pulled over for my first time....

Two states to watch your Ps & Qs. First comes CA, then comes MI.

 

Got to disagree with your disagreement regarding probable cause. A MCSAP Certified Officer (some municipalities and counties, particularly in port towns and many state officers other than just CMV Enforcement) does not need probable cause to pull over a CMV to perform a Safety Inspection. Non-MCSAP Certified Officers for a possible traffic infraction; yes. They have to have probable cause same as with any other motorist. A MCSAP (Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program) Certified Officer for an "inspection"; no. Along the lines of something else you said; "inspection" can be a very broad brush stroke.

A friend of mine that is our State's FMCSA Agent In Charge of Special Programs told me they (FMCSA) are trying to phase that program out because while it seemed a good idea on paper, after years of complaints it seems it isn't working out like they planned. It was originally designed to improve safety in port towns and container routes before they made the fairly recent change to accountability for chassis maintenance and turning in a DVIR to the chassis owner. Nobody would do maintenance on container chassis' because they were mostly owned by the steam ship lines who were not under the jurisdiction of the CMV Laws regarding maintenance. Sort of a prevalent "your chassis - your problem" attitude. That and to give states with limited CMV Enforcement budgets more eyes on CMV's.

The problem arose in that the 40 hour course to certify an officer is not all that much and the fact the officers spend most of their shifts with traffic enforcement and peace keeping responsibilities led to a LOT of mistakes. They just weren't NEARLY as good at CMV inspections and enforcing CMV laws as the full time CMV Officers are. Makes sense. CMV Enforcement is a specialized area with special laws rules and regulations for a wide variety of specialized equipment and a LOT of mistakes are made by "well intentioned" (or ticked off lol) MCSAP Officers. I actually had one in Savannah, GA tell one of my drivers his SC CDL wasn't valid in GA. Really. I kid you not. My friend the Fed laughed and said: "I don't doubt it. That's exactly why we are trying to phase out the program. Well intentioned but just poorly trained and educated locals and some that were just ticked off take the no probable cause to pull a CMV to inspect it thing way too far. Plus, probably 75% of the DataQ challenges I have to overturn in favor of the carrier or driver are from a local MCSAP Officer that was just incorrect in his understanding of what actually constituted a violation. Problem is it's a Federal Program and the States and municipalities get a bunch of Federal money for training and continuing education, which I'm SURE gets used strictly for MCSAP training [cough, cough]. They don't want to give up the Federal money so they are fighting us."

I absolutely agree with you that even when faced with an ignorant or offensive officer the best practice is absolutely to remain professional and courteous in all communication no matter how wrong the officer might be. You can always argue in court but you'll never win an argument with a ticked off officer on the side of the road. Just be professional and if you were in the right or harassed use your rights under due process down the road.

 

Did some trucking in Ohio, while I thought the people in Ohio were great, the P.U.C.O., not so much.

 

The first week I started driving I got pulled over for a random inspection and everything was fine. Since it happened so early in my career I thought I would get pulled over at least three times per month. That was the last time that happened. Heck I haven't even been through a weigh station scale in six months.

 

Wooly Rhino, the plug being undone, did this occur on I-75 in the Dayton area? I was talking to another guy who had the same experience about a month ago.

 

Yeah, the pigtail I have now is a little tight and sometimes the spring on the cover on the trailer I'm pulling is a little weak and a good tight turn will pull the pigtail out. Had a driver ask me why I had a little bungie tied to my pigtail. I use it to wrap around the cover on the trailer and hold the pigtail tight when I have one with a loose spring on the cover. Keeps it from coming loose if (if - HA, WHEN) I have to make a really tight turn. I deliver to retail stores and do a LOT of tight maneuvers. That trick helps a lot more than you might think.

 

Hi Aminal, don't let a trooper see that, (at least in Wis.) I have a friend that got pulled over for the trailer lights blinking, and they told the trooper, the spring on the cover was worn, he wouldn't let them "jury rig" it and had to have a service truck come and replace the whole female part of the plug in the trailer! Cords and brake lines laying on the deck plate, got stopped for that once too.

 

I've always wanted to get pulled over by a trooper and as soon as he walks up to the window have the following conversation,

Me: I bet you're going to try to sell me a ticket to the state troopers ball
Trooper: Sir, state troopers don't have balls
Me: You said it, not me.

The problem is that conversation would probably be followed by "Sir, please step out of the vehicle" unless he starts laughing. If I were a cop and someone said that to me, they would be cut loose immediately.

 

HA, BP, that is funny, however, I've found police generally don't have ANY sense of humor, especially women cops. Years ago, when the scales were run by old men (seemed officers close to retirement would get scale duty), you could joke with them, but these new officers are strictly business.

 

Now that's one gig no drivin' school could prepare a student for. I'm curious though, is Reba connected with the company in any way? I heard she had her own Big truck truckin' company to handle her tours. I thought the name was StarStruck, but StarQuest is pretty close.

Memory.
Second thang to go
Don't'cha know.