DOT Inspections

Search "Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance"(CVSA).When there,search up top for"inspection levels".Fines are determined by the state that issued it.Anyone who inspects a cmv must be certified for the level of inspection he or she is performing.

 

Level 1_ Full inspection of vehicle and driver. Brakes are checked and measured, all vehicle componets. Mostly done at scale facility.

Level II Walk around, everything on the vehicle you can check by walking around it. This is most commonly done at roadside. Driver is also checked as well.

Level III: Driver only inpsection.

As far as fines, they vary from State to State and violation to violation. It depends on the State, Some State's the State Patrol, State Police or Highway Patrol are the lead MCSAP (Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program) Agency. In other's like Florida DOT or South Carolina Transport Police are the lead MCSAP Agency. In my State, the State Police is the lead MCSAP Agency. The sworn inspectors are State Troopers that have worked the road as regular State Troopers, then were transferred to our MCSAP unit after years of being assigned to road patrol duties, Criminal Investigator duties, Drug investigators or anything else we do. The civilian inspectors are just that, civilians that are Motor Carrier Inspectors. They do the same job as the Trooper, but are not armed and will work with a Trooper. They do not have arrest powers but can issue citations and warnings. This will vary from State to State.

 

now i have made it clear that the dot is not my favorite people, the dot not the inspector or the officer.

when you get an inspection for safty they are actually doing you a favor there could be somthing wrong with your truck that your not aware of anything can happen to a truck running down the highway such as a broken brake drum and if part of that drum comes flying of that truck at highway speed all hell can break loose and sombody can gt hurt or worse, that is there job to find it before such an event happens and by todays standards that is what they normally do and the out come is usally in your favor, can you imagine what is going to happen if such an event happens while you are driving? YOU THE DRIVER IS LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE. not a good thing.

all of you that are concearned about the DOT should consider this they might just save your career and more and most of nthem today are pretty decent guys.

now i have heard a lot of ramboes run there mouth about what there going to do if they get stoped or what there not gong to do and 90% of all that hot air is just that hot air but a word to the wise.

the dot officer is in fact a sworn officer he has the power to enforce all laws and he does in fact have the powers of arrest, he gets payed to do a job but he does not get payed to take your abuse and you can talk yourself into jail, if you dont agree with him thats fine and your wright but tell it to a judge to argue with him is not a wise thing to do.

when and if you get an inspection chanches are in a few minutes you will be on you way knowing that your in good shape safty wise. he is really doing you a favor. and its free.

most of the bad you here comes from events that happened years ago , but its not that way anymore everything changes and that encludes law inforcement if you give them a chance they will do a good job.

so when the dot tells you to pull over or go around back at the scales dont let it bother you in a few minutes you will be on your way and still have money in your pocket.

the phrase of the day is be nice, aint nothing but a thing.

be safe out there and remember be nice. southernpride

 

Southernpride pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would only add this. My son is a state police officer. Though he rarely does DOT inspections he does encounter truck drivers. For some reason drivers just can't keep their mouth shut. They tell him all the things he's doing wrong and how that couldn't be them etc. He's got a camera boys and girls. You're on Dash Cam! He has related events that occurred at a stop and you would not believe some of the comments made. 99% per cent of you would say nobody is that stupid. Yeah, they are. To top that off not only are they on video,he has a microphone and records his comments as well as those made by the other party. I have encountered a number of DOT officiers in my years on the road. I've met some real good ones, some that don't relate well to people, and some that shouldn't even be a dog catcher. Sort of like truck drivers. Real good ones, some not so good and some that never should have been issued a license. In my years on the road I met maybe a dozen who I felt just shouldn't be dealing with truck drivers. Now that's just my opinion based on my face to face with them. I might add here that in the inspections I was never placed out-of-service by any of them. A piece of advice for the newbies. 1. Cooperate. 2. Be respectful(yes sir-no sir). 3. Answer his questions. 4. Don't volunteer any information(if he/she don't ask-don't tell). 5. Follow the instructions during the inspections. 6. Above all don't voice your opinions about the officiers ancestry until you get to the truck stop. 7. Keep your voice down. Nobody likes to be yelled at. 8. Be a pro. Act like a pro. 9. You are not gonna win an arguement on the side of the road. Don't try. 10. This doesn't mean you roll over and play dead. If you disagree with the officer about an inspection item ask to speak to his/her supervisor. If you do that you better be right. I have gotten away with it a time or two but the officier brought it on himself with his attitude and "wyatt earp" approach. You will have to be the judge as to when to do that. Keep it between the ditches.