Hello everyone,

I work at the Coconino County Legal Defender and I am trying to help a driver who was arrested. If you all can answer my questions it would help him stay out of jail.

1) How common/legal are random stops and searches in different states you have been in? (where an officer just pulls you over and goes through your cab and trailer)

2) How common is it that a lumper will ride with the driver?

3) How common is it for a company to have a driver pick up another employee (lumper, other driver, or just a person the company owner knows) and give them a ride?

4) How common is it to pick up a loaded trailer without knowing what is in it?

5) How often do drivers in general know what is in their trailer?

6) How common is it for a company to pay a lumper money to stick around in a city waiting for a driver?

7) Is it common for the trailer to be locked without the driver being able to get in?

Do drivers mis-report on Bills of lading or route reports?

Thanks any advance to anyway who answers. Any help you can give would really help this driver out.

Vlad N.

In 5 years of driving it has happened twice to me... once in Indiana and the other in Minnesota.. Ohio does it a lot and is very common... Honestly this is becoming more and more of a common thing, economic slow down and high gas prices have Municipals needing more money, this is a way for them to generate money because big trucks mean big bucks in fines...

Not very unless your a moving company (furniture) then you may see this a little more often, but its not very common... Although You may be taking them from the truck stop to the unload location then giving them a ride back after... That is fairly common in the moving industry..

This would be fairly common... So, many reason why one would need to stop and pick somebody up.. example, thier truck breaks down and your in the area, you need to give them a ride to go pick up another truck.. Again there are so many reasons and it is pretty common..

I did it all the time... The BOL would have nothing other then a product number and no description.. So, again this would be fairly common..

75%-85% of the time they would know and 25%-15% they would not know... Now this would very from company to company a great deal..

Very common.. alot of lumpers know ahead of time that your coming and if your late the company would need to compensate them for thier time...

This is VERY common in the trucking industry, again this would go back to not knowing whats inside the trailer... If the BOL does not have a description other then a product number there is no way you would know..

Sorry not really sure what you saying.. you get a BOL when you pick up a trailer, you then need to write that trailer number, BOL number or shipper name and time you picked the trailer up in your logbook.. You have to keep a daily log of everything you do pretty much...




Hope that helps....

It does thank you a lot

Some of you other van drivers need to jump in here. Driving a skateboard, I'm not any help. I always wondered how often Kilo the Wonder Dog took an interest in a trailer the driver knew nothing about?

You got that impression as well, huh?

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Electile Dysfunction - The inability to get aroused over any of the presidential candidates.

Same here, with pulling open platform trailers of various kinds the cops have a tendency to leave a guy alone.

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1.Under federal guidelines,law enforcement can inspect /search your CMV at any time.Law enforcement, as agents of the FMCSA,do have to be trained in this procedure.If they are, then they may enter the cab or trailer for inspection.FMCSA rule 396.9.So is it legal?Yes.It's not that common to get pulled over for a random inspection with out cause.It has happened to myself maybe three times in 27 years.It happens most at a fixed inspection station or when a state sets up a temporary site for spot checks.
2.Lumpers riding with drivers?Is it legal?Proably not.Most carriers require a driver to have written authorization to transport a passenger other than a company employee.I got pulled into a weigh station and needed to show documentation for my wife as a legal passenger.Law enforcement and companies look at lumpers as potential hijackers.
3.My company did allow me to pick up another employee for injury,illness or out of hours.Never a non-employee.The reason?I'd guess to much litigation if the non-employee got hurt.
4.Loaded trailer and what's in it?For the most of us we are at the mercy of the shipper.By law,shippers have to state on the bills of lading what's in the trailer.FMCSA 373.101.Seals which have been affixed to a trailer door can be broken by the carrier,consignee and law enforcement.I have never seen a locked trailer on a drop and hook load.
5.If it's a sealed trailer the driver won't have a clue unless it's a placarded load.Again,this would give him/her a hint of what's in the trailer but it's up to the shipper to properly write up the bill of ladings.
6.I never paid a lumper for anything other than a set price to off load.There are legal lumpers(ones that do this for a business)Their employer assumes other costs.Off the street lumpers,we just set a price at the time of off load.I have used temp agencies for off-loading and at least they assume responsibilty for the workers injury or liability.
7.Locked trailers?Gray area.My company required me to lock the trailer between stops.If I was carrying haz-mat I would leave it unlocked.Why?First responders.They might need quick access to the trailer.If I am dead in a wreck and they can't find the key to unlock the trailer it's more time for them.Some law enforcement has said lock your trailer,others never said a thing.I guess just follow company procedure and let them be liable.
8.Do drivers change bill of ladings?I never talked to anybody who did but I guess it can happen.Example-Driver picks up a load of haz-mat,shipper never asks to see his/her endorsement on the license.Driver leaves and goes down to the local office supply store and gets a blank bill of lading.Fills it out that he is hauling steel casings,not haz-mat.Now the driver has to have some understanding of the proper format of bills of lading and freight class.An NMFC number would be required.I doubt a driver would go the headache of what's involved.Route reports?I assume you mean log books for hos service.Not hard to do unless your company has electronic means to keep an eye on your status.

[quote=cocolegdef;500460]
1) How common/legal are random stops and searches in different states you have been in? (where an officer just pulls you over and goes through your cab and trailer)

In two years, never had it happen. I did get pulled for a random inspection once when going through a weigh station.

2) How common is it that a lumper will ride with the driver?

Never had it happen.

3) How common is it for a company to have a driver pick up another employee (lumper, other driver, or just a person the company owner knows) and give them a ride?

Had it happen twice.

4) How common is it to pick up a loaded trailer without knowing what is in it?

Usually it states in plain english on the BOL what's in the trailer. Not always though. Sometimes it just has product numbers, or will say "general merchandise". As long as it's not haz-mat, this is legal.

5) How often do drivers in general know what is in their trailer?

Depends on whether the BOL is correct. Most of the time, it does state what is in there.

6) How common is it for a company to pay a lumper money to stick around in a city waiting for a driver?

I really don't know.

7) Is it common for the trailer to be locked without the driver being able to get in?

Well, not locked, but almost every time I pick up a preloaded trailer, it will be sealed, and I don't have the authority to break that seal, so it m ight as well be locked.

Do drivers mis-report on Bills of lading or route reports?

I never have.