DOT Blitz!

[crash935]

The Nationwide CVSA DOT Blitz will be coming to a weight station, rest area, on-off ramp and any other place you wouldn't expect them to be on June 3, 4 and 5. Seatbelt use will be their first focus with all the other things they like to find wrong after that.

Remember to play nice and be polite and professional when dealing with them and if for some reason you get a ticket out of the deal, dont try and fight it on the side of the road with the officer.

[DigDug]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Cat287B]

Dipping fuel tanks too?

[bobcatmechanic]

someone running ruby red in road equipment maybe:rolleyes: dont blame ya cheaper when you buy it in bulk and use it in everything

[AtlasRob]

someone running ruby red in road equipment maybe:rolleyes: dont blame ya cheaper when you buy it in bulk and use it in everything

Your not originaly from this side of the pond are you Bob? Thought it was only us that colour coded the stuff :D

[woodchuck2]

someone running ruby red in road equipment maybe:rolleyes: dont blame ya cheaper when you buy it in bulk and use it in everything

A fella here in town who owns a ranch got nailed last year, he got a $10k fine :eek:.

[CM1995]

A fella here in town who owns a ranch got nailed last year, he got a $10k fine :eek:.

Same here in AL, $10K fine for running off-road fuel in your pickup/trucks. It's just not worth the extra savings of $.30 per gallon. Having a transfer tank on the truck and being in the dirt business makes you an easy target for the DOT dipping tanks.:cool:

[John H]

The Nationwide CVSA DOT Blitz will be coming to a weight station, rest area, on-off ramp and any other place you wouldn't expect them to be on June 3, 4 and 5. Seatbelt use will be their first focus with all the other things they like to find wrong after that.

Remember to play nice and be polite and professional when dealing with them and if for some reason you get a ticket out of the deal, dont try and fight it on the side of the road with the officer.


Fun,Fun I cant wait:cool:

[Colin Doy]

Your not originaly from this side of the pond are you Bob? Thought it was only us that colour coded the stuff :D


That'll be a tank full of cherry then AtlasRob? ;)

[AtlasRob]

That'll be a tank full of cherry then AtlasRob? ;)

I am no :angel but I am the sort of bloke that will get stopped, so I have learned somethings just are not worth the risk.
In this game you are an obvious target ;)

[scoot98758]

Does anyone know if you can get a ticket if you don't have a CDL and you are towing a trailer that has a 20,000lb gvw and a ASV skid steer (10,000lbs) behind a F-350 (10,000lb GVW)? This is for personal use and not as a business.

[CM1995]

Does anyone know if you can get a ticket if you don't have a CDL and you are towing a trailer that has a 20,000lb gvw and a ASV skid steer (10,000lbs) behind a F-350 (10,000lb GVW)? This is for personal use and not as a business.

First of all welcome to the forums scoot98758!:drinkup

20K trailer + 10K truck = 30K GCWR. That would be a ticket without a class A CDL.

[surfer-joe]

Yep, I'm afraid so scoot. Once you get over 21001 lbs, you better have that CDL in hand, if you was hauling commercially, that limit could be as low as 10001.

Speaking of the DOT blitz, I got caught up in it at a rest area in New York state off I-86 pulling a 37 foot 5th wheel bound for Baker, New York. The ole lady had a gyppo tummy that morning so we hadn't stopped for our usual breakfast, which is where I usually catch my log book up.

Stopping on the off ramp when I realized what was ahead -- I had only just gotten started putting in my time when the ole woman yipped and squeaked that there was a copper at the window. Sure enough, there he was. I rolled the window down and said "howdy," and he said, "what you doing buddy?"

Nothing for it but to follow him up to the rest area parking lot where I was ushered gleefully into the maximum inspection area by two tough looking DOT types. They started right in -- log book, registration, insurance, BOL, note from my mother? The works!

I went along, knowing in my heart that this could get real ugly real quick, so I was polite, cheerful, very cooperative, and quick to pull the required papers out from hiding. I also played the bumbling old war-vet, disabled on social security, real old-guy routine for all it was worth. I was really screwed and I knew it over that damned log book. But I was confidant that they wouldn't find anything else to complain about -- I run a tight ship mechanically.

They gave me hell about the log book and I had to fill it out then and there right up to the minute. Fortunately I had the days entry started, just no hard data. They gave my hauler and trailer complete check over's, but the truck is near new and the trailer was new, so no complaints there.

The lead inspector gave me more hell about the fact that his PC-Miler program showed that I needed 45 minutes more than I was showing to cover the miles from my starting point to the rest area. I had no real answer for that one as, for once, I actually had followed my dispatch sheet directions to the letter. I figured that I should be long, not short.

But the upshot was that my "aw shucks" routine and lack of anything other than the log violation made him go easy on this old fart and he issued no citations to me. Not only that, he went ahead and gave me my windshield inspection sticker good till September. (Worth 25 bucks to my ComData account from my broker) Then there was the CDL "good advice" speech he put on that lasted for fifteen minutes. Then we talked about Vietnam and the Seabees for a half hour. (I was wearing my Seabee Vet hat you see)

I sedately drove out of the inspection area and parked and at a rapid pace walked inside the rest area facility to **** out some of the bricks I'd collected in the last hour and a half. On the way in I spoke with a young Seabee reservist who'd been shut down for some violation for ten hours, (He was on the phone shouting at his dispatcher in Washington State), and on the way out I met up with a trucker that had received a violation for a low tire on his trailer. He was really brassed off because the DOT guys wouldn't let him drive five miles to a tire shop for a repair, they made him call a tire service truck out to the rest area. Oh, and they issued him a pricy citation too.

We got in our hauler and beat feet out of there, and ran into three more inspection stations later in the day. I'd delivered my trailer by then and had removed all evidence of being a commercial hauler from the truck so whizzed right on by. The next day saw us in Pennsylvania and went by four or five more inspection setups.

Stayed in Cleveland overnight and picked up a repo trailer down by the old water front in the center of the city, then headed for Michigan. From there to the toll road saw a cop busy writing a citation just about every 300 yards, man they was busy, but it seemed they was only looking for speeders and weren't paying any particular attention to truckers. I believe they stopped five or six people in front of, to my rear, and on both sides of me as I trundled along, cruise set at 5 below the speed limit. We made it safe to the toll road, gained speed, and delivered that trailer that evening about 5PM.

The DOT inspector I dealt with told me that there was five northeastern states putting on a big DOT push that week, and brothers, they was. I haven't seen that many DOT people and cops in one spot since the "Blues Brother" movie. Around quitting time near one Pennsylvania rest area I counted sixteen cop cars, seven DOT pickups, Three DOT vans, and several what were obviously undercover units all parked way back in a corner. They had a passenger bus there hauling all the troops back into town somewhere, so I supposed that they were going to create some hate and discontent the next day too.

Crash is correct that if you do receive a citation, don't try to argue with the DOT guy or cop. He just pulls out his books and writes another one for you. Best to be cheerful, smile, be agreeable, and mostly, have all your paperwork and equipment in top condition. If you do get written up, consult a lawyer and in most cases, fight the ticket. I've been to court on any number of citations and beat the rap on most. On a good percentage of the ones I didn't get out of outright, I was able to get most of then reduced in both scale and price. If it's a serious matter, get your nit-picking lawyer into court and let him do most of the talking. Chances are he can get you off. But if not, don't stop there, appeal any ruling against you if there is the slightest iota of a chance a mistake was made by the DOT or if you feel, strongly, that you was robbed. I got a DOT audit result mostly thrown out once by doing that, and later on, a further appeal got the whole thing dismissed.

So it goes on the highways to heaven. Medical appointments this week, some mods to the hauler, and we are off to haul more top-end RV trailers to our brothers in Canada.

[scoot98758]

So does anyone know if there is a legal way to drive my truck and trailer legally while I am under 18? Do you have to be over 18 to have a CDL?

[[-Agent-]]

So does anyone know if there is a legal way to drive my truck and trailer legally while I am under 18? Do you have to be over 18 to have a CDL?

You have to be 21 in the states to have a CDL.

[CM1995]

;86241']You have to be 21 in the states to have a CDL.

:rolleyes: Actually scoot you can get your CDL in MO when you turn 18.

Couple of helpful links:

http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/drivers/forms/cdl.pdf

http://www.dmv.org/mo-missouri/apply-cdl.php


You'll need a commercial driver's license (CDL) to drive a vehicle more than 26,000 pounds, a trailer more than 10,000 pounds, a transport vehicle, or a hazardous materials vehicle. You must be at least 18 years old to apply for a CDL, and at least 21 years old to obtain a hazardous materials endorsement.

[[-Agent-]]

:rolleyes: Actually scoot you can get your CDL in MO when you turn 18.

Couple of helpful links:

http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/drivers/forms/cdl.pdf

http://www.dmv.org/mo-missouri/apply-cdl.php

Not here. :(

[95zIV]

;86276']Not here. :(

Agent,

Before you make statements like that you should do some checking. I couldn't figure out why your state should be different from all the other states. So I did some research on my own.


http://www.dmv.org/wa-washington/apply-cdl.php
Applying for a New Washington Commercial Drivers License - DMV.ORG

If you read the requirements in this you'll see you just hafta be 18. All the states that I've looked at are the same, 18 to get the license and you can drive in your own state, at 21 you can cross the state borders.

[Orchard Ex]

You need to check with your MVA on the CDL for non commercial. In MD you can run a non commercial rig without a CDL but if your GCWR is over 26,001 you'll need a class B non CDL license. Class A if you go to a non commercial tractor trailer. You would also need the truck marked "Not for hire". It would be a tough sell to have an ASV on the back and claim non commercial. Maybe if you put a horse costume on it and put it in a big slant trailer.?:beatsme

[scoot98758]

see the problem is that I am not 18 otherwise I would get my commercial license, does anyone know of anyway to get around commercial licenses until im 18

[[-Agent-]]

Agent,

Before you make statements like that you should do some checking. I couldn't figure out why your state should be different from all the other states. So I did some research on my own.


http://www.dmv.org/wa-washington/apply-cdl.php
Applying for a New Washington Commercial Drivers License - DMV.ORG

If you read the requirements in this you'll see you just hafta be 18. All the states that I've looked at are the same, 18 to get the license and you can drive in your own state, at 21 you can cross the state borders.

Well here if you want to get hired anywhere that requires a CDL you have to be 21. :beatsme

[Steve Frazier]

;86241']You have to be 21 in the states to have a CDL.

;86352']Well here if you want to get hired anywhere that requires a CDL you have to be 21. :beatsme

Not quite the same statements, are they?

[CM1995]

;86352']Well here if you want to get hired anywhere that requires a CDL you have to be 21. :beatsme

Is there a specific Washington state labor law that differs from the CDL rules?

[[-Agent-]]

Is there a specific Washington state labor law that differs from the CDL rules?

IDK but I will just shutup now in this topic. :Pointhead :Banghead

[OneWelder]

So does anyone know if there is a legal way to drive my truck and trailer legally while I am under 18? Do you have to be over 18 to have a CDL
You might not need commercial license you can register as farm or agriculture - I think this varys state by state and of couarse you would need a chicken or something ! to call it a Farm