Use Of Frequency Scanner Equipment In Commerical Vehicles

Discussion in 'Trucking Industry Regulations' started by mongo_mike, Oct 31, 2011.

  1. mongo_mike

    mongo_mike Bobtail Member

    18
    1
    Oct 13, 2011
    Stevens Point, WI
    0
    I cannot find any information regarding the use of frequency scanners or similar equipment in a Commerical Motor Vehicle used in Interstate Transport of Freight in the FMCSR.

    Are there any CMV Drivers out there with a scanning hobby such as me? Does anyone have any further information on weather or not this is allowed, not allowed, ect? I know some individual states have mobile and portable scanner laws for use in their state and if you can share those as well it would be appreciated.

    My only concern is having a scanner running, possibly getting pulled over or called in for a DOT inspection and being considered to have used the device in the commission of a law violation (Ect, Speeding, having the scanner in the vehicle at this time, could an officer argue you were using the scanner in commission of the act of speeding to try and dodge law enforcement?) Stranger things have happened I am sure. Thank you for any insight.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. dibstr

    dibstr Road Train Member

    1,308
    927
    Sep 10, 2010
    Mississippi
    0
    I don't believe the FMCSR would be the problem. Several states have laws concerning scanner use as well as many municipalities. Most deal strictly with scanning police frequencies but some cover any frequencies assigned by the FCC to police, fire and in some cases any department of the state or local governments. Generally the laws/ordinances do not differentiate between private vehicles and CMV's. You would need to check on every jurisdiction you enter.
     
  4. Winchester Magnum

    Winchester Magnum Road Train Member

    1,492
    1,647
    Jan 4, 2009
    Alaska highway
    0
    I have an Icom v8000 that I bought for running the Alcan highway thru Canada, to communicate on Ladd 1. Since its in my truck I usually leave it on scan while running the lower 48 and have found it generaly more annoying than entertaining. Most police bands have moved to the 900 mhz and my radio only goes from 137 to 174 mhz. The weather channels are nice and once in a while I can pick up some ham radio broadcasts. As for legalities, Canada requires a licence to talk, but after calling industry Canada, they told me they can't issue a licence to a non Canadian, so I guess they saved me some money LoL. As for having a vhf here in the states, I haven't a clue if what the various state laws are. In the states I never talk on my vhf, just listen.
     
  5. Scalemaster

    Scalemaster Heavy Load Member

    808
    1,716
    Mar 13, 2011
    Midwest
    0
    The only Federal regulation I am aware of is 393.71 prohibiting Radar Detectors or any device that detects or messes with speed measuring technology.

    Scanners can be banned by States or municipalities, but I do not know of any that have.
     
  6. catahoula

    catahoula Light Load Member

    63
    34
    Dec 3, 2009
    Townsend,GA.
    0
  7. dibstr

    dibstr Road Train Member

    1,308
    927
    Sep 10, 2010
    Mississippi
    0
     
  8. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

    18,951
    8,978
    Apr 4, 2007
    0
    Indiana has a ban also.
     
  9. bigdogpile

    bigdogpile Road Train Member

    1,931
    1,462
    May 16, 2010
    fontana ca
    0
    Can I have a radar gun in my truck ? So when all those super truckers fly by me I can turn it on and all their "birds" will start "chirping" and they all hit their brakes and try to squeze back in front of me as I put a little foot in it and hang em out to dry in the left lane...
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2011
  10. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

    7,740
    14,412
    May 7, 2011
    0
    I go to many places that use the CB for loading/unloading communications....and very few of those places like to post what channel they are running. In this situation, my scanner comes in handy...set it to scan the CB frequencies and as soon as they key up, I know what channel they are running. Also works great when you run into a pack of trucks that are on a different channel and need to relay information to them.

    The scanner is also the only weather radio I have capable of receiving the broadcasts over the weather bands.

    Always make sure if it has a state name associated with the police frequencies that it is set to a state which allows scanner use before you turn it off. Better yet, do that and then switch it to scan CB or weather channels before you turn it off. If they see the scanner during an inspection, and turn it on, they will see that it was only scanning CB or weather channels and you might be able to explain that away. If you are in a state which prohibits scanner use, and they turn it on and it is scanning their police frequencies, that is a little harder to explain.

    Basically, use common sense.
     
  11. mongo_mike

    mongo_mike Bobtail Member

    18
    1
    Oct 13, 2011
    Stevens Point, WI
    0
    Thanks everyone, another possibility is also to simply dissaconnect the power supply while traveling through states which prohibit the use. I use
    radioreference frequently but just don't simply have the free time to check every single county/town/so on. Anyone know of a master list for states that allow or prohibit use?
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.