[Pelican]

I'm not sure of the reason, but this season my area has been faced with what seems like an overzealous DOT program. We are experiencing almost weekly random inspections. These take 1/2 hour minimum and with 3 guys in the truck you can do the math on the cost to me. If they come up with a violation (they often do) things go downhill in a hurry from there!

We've got 3 levels of Police protection (?) here, Town, County Sheriff and State Police. All 3 have their own DOT divisions now, it's really becoming a pain in the you know where! As hard as I try to stay on top of repairs it always seems there's a light out or safety item missing somewhere. There's one officer who's rapidly gaining a reputation as being a real, well...., sod buster. writes you up or impounds you for the slightest violation. Some of the DOT requirements just aren't practical. Example: They have a maximum height requirement for mud flaps. Get them right so they are the proper distance from the road while you're empty, you end up tearing them off if you back up with a load on.

Are any of the rest of you running into this and is it cutting in to your bottom line?

[Bill Schwab]

Join a local police support agency like FOP and ask for a sticker to put next to each rear license plate on your trucks and trailers. Cops usually give breaks to those who support them. Now, how I feel about this activity, basically, they are revenue collection units. Each fine they write, that town or municipality gets a piece of. Since politians don't need to raise taxes as they should, they support these types of police activities and they label them with saftey issues. The real issue is revenue collection. Or another aqngle is to have all the local landscape and trucking companies form an association that will give to politicians who support putting police on other more important duties like chasing crime rather than collecting revenues.

[Bamboo]

Sounds like the homeland security police are using the money wisely in N.Y.
Is it just me or what????

[smittybros]

well pelican, i feel your pain. im a full time landscaper, that also supplies many other landscape contractors and homeowners from my garden center and bulk material yard.i have a fleet of trucks 1 tons 2 tons 6 wheel tandems and semis. we are like a pull me over billboard. ive once had 3 trucks tied up at a dot ck station (ck lane) at one time. when the guys called me on the radio i went zooming over there. ya no ta straighten those cops out (BOY I WAS HOT)........... any way was that ever a big mistake my choice words not only slowed matters up. they actually told me u aint seen nothin yet. (THEY WERNT KIDDIN).... problems every week over pidly stuff. i guess we basically we have 2 pay way 2 much for trucks, plates, insurance, and saftey stickers, just 2 get hassled by these guys? this really hits a nerve with me.


so yes i am running into this and yes it is affecting my bottom line.

[Bamboo]

I wonder how the IRS adds this little price into the "price for mile " write off?
It bs with the IRS not letting me wrie off gas for my truck(let alone repairs). Im now paying more than 3 bucks a gal. for diesel! (oh ya its higher than premium gas!)??? What gives?
Am I crazy?

[smittybros]

last year my on road and off roadh deisel fuel expense exceeded $85,000. cant wait 2 see this year. not much government help just road blocks

[Bamboo]

I like trafic safety and its needed to be enforced. It does save lives and property.
Thats importaint stuff! But how is it that a f 350 dosent need a CA # but my cab over
under 26001 pounds does?
Ive been watching the dot in the oncomming lane for months now looking at me and no name on the door or a CA #, but i just seem to know the right turn off to avoid the "bleeeeeeeeeeeeep" hehehehe

[jwholden]

Last week a tri-axle overloaded with sand lost it's brakes and killed four people, including the driver of the truck. It was the worst multi-vehicle accident in CT in years. Three people who had nothing to do with hauling sand are dead for no other reason than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The truck police did an inspection of the companys other trucks the next week and took some of them off the road.

I see a new impetus of random truck inspection checkpoints around the state. And you know, that could be a good thing!

[Bill Schwab]

Comming from the side of mechanical safety, and having drivers tested for brake checks through the CDL training program, the accident you describe JW should never have happened because the driver should be checking his truck before he pulls from the yard, and after he leaves the scales each load, then write up a repair list and turn it in or down the truck and get it repaired.

The police have far more important things to do than collect revenues for burned out light bulbs on trailers, and to set up random checks is like looking for needles in haystacks.

Honestly, that is one good thing I can say about the lack of police support in California...We could use at least twice the amount of patrol cars that we have, and the cops are kept pretty busy. Said that, the one thing I don't miss at all are those random check points.

We clearly don't need the police out looking for violations, (which is nothing more than a colelction of revenues for the state) when they could be chasing people who misuse firearms, rob banks, or other serious crime.

I would change my position if local DOT's offered a 5 day fix it and report back grace period. Since they don't, and the truck in violation has to pay the fine while waiting on the scale, and that fine must be cas, credit card or certified check, BEFORE A TRIAL, that just bolsters my arguement. They are out for money and revenues first, masking that act behind the arguement of safety.

No one wants to see unsafe trucks on the road. No one wants to see anyone killed. But life is a crap shoot in itself and you never know when you number is called up. Simply by the weight of a gravel truck alone, if you get hit, you goin down....that's all there is to it, regardless of brake situations.

If the police are not collecting revenues, how about for every truck they stop that is not in violation, they give that company it's hourly rate for the time they wasted while the truck sat cooling it's heals....
If they are not out there for revenue collection first, then how about they allow a 5 day fix it or else ticket? With acceptions for brakes and suspensions? How about ticketing the loaders who at with supply yards in our area, load a ton of sand into an illegal aliens Toyota Tacoma and he pulls out on the road? The police in our area rarely stop these guys simply because they know there is no money to collect.... So, if it is about safety, why not come down on the loader if the place they bought the materials from has a scale?

This is a hot issue for me, and until I see proof otherwise, there is no way anyone can ever tell me that random check points are not about revenue collection first, and safety second. The fines usually pay for the salaries, vehicles, and equipment within the first 4 months they are out and after that, those fines are pure profit for the municipality....

[Pelican]

Well said Bill! I agree with you.

Last year in an effort to trim the State budget, threats of cutting funding to the DOT program were entertained. This is a pretty attractive job for the cops, they just sit on the side of the road and wave a truck over, then do a walk around looking for violations. No foot chases, very little chance of facing a gun, just write tickets and show up to trial on overtime. So when this threat of cutbacks was made, these guys went into action. They became much more aggressive in their ticket writing in order to show numbers that would justify keeping the program active.

It used to be just the State Police we had to contend with, but the other police departments noticed the chance at new revenue and developed their own programs. We now have the Sheriff and some local Town Police deportments to contend with as well. You can end up getting stopped by the State Police one day and one of these other agencies the next.

I've got to say though that some of these cops are pretty cool, realizing we're out there trying to make a living and that they are just doing a job. But there are quite a few who seem to be on a power trip and act as though they've made an accomplishment if they've been able to find something to write you up for.

Like I mentioned before, there are so many absurd DOT laws that they are almost always likely to find a violation or two. There are laws regarding the number of tie down chains, along with type used and amount of tension they must have. If one becomes loose while in transit, there's grounds for a citation! I'm required to carry DOT approved gas cans. Well the only ones evaluable around here are metal, rust out quickly, and use those flexible steel nozzles which are so prone to leaking (and cost $100 a piece). How can these be safer than the non-sparking plastic cans which are pretty much leak proof and cost only $12?

I understand the need for safe trucks, but do we really put the public at risk with some of these crazy requirements? The other day I was able to skirt around one of these checkpoints, but my day will come and I worry at how bad it will be.

JW, I've heard about the wreck you noted, from what I've been able to surmise from the newspaper accounts is it was caused by driver inexperience and error. It does however inspire the DOT to become more aggressive to satisfy the public outcry.

Bureaucracy at it's best!!!

[Bamboo]

So, if it is about safety, why not come down on the loader if the place they bought the materials from has a scale?


If you put the load on the loaders our price goes up more.
They now have to pay for the accidents and the tickets. Why would they even want to load you if that burden was upon them?
They would fold in a week with that mentality. How about the way it is is ok but damn dick in a chp truck you got a job, dont go for the legit buiz, go after the jipos shmuck! Hes the one with nothing to lose!
We have lots to lose and danm it were not gonna lose anything we cant prevent!
If you have a class a or b licence your gonna check it!
Lose you licence no more driving?
huh ?
watch your own load thats the way it is! Get off my back about CA numbers and bs that dosent even apply to me. a f 350 can do what my big ol isuzu cab over can.

[Bill Schwab]

Well bamboo, it would be just fine with me if loaders did not load toyota and Nissan pickup trucks. point being, if Juan or Hector comes in with a 1970 series Yota, or Sneeze on truck and askes to put one yard of sand in the bed, the loader should have enough sense as to tell him it is too much weight for that vehicle. Or if JQ Homeowner comes in with a rented single axle trailer and asks for 3 yards of gravel, once again the loader should stop it before it even goes further.

When we discuss issues of safety, I believe there are no parties we should leave out. And just because a driver is so dumb they will load a yard into a tonka toy sized truck, there should be other checks and balances beside a police controlled revenue collection unit thusly dubbed the DOt.

As far as your F-350 not needing a CA number, if it is a dump truck used for delivery purposes on your jobs, it requires a CA number. Any truck over an 11,500 GVW has to have one.

Now when you talk about revenue collection, it's best done through taxes rather than slowing the process of a group of hard working individuals such as the trucking industry.

[GLAN]

LOL Bill


I just had to laugh when you said

"Now when you talk about revenue collection, it's best done through taxes rather than slowing the process of a group of hard working individuals such as the trucking industry."


I dunno.....I pay enough taxes. We are near close being taxed for the air we breath .

[Bill Schwab]

Glan:

I agree with you totally. but at the same time, I hate the thought that politians think we are that stupid to think that fines are not the equivelant of a road use tax. A good example is road use taxes...Did you k now, that along with license plates, which are intended for road usage, we have a .30 a gallon tax on gas, and a 23% tax on tires to support road usuage, and then you have the CA numbers, or DOt numbers....License plates are called to fund road use. then they don't have the stones to tell us the fees are not enough, so, they add all kinds of assessments fees, and other hog wash and funnel into road usage. I would rather they told the truth about what monies go where...but, if that occured, they could not funnel money into pet projects to support those who got them elected....

Sorry for the political rant, but, roadside check points, and fines are all related to polititians who have not got the spine to raise money as necessary to road funds.

[VoodooChile]

Here, Johnny Law has been raising revenues for strapped townships mostly with speed-traps, but given the way some of our tourist friends from the south drive --tailgating, no turn-signals, slalom-style lane changing (how close is too close?)-- I'm not sure I object.

I also agree with jwholden that it's a pita until somebody gets hurt, and then it's deadly serious.

I got overloaded once with topsoil by some kid at a supplier, and rather than drop the gate and shovel off a few yards, I figured I'd take the bonus dirt and risk it...after all, I had just a few miles to go. Well, the trailer tire blew at 45mph, and went careening onto the shoulder where a pedestrian saved his own life, and jumped out of the way, cause there was nothing I could do.

Another time, my old business partner had switched trailer balls on me to haul a chipper, and not realizing it (and not having inspected my rig before driving), I got loaded and the trailer tipped off the ball before I made it out of the yard.

A couple of close calls, or a couple of fines, will save lives.

__________________________________________________
Still, there is protecting the public, and then there is harassment, and it sounds like you guys on the coasts are getting hammered...one more reason I love the midwest (after 20 some years in the Baltimore-Philadelphia corridor).