Ticketed for too many straps

[ontrac]

How dumb is this, my father in law gets a ticket for having too many straps on his load. Dot made him take them off. He has a few extra staps on a 48' load than was required but a couple of straps had nicks in them, so he cuts those off and leaves the good ones (required amount) and gets two tickets one for too many and one for damaged. I think the driver should be able to use as many as he feels is required as long as there is a least the min required. He also got one for having a spliced (union) air line on the exhaust side. DOT Saftey or profit?

[245dlc]

That's a retarded issue, I'd fight it in court if it's an expensive ticket.

[Kgmz]

I would also go to court.

Just read the Oklahoma Commercial Drivers License manual. Don't see anywhere in there that says to many tie downs is not legal. Also read the FMCSA rules, nothing there either.

OK CDLM
http://www.dps.state.ok.us/dls/pub/CMVDM.pdf

FMCSA cargo securement rules
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regul.../cs-policy.htm

And as long as that air line union is DOT approved it is legal. I always have a couple of them in the truck for emergencies.
http://andersonfittings.thomasnet.co...nion-fittings?

[stumpjumper83]

fight it... and get a news channel involved because these dot cops are giving you tickets for non violations, red flagging your truck, and holding us up. Hey time is money, and I guarentee that if they were harrassing passenger cars this hard, somebody would have pulled some strings and they would be looking for a new job.

[Bumpus]

.
Many DOT People don't even know the real laws, or understand them.

The driver is responsible for all of the truck and load, and that is why they have pre-trip inspections.

There is not such thing as having to many straps or chains or binders.

Fight ... and have them prove the ruling
according to the laws and rules in court ! ! !

Call the DOT and ask them about this craziness.
.

[digger242j]

...fight it... and get a news channel involved because these dot cops are giving you tickets for non violations,...

I'd think that the news channels wouldn't be any help, because in general, the news media appeals to the lowest common denominator, and since people driving big trucks are a relative minority of their audience, they're going to be cast as the bad guys ninety nine percent of the time. In any conflict with a truck, generally the smaller vehicle comes out the loser, there's bloodshed and trauma, which is what makes headlines, and that reinforces that bad image.

Now, if you could spin it that the DOT was preying on a trucker who was trying to be EXTRA safe, they might find that angle interesting (but that rig, and driver, better look perfect to the camera...)

[Tiny]

Wow to many tie downs is unheard of around here.I should have had a ticket for that years ago.

The rules must be tough to read or they are always changing. The last scale that drug me in to see my permits had 5 officers sitting there. The guy that looked at my paper and was thumbing through a book said I have only one problem.Then got to a page looked at it closely and said hummm no I guess I don't have a problem.

Looking around I saw that all 5 had the same manual . So are the rules that hard to remember ? Do the rules change that often ? Are the officers that overwhelmed with the sheer number of rules ? Are the rules there to change behavior or earn revenue ?

Trouble with Dot rules in generally is none of the officers I have been around will interpret any of the rules.This case is a classic example.

They wrote a ticket for a cut strap Even though he had "too many" on the load.
I believe they are not allowed to use any common sense and have to go by the book.

At one time safety may have been their goal,but now its all about the money.

I am also a believer in the fact if Dot officer wants too,HE WILL find something .

[muzy]

Even in OK. as far as I know. If a strap is cut you just down grade the WLL.
EI- Say a 5 inch strap WLL was 10000lbs, and the strap has a one inch cut, you would down grade to 8000 lbs. That is 2000 lbs per. inch. Can't say I have ever seen that in print, but I will take a read and see.
To many straps, LOL thats a good one. muzy

[245dlc]

Yeah I agree with Tiny if those "rent-a-pigs" want to find something they will. Last year I was driving a tandem with a tandem axle converter and a tandem axle gravel trailer. If I was hauling out of the gravel pits on the east side of the city I wouldn't get any hassle, but as soon as I would haul from the limestone quarries near Stonewall I would get the "report" light at the PTH#7 scale and they would try they're hardest to find something. I always kept the truck as clean and good looking as I could and would purposely haul well under my maximum axle weight to avoid any fuss but still they would be checking my tires, my lug nuts, registration even my bloody driver's license. This year I'm back on the excavator and couldn't be happier, somebody else can put up with the "rent-a-cops" or I also call them the cop college drop outs.

[Orchard Ex]

Even in OK. as far as I know. If a strap is cut you just down grade the WLL.
EI- Say a 5 inch strap WLL was 10000lbs, and the strap has a one inch cut, you would down grade to 8000 lbs. That is 2000 lbs per. inch. Can't say I have ever seen that in print, but I will take a read and see.
To many straps, LOL thats a good one. muzy

According to this:

§393.104 What standards must cargo securement devices and systems meet in order to satisfy the requirements of this subpart?

(a) General. All devices and systems used to secure cargo to or within a vehicle must be capable of meeting the requirements of §393.102.

(b) Prohibition on the use of damaged securement devices. All tiedowns, cargo securement systems, parts and components used to secure cargo must be in proper working order when used to perform that function with no damaged or weakened components, such as, but not limited to, cracks or cuts that will adversely affect their performance for cargo securement purposes, including reducing the working load limit.

no cuts in straps.
I'd talk to the States Attorney before the court date. He/She may just throw it out over the "too many straps" ticket.

[Bumpus]

.
You don't have to have anything wrong with a truck or a load to get a ticket.

If you reflect an attitude that they detect while they are trying to do there job just get ready because if they don't find something they could make up something and write you a ticket.

Let's say you go to court and fight it and you win.

The officer is not out a thing, and he or she is laughing because you can't do anything about it.

Keep a good attitude when dealing with the DOT, Chicken House, and Bears,
or it may cost you a long delay of slow inspections, or trumped up false charges.

They do not like it when drivers get mad at them for doing there job.

If they did not do there job you would not want to be on the road.

There would be worn out Junk Trucks, Way Overweight Trucks, Drivers driving 16 hours a day, and 8 days a week if they can find them.

Some do it already.
.

[mitch504]

I talked to 2 SCDOT officers when we were all eating at Bojangles, and they told me the way the regs were written we could go to any truck dealer and I could pick any new truck on the yard; they could write a ticket or put it out of service if they wanted. For years we said it cost $100 to talk to a DOT officer; when fuel went up and everything else went down they raised it to $200.

I've had a truck license for 24yrs and have had trucks and drivers out on the road for 15. The only time I know of someone being stopped by SCDOT and not ticketed was when one of my drivers jumped out of the truck ans said "Do you see those 2 slick tires? I've had them ordered for a week and they just came in. If you hold me up I won't get to the tire co. today and my boss will make me keep them until I get a chance to get there one evening." The cop laughed and said "If you have them tomorrow you're getting a ticket dated today and one dated tomorrow".

[Tiny]

I was stopped by Missouri Dot with a 777 crane house on.Its was all I wanted and they knew they had me.weighed every thing and and came out good.Then started the inspection.

I passed all that with one small problem. I got a warning .It's 10:00 am and they cited me for having a cab clearance light dimmer than the others.

Whoda thunk it

[ontrac]

Now to be fair it did not happen in Oklahoma it was Az. I got stopped by a supervisor first time and I had just got my licence, In OKlahoma, He was very nice and helped me with my dot number that I did online. It had not been activated somehow but he printed the form and I signed it and we were good. I also did not have a medical ( I had a flight medical) so he let that slide and I huslted over to get that done as I told him I would. The only thing he had me do was rechain my dozer. I had it attached with ratchet boomers to the tracks and had the blade chained down. He had me chain it across the deck and all four corners. He was not real clear on the reg and was quoting kg instead of lbs. But no tickects when I could have got one. I read the reg on the tie down and disagree with his thoughts but I am never going to argue with them. I am always polite and I want to be legal it is just hard to know what that is always. I just ask for the chance to make it right if it is not obivious.

[Tiny]

Biggest pain in the neck is the difference between states.I had 4 110 foot long conveyors on and headed to Mississippi from Missouri.Had to have a single escort thru Missouri and Ar, Escort front and rear thru Tenn and when I got to Mississippi guy at the scale said lose the oversize signs because that a legal load here. The laws are hard to keep up with.