Observations from roadside inspections

You'll be looking forever on guys collars in my State. No one, and I mean no one wears a "DOT" collar pin here. The locals, whether a officer or deputy, wear the same uniform as all other officers or deputies. The Troopers, well we all wear the same uniform too. Happy hunting though.

 

Most guys and gals I see that have trouble with their logs, do exactly what you describe Mike. They take their mileage and average it out and then make their log book appear "legal". It is so easy to shoot holes in their "legal" story. When they get hit with a hefty fine and 10 hours sitting they wonder why. Guys the best advice, and I'm in no way shape or form a lawyer, but I see guys getting jacked up everyday for it, is to log it the way you run it. After seeing a driver convicted of vehicular manslaughter who was involved in a fatal collision and had a falsified log book, it made me a believer. Good luck ad be careful.

 

That is something that I have never understood...with all the time monitoring tools out there, how can any driver legitimately think that they can get away with falsifying their log book.

I worked as a compliance officer for a transportation company in the past and I always laughed when I'd over hear drivers talking about how they can make their logs look legal when their not and fool anyone out there.

I guess they forget about the toll booths, qualcomms, b.o.l's, and so on that we can use to pinpoint such falsifications. I did my best to educate and counsel the drivers in my area about the importance of simply logging it as you do it. I stood behind my drivers every time if dispatch was asking them to run illegal & I would make the call to dispatch and explain why that driver was not going to run illegal. There is no load worth giving up your hard earned money (fines) or life (crash) for. But, if you make that choice to run illegal then be man/woman enough to take your medicine when you get caught.

I've been involved with investigations where a drivers log book was so highly scrutinized it was ridiculous but all it takes is one false entry, one mistake, & you will find your neck in the noose! It's just not worth it to me.

I've been around for 14.5 years and it just seems easier to follow the rules then circumvent the system. No one can fault you for doing it right & I would much rather have the law on my side than against me.

Anyway, thats just my $.02.

 

First thank you for your post. I would like to state that I am, by scholastic standards, uneducated. I took extra credits to graduate early to be able to work because we were poor. The school(different from where I went) that provided the extra courses lost my transcripts. I didn't find this out until later. Long story short is that I did not get a diploma. This was traumatic and I refused to obtain a G.E.D.
I choose to state this as evidence that people too smart can be more ignorant than others.
I do have a problem with the section on automatic brake adjusters. I will address this from-the-hip, so to speak, without much study. If there are any that wish to debate I can touch up on things. I say this as I am about to call a branch of the government wrong and their information possibly mis-leading. They should have consulted the various slack adjuster and brake manufacturers, or myself, before making certain statements.
Bear with me as I bisect the NTSB reporting on automatic air brake slack adjusters being bad if needing adjustment.
1)- Out of adjustment;
There are basically two types of automatic brake slack adjusters.
a)- stroke sensing
b)- clearance sensing
There are a number of reasons why a slack adjusters could be out-of-adjustment and, with all the infinite knowledge of the NTSB, they could be just plain wrong.
Heated parts do what? They expand or swell.
Example #1(scenario);
If a driver is descending a long hill, maybe not experienced as he/she should be, and exits into a truck stop at the bottom, the brakes probably overheated on the descent. The drums will be expanded, and as the driver sips coffee in the restaurant, the brakes cool. If the driver did not pulse the brakes(OMG, anyone ever see a driver with smoking brakes?), use the correct low gear, and maybe didn't have or didn't use the engine retarder, the adjusters could not perform properly. You see, the "automatic-self-adjusting" brake adjusters are actually a form of semi-automatic. When a person turns the key on they do not "automatically" adjust but must be actuated or used. As brakes are applied the adjusters work.
Example #2(scenario);
If a driver has has experience in descending hills, and descends a long hill, properly uses the brakes, and exits into a truck stop at the bottom, the brakes probably became overheated on the descent. When brakes are over-used there is excessive friction between the shoes and the drums.
. The drums will be expanded, and as the driver sips coffee in the restaurant, the brakes cool.
The brakes will now be overly tight as the adjusters will have taken up the slack in the descent, and will be out of adjustment when the driver resumes the trip, as the expanded metal has cooled thus contracted.
The brake adjusters will have done their job "BUT" the brakes will be too tight and need adjusting.
According to the NTSB the driver must call a mechanic and have the adjusters replaced. If he has made this trip a lot he should have 3 or 4 sets as he must return in a couple of days. DOT is bad on this road and he/she has had more than one ticket.
He/she did contact the manufacturer, was even allowed to have a couple of sets replaced under warranty. He/she is now cooking at the beloved restaurant as freight did not pay enough to try to be safe, legal, and follow the NTSB report. Someone else bought his/her truck and has no problems as their route is different.
While maufacturer's will advise to have automatic adjusters checked if they are out of adjustment they use words like "may" be defective.
Note: 250 to 450 degrees Celsius is acceptable. 450 to maybe 600 degrees celsius and there could be visable smoke. Above this and a fire truck may be needed.
Any engineer's out there wish to debate the above examples with me?
2)- Bad adjusters; A brake adjuster can just plain wear out or go bad. These need to be replaced.
There can be a fact that other parts can be worn such as the brake shoes, cam, bushings, drums, air chamber/diaphram, brake valve, or other parts that can cause misadjustment.
If a driver does not have the experience to inspect and diagnose brake problems this should be done regularly by a qualified mechanic. If a driver does not have the knowledge to at least inspect and maybe adjust brakes this person needs to take some classes or maybe change professions.
A driver is liable for his/her vehicle to pass a pre(or post)trip inspection.
An 80,000 pound(more or less) missile can be catastrophic.




A little history on the issues surrounding automatic slack adjusters, the NTSB has been very vocal in the FMCSA mandating that if brakes equipped with automatic slack adjusters are out-of-adjustment then the slack adjuster has failed and should be replaced. The link should help folks better understand the reasoning for the recent changes regarding brakes out-of-adjustment and slack adjuster violations: http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/journalist/lessons/LL_truck_air_brake.txt

 

An officer at a scale is certainly easy to spot. If there is no difference in your uniform or the vehicle you drive I guess it does't bother you to get asked for verification of authority?

 

Some drivers have learned to operate in their invironment. I trained for a long time and explained to every driver that running legal was the law. That a 10 hour break or fine is nothing compared to what can happen if a driver is involved in a fatal accident(at fault or not) and the scrutiny that this may involve.
One thing you didn't mention was bank records. A driver that usues a bank card leaves an easy trail. Also many shippers and receivers use time logs.
Many drivers know that many companies can not follow all drivers at all times. A company may use certain times as a check refereces like fueling and even Qual-comm spot checks but even if caught a driver knows they will get multiple warnings before it get serious.
There are drivers that do run illigal but many companies are tightening up on over-site. This is usually because an insurance company is involved.
An insurance company has to foot the bill when an accident occurs. This will usually involve the cost of defending in court as the plantiff will be going for the deepest pockets.
Do not forget that many towns have cams at intersections. This can be evidence also.
Running illigal may be life changing if an accident happens, with a fatality, and the truck driver is at fault.
There is the theory that if a driver, not at fault, had ran legal he would not have been at the place of an accident in the first place. A couple of hours here or there could add up to years in jail.

 

Doesn't bother me at all. However, I don't have to show you anything at roadside saying I'm authorized to do inspections. In fact, I don't carry my court binder with all my certifications in my back pocket to show everyone, everyday either. If you have a question about authority that why they have court preceedings. If you don't submit to the inspection, it's a costly fine and a tow bill. As far as uniforms go, I still wear the same uniform as I did as a road Trooper and have a utility uniform that is worn doing inspections. The reason for this is the regular uniform will be ruined by grease/grim etc. As far as vehicle's some guys have marked units, some have unmarked units with no markings at all. So looking at the vehicle, you'll never know for sure. It doesn't say "North American Standard Inspector on Board." It will just say "State Trooper", if a marked unit.

 

Bear I think once again this all boils down to attitude. If a driver gets pulled over and acts with courtesy and respect, they will be surprised at how well the inspection will go. If a driver starts demanding things like let me see your badge, certification, I'm not gonna be inspected, etc.... it'll make for a very long day.

 

You're absolutely right. Every now and again I will get a driver that has a attitude from the minute I stop him. Now I understand people have a bad day. I have them too, but giving me or anyone attitude for no apparent reason isn't going to help your cause. For instance, if your at a shipper and give them attitude, wonder how long that will set you back. Now you can go to the end of the line. Looney, I've seen all types, dealt with all types and generally I'm not going to raise my voice to anyone and they will be dealt with , with respect. However, I am human and if someone acts like a jack* * *, they will be treated like a jack* * *. Attitude goes a long way with me. The guy that trained me when I first became a Trooper taught me many things, but one thing in particular. "Treat people the way you would want to be treated, if you were in their shoes." To me that's is a powerful statement. I could go out here and act like a d^ck to everyone and be the biggest SOB. But at the end of the day, what's it matter? A lot of the local driver's I deal with on a almost daily basis, trying to get around me with their overweights tell people I know all the time. "He'll get you, but he is fair and treats us good. He doesn't act like a d^ck and does his job." I've been doing the truck deal going on 10 years, and it is what it is. I don't want to screw with guys anymore than driver's want me screwing with them. I'll do the inspection and or weighing of their truck and move on. Nothing more, nothing less. I took an oath to uphold all the laws of my State and I will enforce them. Nothing p^ss es me off more than people trying to dance the reglations or laws. This just doesn't apply to truck driver's, I've been this way my whole life and especially when I was a road Trooper. This is where I have my fun, finding someone who thinks they can do whatever they want to do and no one will say anything to them. I have a couple of local's now that I have touched for this very thing. It's a game of cat and mouse for me with them. How many times can I smoke them before they do it the right way.
But I agree looney, attitude and not just when dealing with the police will take you a long way. If everyone would apply this to their everyday life, a lot of issues/problems would never arise.