reason, it is important for conscientious citizens to be familiar with the lawful parameters of police authority to conduct searches, as well as the legal doctrines by which that authority is limited.



And from the same source, an explanation of "probable cause."

What is the definition of probable cause?

So perhaps we no longer have a 4th amendment either. Perhaps you could prevent this type of harassment by forcefully saying "I do not consent to this search" and maybe not. 

[DanG]

Perhaps you could prevent this type of harassment by forcefully saying "I do not consent to this search" and maybe not. 

That won't work either, since they consider the refusal of a "voluntary" search as "probable cause."

Jim King has presented us with the perfect solution!  Make your vehicle look like it belongs to an illegal alien, and they are not allowed to stop you.

[Ron Wenrich]

You can lose your license in PA if you don't consent to a blood/alcohol test.  They give you a breathalyzer test.  I don't think you can refuse that.  Then they take you to a hospital for the blood test.  If you refuse, you lose your license. 

I heard that they put into effect a law in PA that if you are hauling overweight, you can lose your CDL, they fine the trucking company, and the guy that loaded the truck.  Supposedly a new law.   One of our truckers voiced concern. 

[Tom]

One of our truckers voiced concern. 

And well he should.  The intrusion into the borders of State's, the strengthening of the Feds within the States against the State's citizens, is a diminishing of powers of State's rights.  The mindset of many Federals is that there should not be States.  These are the same who tout a World Government.  It's gluttony of power and mixes with Individual Freedom like Oil and Water.

That's the main difference in the way people think today as opposed to the way our forefathers thought.  They thought that Powers were to be given out of the Freedoms that should be retained.   The tail is beginning to wag the dog when those in Power are assigning the Freedoms.  All we have to do is "nothing".

Gotta be careful here, talking politics on the open board.

[mad murdock]

Out west here, the police, city, county, and state, have really ramped up their activity (citation writing), as it is a revenue stream, whereas if they were to investigate crime, well, that is just a money loser.  Criminals don't pay, only law abiding citizens pay.  Another Tax without representation, through regulation, rather than law.  We are under maritime law, not true constitutional law, that is how the code warriors are waging war on freedom today, through admiralty law, and the UCC, all of which should be thrown out with the trash in washington DC.   I hope that timber prices are doing better out east, they took a pretty good dive out here July 1.

[Randy88]

I had a dot officer tell me one day he gets paid by the hour and the longer it takes to find something the higher priced it is for me.    He even bragged to me that theres no truck he has ever pulled over he couldn't find something wrong with and issue a fine for.    Its all about revenue and since the governements spends like theres not tomorrow its only going to get higher priced.   All fines across the board went up in price July first.  The new drivers point system is supposed to go into effect the first of november and that sounds like a total disaster to me.    I guess the moral of the story is nobody in washington has or needs a cdl to do their job least of all any of the braindead in the white house so I'd say we are SOL and its only going to get worse.     

Sorry for the ranting, I just paid my truck and trailer liscences for the second half of the year and found out they went up considerably along with my county permits which went from 25 bucks to 300 per county, I almost had heart failure, my trailers went from 10 to 35 per trailer the total cost to get stuff liscenced was 50 percent higher, now throw in the stupid drivers pith in the cup scam and since I've been called every quarter the last few years, that has cost me about 160 bucks every time I've been drawn, I told the lady that took care of it last time they should find gold in my urine sample because per ounce its pretty high priced, radom my butt, I gotta be the only one that can pass the damb drug test.   I called and complained to the company that handles it and they told me I didn't need to go this last quarter and they would draw another name, big deal, my wife got the letter a week later, she was drawn and had to go so it still cost me, thats a total scam as far as I'm concerned, but the dot deems I have to have it to drive a truck with a cdl.   

[ely]

the DOT rules have changed here last year also and they seem to be cracking the whip more so. just yesterday we seen a log truck come thru town. it had one 4 inch strap over the entire load.
we just finnished a class on how to tie stuff down properly, and that was not in the class. we haul brush cutters and side trimmers and dozers and tractors with attachments of all sorts. i dont believe we have talked to any of the road cops who have told us the same things about tieing stuff down.
 it is just a matter of time before i get in a jam with my DOT papers and creditials.

one other note, when the traffic cops ask me if they can search my vehicle i always tell them no they do not have permission. i dont need them searching thru my stuff.

if they thought i had any dope or illegal stuff they would not even have asked me to start with. i keep my pistols unloaded and in plain site on the dash. on occaision they will run the numbers on those. a person needs to know the laws extremely well these days to keep THE MAN from messing with you.

they always want to know why i feel compelled to have weapons with me everywhere i go. i simply tell them if i should happen up on them sometime in a gunfight with the dopeheads would they want my help or not?

[Randy88]

Around here its a 50 dollar fine per thing left laying on the dash of any vehicle thats not tied down or bolted down,after spending 100 bucks on two pens my dash is now clean as a whistle,  and if you leave it in the seat or junk on the floor they have warned it is a hazard and will impose fines as well, as of yet they haven't got me for stuff other than the dash but every time they stop me they tell me I'd better clean out the vehicles of any thing not tied down or necessary or they will.  I figured they had enough already that they didn't need to waste time on the small stuff but your right you need to know the letter of the law and as it changes try to stay up to date which seems impossilbe at times.

[ely]

where are you located randy88? i have no less than 9000 dollars in fines on the dash of my pickup right now. i wont even get started on the interior of the truck.

[Samuel]

Not to raise controversy here (far be it from me) but having a DOT officer having a targeted or random inspection on your commercial vehicle does not seem like an intrusion of your constitutional rights.  If he was to do a search of your sleeping area he would need probable grounds for that, but checking to see if your brakes are in adjustment, or load is not tied on properly or axles being overloaded, to me that sounds like they are doing what they have been mandated to do.

If you have over $9000 worth of infractions sitting on your dash, then that would send up a red flag to me that there was perhaps more to it that too many DOTS picking on someone.

But again, thats my opinion.

[ely]

If having loose items on ones dash is a 50 dollar fine, I have at least 9000 dollars worth of those fines in my personal ride. thats what i was saying.  i am not familar with those rules thats why i was asking where he lived.

i was speaking in terms of traffic cops wanting to search a vehicle, not the  DOT cops. here in oklahoma they are are two seperate entitys. the dot folks here are getting more and more anal about the rules.
like was said before in these posts they will find rule violations on any truck they want to.

[fuzzybear]

  I quit driving OTR when I had "the week from hell"
  It started in Ohio when I was pulled over for speeding, my crime....57mph in a 55 cost $300.  Then I moved on to Indiana where I was pulled in for inspection and was told my brake drum was "cracked" and was put out of service....I just had all the drums replaced on the trailer....mechanic said he could not find the "crack"...total in Indiana $1900
  Then onto Missouri with the rough roads along with a man that was 92yo and could barely see over the wheel desides to make a left hand turn on the interstate into the front of my truck.  DOT officer said it was my fault for passing him in the passing lane....ummm ok....failure to control vehicle....cost there in fines and repairs $12000.
   I finally made it to California to have my headlight burn out as I come to the scale house at Truckee.  "quick inspection"  forgot to connect the line from off duty not driving to driving in my log book.  Total cost at this stop $3000 and 24 hours out of service.
   Finally deliver and pick up produce to head back with.  Head to truck stop to scale my load....DOT with portable scales... I weighed 2000lbs to much on my drive axle... total cost $1100.
   I owned the truck and the company, I kept everything legal and maintained my truck better than most companies. I always maintained my cool and acted in a professional manor,  But I had had enough... the truck is still parked in the barn and will never haul a for hire load again.
   I sat down 3 years ago and went through my records and figured that in BS fines over 25 years of over the road driving i had donated to 47 of the 48 continental states just over $300,000.
   When people say there are to many DOT officers....I have to agree.

[Randy88]

I live in Iowa and thats the law here, the dot and state boys were anal on that one for a while, and you can't have anything hanging from your rearview mirror either, thats against the law as well, the window tint thing is big in some cities too, they can't be over a certain darkness or you strip it off, not a big deal to me but some it is.   The paperwork thing is a bit rediculous as well, we were in an accident  this spring and it took us a half hour to find all the up to date paperwork and the officer told me you don't throw much away do you, I told him the last time I did I ended up throwing away one piece by accident that I needed and a week later it cost me 100 bucks so sit tight and wait, I've got it here somewhere.     The gas can thing is rediculous, with a cdl you can't have over 5 gallons of gas in the vehicle uneless its in  the vehicles tank or else you have to be placard for hazmat.   Now I've got a couple of five gallon cans of chainsaw gas most of the time in my service truck and I found out its too much and it needs to be in a red approved container, not a blue or yellow container, thats a fine as well, now I'm sorry but if you have a gas generator you can have as big a tank as you want up to and above 300 gallons if you want but only five gallons if its in a gas can, help me on this one, my 5kw generator can have if I want 300 gallons in any kind of tank but my chainsaw can have only five in a red approved container that has to be strapped down at all times, explain that to me.   One better if you have hazmat on board you can't smoke with 50 ft of the vehicle or its 86 bucks, so if I have 7 gallons of gas in cans its hazmat and can't smoke but I can have 300 gallons in a tank connected to a 5k generator and smoke all I want in the cab because its not hazmat?     Who dreams this stuff up anyhow and we're supposed to keep it all straight.   Now get this you can't transport anything over 119 gallons of diesel in any one tank or its hazmat, but you can have up to a total of 1500 gallons in tanks less than 119 gallons and its not hazmat explain that one to me as well, but wait if the tank is connected to an engine say in a truck or a chipper or grinder or somthing then it doesn't matter how big the tank is its exempt so if the  chipper has a single tank thats 2000 gallons its ok your not hazmat and you don't need a tanker or bulk endorsement either but my 5 gallons of gas is dangerous enough to need a hazmat endorsement and the paperwork to go with it.   If you have that all then go ahead and explain it to me but wait next year they'll change the rules again and it'll all be differnet.    We could go on for hours on the load securement issue and whats allowed and not allowed but it gets too complicated and I even get lost so all I can say is you don't have enough chains and binders and they are not stamped for the tensile strength or its not legable enough for the officer stopping you and the bottom line is its gonna cost you a lot of money, because in the end its "up to the officers interputation of the rule book at the time he has you stopped that counts" and thats a direct quote from an officer that wrote me up.    Strobe lights tick me off as well, they have to be a certain size, shape, height, power, intensity, placement, visability, and the list goes on and on but thats a ten page letter alone and in georgia don't foreget you need an amber permit to turn it on or its 150 bucks a friend of mine got caught without the 2 dollar permit there and thats the fine. 

As far as safety and the public is safer because they are out there doing their job, don't buy that one at all, its all about revenue generation and thats it.    Safety is just an excuse that sounds good to the public.   

[Banjo picker]

 Buy a load of fertlizer in your pickup truck and you may be illegal...as for as hazmat and plackards...I got loaded up and the man said "I got to ask you if you want to to plackard the truck for you ?"  I said no thanks I'm headed straight home and I'll take my chances..He said I was over the limit by one bag...next time I'll buy one bag less..   Tim

[Randy88]

As far as them doing their mandated job, try this one on for size, I got pulled over hauling rock out of a private quary one time where they had no scale and hauling it down the road about 5 miles to be dumped off at my jobsite, I had bid the job and it had rained and we needed fill to keep going, the rock had nothing to do with my bid and I wasn't getting paid for it at all I just needed it to keep my machines going so we hooked up a truck and started hauling and on the last load we got pulled over by the dot.    So he starts his full blown inspection and pulls out his portable scales, no problem, I was within weight limits and axles but he pulls out his rule book and determines I'm out of bridge law compliance something about intra and inter bridge laws, now this is new to me so I asked him and that set him into orbit and a tounge lashing like I'd never had before about nobody questions his actions and I said ok I'm sorry to want to know what I did wrong, I"m bad, won't happen again.    Now is when things get interesting, I was *pithed beyond belief and made a beeline home to a phone and called state dot headquarters and demaned answers as to what this intra and inter bridge laws were and why it costs me 1800 bucks, they told me about one of them it had to do with the overall length and axles and so on and that one I was legal with it was the other one that I got fined for and the other one they had never heard of before, now this is his superiors telling me they had never heard of it and I asked then how did he fine me for something you've never heard of, silence on the other end for a moment.   After running it by 5 superiors and none of them knowing anything about it they said "the book is up to the interputation of the officer doing the inspection at that time"  so I asked the question then what good is the rule book if the officer doing the inspection can make up whatever he wants to as he's doing it and how do I remain in compliance ever if they invent something on the spot, the answer was, this is good, "we don't expect you to thats why we have officers out there in the first place."   So step number two, take it to court, another waste of time, its a revenue generator and seeing how I was written up by an officer of the law I owed the money and thats final, now, questions for the judge, 1. All I want is someone to explain to me what law I broke and where in the rule book it shows it and how come the state dot office had never heard of it and couldn't explain it.   2. If its not in the rule book how did they come up with 1800 bucks for the fine if its not even in there 3. How can you enforce a law thats not in the book at all  4 If your the judge why don't you ask the officer to explain his actions to the court, some of us would like to actually hear where this law came from.   The judges response was as follows:  He's an officer of the law and he deemed your in violation and the 1800 you owe and far be it from me to question his authority and if I did do that then anyone wanting off a citation would walk away without paying it so the fine stands, next case please.    And thats how I got fined 1800 bucks for a law that wasn't even in the rule books at that time, but wait, it is there now, seems it was good way to get money so its in the rule book now and nobody can explain it yet but it is a rule.   

So these people that think they are just doing there job like they were mandatated to, I sure hope they have the opertunity to get fined by someone in their life who was just doing their job, who knows they might even get to be the exception to creating new rules and the first to pay the fines on rules yet to be in the rule book, maybe they need new taxes assesed on their paycheck that nodboy knows where the money goes, that seems to be the only way society takes note is when it comes out of their paycheck instead of someone else's.   

So the law is there to protect us from hazardous incompliance that might hurt others in society or cause an accident and its all about safety, and nobody knows what happens when they can't find anything wrong or your totally compliant and instead of just letting you go because you've done nothing wrong and have done a good job of having everything fixed and in good working order, yea about that, after this incident I always have something simple for them to write up and fine me for, the cheap stuff is better than the unknown since its not in the rule book it could get real expensive.   There's always some lights that don't work or rocks on the deck or something obvious thats easy to spot that needs a fine for and then they are happy and off you go, remember they won't quit until they have money out of you I've had several tell me that.

[Ironwood]

All I can say is WOW, this REALLY sucks. I think there is also no ONE place to get the rules, so we can be informed Ridiculus.

 Ironwood

[Frank H.]

Well, like an older friend of mine said, "If a man works for the DOT or the State Police, they most likely never had a job where they had to actually produce for a living."  I absolutely believe that.  I was stopped 3 times with my Tri-axle dump truck in two weeks, by the same DOT clown.  My brakes, tires, lights, and all are always good, even though my truck was older.  He knew this, and said yes, he recognized the truck, but he still needed to check, in the hopes he could find something.  IN THE HOPES HE COULD FIND SOMETHING!  Well, he found a light out.  One of the markers with two bulbs in it had one bulb out.  I asked him why did they have two bulbs?  Isint it in case one goes out?  He said he could care less why they had two, he was issuing me a fine anyway.  This is their mindset.  I have no use for men like this.  They belong in a communist state, or maybe the gestapo. 

[mad murdock]

In the case of CFR 49 and the "other side" of DOT ( the FAA), there is recourse through a process of requesting an "interpretation" of the code.  This interpretation comes from a central clearing house within the applicable regulatory agency in question.  As for each State, I can not speak to that, as i am sure each state interprets CFR 49 ( and other CFR's) per their own rules.  If a state will recognize an "official interpretation" then maybe a guy has an out.  One example out here is on CFR 49, Hazmat rules on placarding and packaging of Jet A.  If it is re-classsified under a different packing group, and the largest container that one has is 119 gallons, you could have a truck full of say 5,000 gallons of Jet A, all in individual tanks of no greater capacity than 119 gallons, that truck does not need to be placarded, nor does the driver need to have a haz-mat endorsement.  The biggest problem with all of the "codified" regulations, is that it takes a full time legal type to be able to understand and explain to a guy if he is in compliance or not, kind of like the tax code, written by lawyers meant to be interpreted by lawyers, so that the lay man gets caught in the middle and pays for his "ignorant" and "willful" non-compliance to the "so-called" law!  If you ask me, it all should be flushed down the tubes, in exchange for some simple common-sense rules, that should be written by people in the industry, and not some unelected government regulatory commission.  That really sucks, Randy88, it never ceases to amaze me that this country has de-evolved to such a bad place, but that is a discussion for another place!

[Banjo picker]

Well, like an older friend of mine said, "If a man works for the DOT or the State Police, they most likely never had a job where they had to actually produce for a living." 

I take exception to that ...I ran a construction company for over 20 years and I work for the DOT in Mississippi....not the ticket writing dept...I am in maintiance, but I get tired of hearing broad statements like that......I understand how irrating it is to be harrased it has happened to us here across the line in Al....But I believe I was dealing with one loose cannon not a whole dept gone bad....We got a fair judge and he threw most of it out...although I did loose a day in his court...Tim

[Gary_C]

Well, I just got harassed again in WI and got put out of service for 10 hours and two tickets for $263 each. Sorry to say and apologys to Banjo picker that I have learned to hate those DOT guys. I was returning from delivering a load of pulp to the mill and met a DOT cop and saw him turn around and come after me. I was not the least bit worried as I have everything in order and was crusing right at the 55 MPH speed limit. But I was wrong, or so that *** said. Claimed I was speeding, but not enough that he could issue a ticket. I challenged that and he refused to tell me how fast I was going unless I wanted him to write a ticket for speeding. I made a mistake and said no because I was sure it would be the only thing wrong and then I would have a hassle with that ticket that would get tossed anyway.

So then he proceeded with his inspection that took over an hour. The guy even got out his creeper and crawled under the truck and even measured the travel of every brake chamber. The result, nothing wrong. He said that two brake lines might be rubbing together and thought one chamber had a very slight leak, but the truck passed the leakage test with zero leakdown.

And then the paperwork. Log book was perfect and current. But then he asked for the previous seven days. I told him I do this only occasionally and normally within MN and was not required to keep a log for those previous seven days. He said I was right, but when I did come into WI I had to have a log showing all the work I had done, even logging, for those seven days that I was not required to keep a log. Ticket number one and ten hours out of service. 

Also I had a valid 72 hour trip permit that started that day, but he said I did not have a fuel permit even though that trip permit says it is the only permit I needed. Ticket number two. 

All this was done with a phoney stop for speeding that enabled his complete inspection. I sorta looked into his vehicle and now I cannot recall even seeing a radar unit. I suspect he was bluffing and regret not making him write the ticket and demanding to see the radar clocking. I know I was not speeding.

Just the week before another logger stopped while I was loading the truck and he warned me to look out for this particular DOT guy and even gave me his name and the town where he operates. He said the guy stops all log trucks that come thru his town. If he can't see something wrong, he will make something up just so he do a full inspection. That logger sure was right. Spent ten hours in a parking lot in 96 degree heat and humidity for that out of service time.

So now, I will go another route and never go that way again. I should have known better. And you can bet that anytime I see a DOT guy, I will wave to him, but not saying how many fingers I will use.

It's a shame that it comes to this. The real problem is with our elected representatives that passed these stupid laws and then sent out the DOT enforcers to collect their much needed revenue. But the DOT is also at fault for enacting these complicated laws and then having too much enthusiasm in enforcing them. 

[Randy88]

Its nice to know I'm not the only one contributing to the fund, did he give you the speech about safety and only doing his job, I've never understood why we need to push the brake pedal for him so he can check the brakes, isn't it his job to do the inspection, why do we need to help him fine us.   

Gee with 10 hours to lounge around and take a needed rest did you figure that into the ticket cost as well, they told me that one to once also and I told them I'd be leaving as soon as the relief driver showed up since it was me out of service and not my truck, torqued him off major time but he did wait to see if someone showed up, my wife and son pulled in and we left together, seeing how the truck already had a  full blown inspecion and was ready to go.   

 I don't know what the answer is, I don't think I've ever been fined for anything that was considered dangerous or hazardous they've never get me for having anything like that wrong its always the knitpick stuff that makes a guy so mad.   I knew about he fuel permit thing thats why I do quarterly fuel reports and have the fuel tax permit which is a pain as well but its the lesser of two evils.   I've never owed anything on fuel tax to pay into the state but I have to do the paperwork just the same.   Now they want a daily log of every mile put on the truck and where it went, more paperwork and for what, I don't own any fuel tax anyhow but they are requiring it.      The brite side is there's always tomorrow to look foreward to and who knows maybe they'll work a differnt area and leave you alone for a while, seems thats how they operate, just keep them away from me is all I care, I think I've bought them enough new cars for one lifetime.   

[Ironwood]

It is a shame they do this to the "small guys", if they did to the big guys their lobby would give some pressure.  

 I did travel 500 miles across pa. (long day) only saw two DOT (together) at 6;30am heading up the ridge. I tried to stay right behind them as s othey couldnt set up quick enough to "pinch" me and motion me over. They turned off and headed down a back road?? Never saw another the whole day running interstates, must be focusing on guys trying to skirt highways?

 Ironwood

[Ironwood]

Well, my buddy got pinched again.   this time not as bad, $200 or so, but they told him, "where's your DOT# and med card, and and and. They only gave him one ticket for operating a vehical w/ inappropriate license. . Some folks never learn. This time it was a random stop just as ne went by the cop sitting in the median. Small load well secured and all. They could have really hammered him again. He is too stubborn to just do it right, some folks. ..............   Well, I guess it is just more $ in the general fund NOT coming from my pocket (although he will begin buying less and less w/ all this hassle). I get the "safety side of it", but he's driving and F-350 single axle w/ a gooseneck, it is likely they would have let him go w/ out if his trailer was under 10,000lb, as it were it is 14,000, which automaically puts you in class "b" I think.

 Ironwood

[aksawyer]

They are hitting us hard up here now also,comes with that Obama money all those city sheeple are talking about.One good thing though,My 1986 white cab-over short logger is in tip top shape.Still wish you all could get Mr.Pres to come up for a nice hunting trip,could solve it all.Aksawyer...........good luck all

[Warren]

it is likely they would have let him go w/ out if his trailer was under 10,000lb, as it were it is 14,000, which automaically puts you in class "b" I think.

I friend of mine runs the maintenance shop for a company that does a lot of trenching and drilling for Telco and Electric companies.  He said his company buys 12K or 14K trailers "derated" to 10K specifically so they do not go over the 26K combined GVW when hooked behind a 3500 or 4500 series truck.  Otherwise too much hassle ensuring they have a CDL driver to pull equipment out to the job site and back....

[bill m]

it is likely they would have let him go w/ out if his trailer was under 10,000lb, as it were it is 14,000, which automaically puts you in class "b" I think.

I friend of mine runs the maintenance shop for a company that does a lot of trenching and drilling for Telco and Electric companies.  He said his company buys 12K or 14K trailers "derated" to 10K specifically so they do not go over the 26K combined GVW when hooked behind a 3500 or 4500 series truck.  Otherwise too much hassle ensuring they have a CDL driver to pull equipment out to the job site and back....

I'm not sure about the logic behind doing that. If your 12/14k trailer is derated to 10k and registered for 10k thats all you can have on it. Might as well save some money and only buy a 10k trailer.
Any combination of truck and trailer (10k and over ) in excess of 26k is a class A CDL.

[alaskan]

  here in Alaska it's not just dot guy's now but also the state troopers! Some of them are taking the classes nessecary to become dot inspectors. So they pull up behind you flip on the lights pull you over put on their blue overalls with neat little patches on them get a creeper out of the trunck roll around and start writing tickets! I could go on and on about this subject had too much experiece with this. In the end it is way out of line!!! 

[Jeff]

Still wish you all could get Mr.Pres to come up for a nice hunting trip,could solve it all.Aksawyer...........good luck all

AKsawyer,  since you didn't actually say what we all think you might have been thinking, I won't delete your post. I'll just let it stay there where the Secret Service can see it as they scan the internet for key words to protect our country and the President. On the other hand, if you would have actually come out and said what we all think you meant, I would have warned you heavily about it and quite possibly banned you for it.

And by the way, I am a conservative Republican by definition I guess.
Now, no more politics or they get deleted.

[sandhills]

alaskan, here in nebraska all state troopers are dot certified I think.  At our local grain elevator the usually set up in force the day after the elevator hasn't been taking any grain for a few days.  We have a pretty good network amongst neighbors though.  Hope they never get me I'd have to just givem the truck (72 freightliner cabover, 318 detroit).  The trucks mechanically sound and good tires/brakes but the little detroit leaks a little oil!

[alaskan]

  Thats not surprising sandhills being that your in the lower 48. Up here we are a little behind the times on such matters. After reading what some of these guys go through im left a little on the speechless side, and hope I never see such things, it's out of line as it is.

[Randy88]

When the detroit quits leaking oil then you know its out of oil and too late to worry about it, I have a few of those too.   But at leat they can hear you coming, I'll shout a little louder, at least they can hear you coming!   I got pulled over once with one and while he was doing the creeper check and I was hitting the brakes for him he was under the truck below the muffler and I revved it up to about wide open and he came out from under the truck like a rifle bullet and once he regained his composure he demanded to know what the h-ll I'd done that for.   I told him my air pressure was getting low and I could tell he had trouble hearing me and didn't go under it again either, I laughed for half a day afterwards.

[sandhills]

Randy88, yeah you probably better shout a little louder and no I ain't lettr run out of oil yet (sometimes I'm tempted though )

[Randy88]

For years the joke was the puddle under the truck looks smaller you'd better add some oil it must be getting low or about out if it had a lot of oil in the engine the puddle under it was always bigger, but they were a good engine and dependable and with enough either they always started in cold weather.   But you never worried where that truck was you could hear it for miles before you ever saw it and after it got wore out you could see the smoke trail coming even before you could hear it, sure brings back some memories, if the dot worked back then like they do today the dot would have put detroit out of business all by themselves from just issuing fines for oil leaks and the dot would be wealthy.   Around here the dot now has radar and are a self supporting orginization, the fines they give most of the money goes directly to them so the more fines they give the more money they make for spending themselves, is that what they do in your area?