Voluntary OOS

nahhhh...
probably 90% of my driving experience was pulling government loads and pharmaceuticals in convoys escorted by federal marshals. we were always pre-passed. in fact, i think we could have driven by the scale with ###-end of the trailer dragging on flat tires and they wouldn't have stopped us! dot doesn't mess with the guys with machine guns! lol!
btw, this is probably the same reason my license is squeeky clean and i've never had an accident. it has nothing to do with my skill as a driver (although i am careful and tend to drive slower than other people). the cops simply don't want to mess with the drivers in an escorted convoy. they are hands off because you are the marshal's responsibility and they have other things to do.

 

You guys did get me concerned about how badly I wrecked my CSA getting the dump truck through inspection. I tried to look the company up on saferweb, but it's not listed. I guess because its a local company that only hauls dirt within a few counties they don't have to have a federal dot number. Does this mean I skate on the CSA thing?

 

What you can do is hire a big truck tow truck to tow the unit into the weigh station and then request the Level 1. This way you will not be dinged on PSP or CSA; it will all go to your company's CSA points. When they start losing business because their score is too high, they might decide to run optimum equipment.

 

You have the right to not drive it if it's OOS. they CANNOT MAKE YOU DRIVE IT. Turning it in to the DOT at an inspection area would only harm you. All you have to do is call them up and say " I'm putting this truck OOS until you fix the defects. It's not my truck so it's not my job to fix your equipment or drive it OOS so you can continue to make money with it". In the meantime, find a new job.

 

You can get DOT to come out and inspect you and not have it reflected on your record. Years ago I talked to DOT here in KS about a company who had terrible equipment. Told them I needed the job but the equipment was terrible. They told me all I had to do was park somewhere and call them out. It would fall under something....forget what law or term he used....but that the inspection would be done and it would not be stated that the driver requested it. Can't remember the details as it was probably ten or twelve years ago. I was operating cranes for the old guy and we'd haul hay and other stuff when he didn't have any crane work. But his trucks and trailers were garbage. I never did get anything inspected....just ended up going somewhere else.....

 

Usually just going somewhere else is the best answer. Especially if you can't operate a screwdriver.

 

I couldn't agree more! Especially if you don't wanna constantly do free work on a truck you don't own, for a boss that most likely won't acknowledge it let alone appreciate it.
There's plenty of other sheep out there that will gladly spend just as much time working on that truck, as they do driving it (heck, I've known company drivers that will pay for chrome and accessories on someone else's truck just to "look cool")...let them have the wheel. Go somewhere that you'll be respected as a driver, and not used as a free mechanic.

 

Explain to me how replacing a lightbulb or a mudflap or putting new wiper blades on is free work please. You're not replacing the clutch or anything. Part of your job as a driver is to ensure the truck is road ready for each day of service. You've been driving 20 years. What do you do when a headlight goes out? Refuse to drive it until someone else fixes it?

 

I HAVE done that stuff driver. But in THIS PARTICULAR CASE, the boss keeps ignoring, and ignoring, and ignoring the issues. This tells me he/she cares nothing about anything except the next load. The OP is ALREADY being disrespected. In this case, it would not be worth the OP's time to work on issues himself, because it will not be noticed---the boss is to busy looking for the next load to give a crap.
If you are with a company that has proven they can and do respect you, I'd say there is nothing wrong with doing a couple quick fixes...but for the OP on this one...they will open a can of worms that will not close. EVERY time something is wrong with the truck, the boss is gonna scream "Keep Rolling".

This is a "case by case" issue as far as I'm concerned. And in this case, the OP is better off moving on if he can't get the boss to address the issues on the equipment HE owns, and is required by law to keep maintained. People like the OP's boss are not going out of their way to make your life/job easier...why in the heck would you wanna do it for HIM?

You have my views on this topic, and I have yours...we'll just have to agree to disagree, because you aren't gonna change my mind, and I don't feel like I need to change yours. The OP is welcome to read everything here and make up their own mind. I'm just giving them something to think about other than "fix it, and move on".