DOT---Dep't of Trouble

[tuney443]

Not quite sure how accurate this is but you can't be too careful. Apparently, Thurs. is going to be the latex glove treatment from DOT in NY.Any commercial rig is prime meat.

 

[Pecord Exc]

OF COURSE i didnt read this until NOW!!! You aint kidding, along side the road for 2 hrs and a ticket for tie-rod out of spec!!! What the %^&* does that mean!

 

[OneWelder]

on the news that Conn is having a drive to - It is how the DOT celebrates Memorial Day - I am sure some of you remember the national drives they use to have- 2 violations for being on the road

 

[stretch]

on the news that Conn is having a drive to - It is how the DOT celebrates Memorial Day - I am sure some of you remember the national drives they use to have- 2 violations for being on the road

They have the weigh stations open and everything down here. Caught a bit of it on the news myself and saw them working on the stations over last weekend. Good luck out there guys.

 

[Muffler Bearing]

Come on, Seriously?

They hit one of my trucks today, Luckily it was one of my good ones, you know they are really reaching when they have to nag you for something like this,....chafing...phhft..it barely scraped the dirt off.

 

[hollywood]

From what I read in transport topics. From June 2-4 72 hours CVSA, Police Officers including 10,000 federal, state and local inspectors in three nations will take part in Roadchecks. In those 3 days there will be 1,000 check points and roving patrols. Included in the check was UCR compliance.

 

[Turbo21835]

You guys just need more axles under your trucks. Our DOT doesnt really care for inspecting certain commonly used trailers in Michigan. Lets me honest, to check out a gravel train would take them hours. Most common trucks to get checked by the dot here are single, and tandem axle trucks, usually pulling a tag trailer, Tri axle lowboys, with a tri axle tractor, and then any "normal 18 wheeler." The two pictures I have here are pretty common trailers in Mi, and the DOT doesnt care to inspect them due to all the axles and work that goes with.

 

[thejdman04]

You guys must not have many curvy roads with all them tires. Theyd sure be scrubbing.

 

[danhoe]

I flipped on my cb to find out about the inspection at the rest area and went way around it. JJ Keller sent me a email about this and my neighbor the dot cop also told me. digger

 

[cretebusters]

I was in New York on Wednesday 6-3 having delivered some electric- powered equipment to Mechanicville in a Hertz rental crew cab super-duty 450. Got stopped in Glen, NY and was informed that any truck over 10,000lb gvw for commercial use was subject to dot and was required to keep a log book, have a dot number on the side, fire extinguisher and safety triangles. I explained to the surprisingly pleasant ARMED female trooper that it was a rental and I did not know why those items were missing. The violations listed were record of duty, no dot numbers posted on doorand no safety devices on board . I don't know whether or not I got fined , guess I'll know when I sign and send in the forms. She also told me that there is a Nationwide push on and all commercial vehicles are fair game on all rules including hours of service . She cut me loose quickly and helped me out with log book pages to cover me at any other stops between there and Cincy . It's gonna get tougher out there.

 

[D5G]

This sure is one way of upping the funding across the US, I bet the fines are getting more expensive too. Good luck guys....

 

[surfer-joe]

The feds and states did this last year just about this time. I got caught up in one myself but went thorough clean and got my sticker. Guy next to me got cited for a slightly low tire on his trailer.

After that I pulled my signs and didn't stop at anymore checkpoints, and nearly every rest area and wide spot in the road in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York was a checkpoint. Lot's of long lines that week.

There is probably a smidgen of safety involved in these stops and inspections, but I really think they are more for the stats that the enforcement agencies can wave at their legislators for more funding and jobs.

 

[Hendrik]

I've got nothing against the inspectors going after the slack operators who let their equipment get to the stage where they are really a road hazard but when it is revenue raising or whatever it is a case of harassment.

 

[dumptrucker]

OF COURSE i didnt read this until NOW!!! You aint kidding, along side the road for 2 hrs and a ticket for tie-rod out of spec!!! What the %^&* does that mean!

That means your tie rod end needs to be replaced, it has to much movement in the ball.

 

[Turbo21835]

You guys must not have many curvy roads with all them tires. Theyd sure be scrubbing.

Tire Tread? We dont need to stinking tire tread. Our tires do take a beating. That flatbed picture has air raisable tags on it, so you can get a good number of those tires off the ground when you turn. The second dump trailer in our MI trains you see have a dolly, similar to what you see UPS and Yellow Freight run, except its a double axle dolly. You dont see much tire scrub out of them, unless you are backing them up and turning, because you lock the dolly.

Most trailer tires here are caps, and they are run as long as they can be run. I caught a trailer at a local asphalt yard a few months ago in this picture. The trailer is in storage, but it is not all that uncommon to see a tire like this on the job sites. But where else can your trucks gross out up to 164,000 lbs. Common material weights is around 50 tons for an aluminum set up, and 45 tons for a steel set up

 

[danhoe]

Turbo, I had the wrecking ball, compactor, forks and the 30" bucket in the back of the dump with the 430 on the trailer, Jim could not figure out were we were going because I told him we were going to the yard drop that stuff off, then go fix a septic field. Were are the pictures of your new baby? Ajax and I want to see who she looks like. digger

 

[tuney443]

I'm totally convinced it's all about raising money.It seems everytime I'm stopped at a latex glove exam,a total junker will slow down by the DOT only to get waived on by because either there's no room left for another rig or the officers dont have the time to inspect everything.If I can see inoperative/broken lights,bald looking tires,being overweight,leaning on 1 side because of broken springs,or whatever,why can't the DOT????Seems to me if they really care about safety,they should give shorter inspections so that they could inspect more rigs---if the truck looks older,is filthy,looks uncared for--then just maybe that should raise a red flag to inspect more items.Then of course there's everything else on the road below 10,000GVW that goes under the radar---20 sheets of plywood on a car's roof held on by baling twine,100 bags of topsoil so heavy the front end pulls a wheelie on a small pothole,and so on that the DOT has no beef with.

 

[crash935]

I'm totally convinced it's all about raising money.

Yup, i was pulled around back once when i was out west, asked the officer why and he said that he figured since it was a 2001 tractor and a 2000 trailer he would find something wrong. Pulled out of there with one pissed off DOT officer and a passed Level 2. Would have been a Level 1 but he didnt want to roll his creeper around on the gravle lot!!!

 

[nedly05]

I got it too, overweight on my rear axles, and a box marker light out. It was pretty painless. $285 fine. Oh well...

 

[woodchuck2]

Sorry to dig up an old post but i agree yet dis-agree with the 10k rule that DOT is pushing now. I understand that there are alot of guys out there flying under the radar with unsafe vehicles but then there is the guy like me who can get nailed just for being overweight. Technically if i were to register my 2500HD's properly it would be over 10k for the weight i haul during the winter. It is not uncommon for my trucks to gross 12.5-13klbs in the winter with the plow on and the sander loaded. Does this mean i have to now have DOT#s and be subjected to a DOT stop when i am taking my family on a trip. One of these trucks is also a passenger vehicle too so what are the laws with that? I have looked at the DOT website and alot of the info is conflicting. Does this mean i have to carry a log book? I do carry a log book for my milage in one truck as it is a tax write so i keep a record of personal and business milage but i dont bother for my other 2500HD. DOT has been cracking down on alot of the smaller trucks such as 1-ton dumps when coming out of the quarry but i tow a dump trailer so i have been left alone so far.