Just some of the stupid things I see

Yeh, ya gotta love it. Nobody's responsible for themselves any more.



On another subject:

DieselBear and ScaleMaster: How many straight trucks get inspected, do they have to keep logs, make weight, etc...and how many get shut down?

 

LOL DB to bad you dont work this area. Neighbor, Mark Calcia, just doesnt get it. His junk is still on the road. Google him, he is there.

 

"drive to a scale"? So it's ok to drive illegally as long as you say your going to the scales? Sweet, I'll load 100k net and just tell the cop I was headed to the scales, too bad the scales are where I'm unloading.
I bet 9-10 drivers never even look at the IFTA sticker & an insurance card is easily forged if the owner wants to fool a driver. But still it comes back on the driver. That's why I believe the driver shouldn't be held responsible for things that's out of they're control. Non working lights, unsecured load yes, fuel taxes, unpaid insurance.......no sorry that's a company problem that should come back on the company.

Like I said I'm not defending the guy, he probably deserved more than what you got him for. However $50 says you would have got him for being overweight even if he had driven 10 miles and was on his way to the scales.

 

It does not matter what the farm registered truck is hauling. The only breaks he is going to get around here is a cheaper license plate and the CDL exemption if he is operating within 150 miles of the farm. ALL other regs apply.

 

If it has a GVWR over 10,000# and is used in commerce, it is under all the rules.

LOTS of straight trucks get inspected here, and yes, they get shut down too.

Violations run from hours of service, operator's license, medical cards, ... to renting a truck and forgetting to put the carrier name and USDOT number on it.

Straight trucks with multiple occupants are usually a pretty good check for outstanding warrants.

 

Got a question for the Scalemaster. If you've got a prepass in your truck and it gives you a green lite, does the computer just show the day or does it also show the time?

 

A lot of those "kids" grew up driving in the fields, and by the time they reach an age where the law says it is legal for them to drive the farm truck on the road to haul from the field to the elevator, they have more time, experience, and miles behind the wheel of the truck than most CDL school graduates.

Around here, you still need to have a drivers license for the class vehicle you are driving...it just doesn't need to be a "CDL". So you still have to go to the DMV and take the written and road tests for that class A or class B license. You still have to pass the air brake tests if the vehicle is equipped with air brakes. The only test you DON'T have to take is the CDL general knowledge, because you aren't getting a CDL.

In a few states, the secondary 2-lane roads have higher weight limits than the interstate. Other states the secondaries are lower weights. Even the axle weights vary from state to state on the secondaries. It all depends upon where you're at...

I prefer the secondary roads myself....interstates bore the hell out of me.

"They maintain a record of the time I start, the time I stop, and how many hours are in between."

Doesn't matter HOW they are kept...as long as they are kept. Could be a time card...could be on trip sheets....could be log books....as long as it identifies the driver, the date, the starting time, the ending time, and the number of hours worked.

There does seem to be a lot of confusion in regards to the 100 air-mile exemption....and the FMCSA offers some guidance on the matter:

http://fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=395.1&guidence=Y

I carry a map printed from my computer with a circle drawn at that exact distance. If I'm inside that circle and it hasn't been more than 12 hours since I came on duty, I'm "local".

Which is exactly what I give an officer who asks so long as I meet the requirements for the 100 air mile exemption.

In other words, as a mostly "local" driver, I don't HAVE to carry a log book, time card, or any other documentation of my hours worked for the week in the truck with me. Even if I venture outside of the 100 air mile radius or take longer than 12 hours to get home again on any particular day, I ONLY have to have a log book page for the day I'm currently working on. I do not have to start that log book page as long as I still meet the requirements for the exemption (because at that point, I'm not even required to HAVE it)...even if I anticipate that at some point during the day I might no longer be eligible to claim the exemption for that day. As soon as I am no longer able to claim the exemption....as in I am about to leave the 100 air mile radius or extend my day beyond the 12th hour...I can then go back and fill in the day's log book page in order to bring it current. I don't have to have the previous 7 days. I don't have to have anything other than a current log book page for the current day when I hit that 100th air mile or the 12th hour.

I have never had any problems telling an officer I do not have a log book because I am not required to carry one. Some of them have a hard time believing that not ALL truck drivers have to keep a log book...but they usually come around. If not, I stick to my story...explain the 100 air mile exemption to them and insist that I am not required to maintain a log book and therefore I do not have one. If all else fails, I'd pull out the little green book and show them the exemption...but it has never actually come to that on the side of the road.

 

I have tried so hard to get everything right starting out in this industry. I done indeed drive me crazy to see drivers who just don't care....because it costs so much money to do it right.

 

The computer records EVERYTHING.

Your weight, unit #, USDOT#, Lic #, etc., etc, etc...