FMSCA video

What a waste of space on this planet these people are.



American Trucker

 

I agree that they should target cars more. What I also picked up from the video, was subtly inferring truck drivers are the ones driving drunk, driving inattentively, committing all the traffic violations. Not saying that with all us newbies (yes I include myself as a newbie), there's several that should not be driving a truck. This forum is a good resource to demonstrate that. However the 4-wheelers are causing more and more wrecks with big-trucks, due to their inattention, texting, talking on cellphones, and just plain D.W.H.U.A.

I watched the video twice, and no where did I hear someone say that. The comment was to the effect that a CMV due it's weight is more likely to cause serious injury or death when involved in a crash. Sorry but that is nothing but pure fact. Example if 2 cars collide in an intersection, most of the time it will not result in serious injury or death. However if a big-truck and a car collide, chances are high that someone will be seriously injured or killed.

This video is for motivating local LEOs to do their job!! If they see a CMV committing a traffic violation, stop them, cite just like reacting to a car committing the same violation. You'd be surprised how many local LEOs do not want to mess with stopping big-trucks. They don't know and understand the regulations, but think that if they stop a CMV they're suppose to. Also on the flip-side of that coin, there's also several that will stop CMVs, that don't know the regs, but try to bluff their way through. Those are the ones that get their tickets dismissed in court. A little OT here, but did you know that when LEOs repeatedly write bad tickets, the courts do not look favorably at them. They gain a bad reputation with the court, and find they just as well forget about getting convictions. The judge may even speak with the LEOs supervisor about the problem.

 

Before I was certified as a inspector, and worked road patrol I can only think of stopping a truck maybe 5 times in 4 years. I didn't know what to do with them and I knew we had a commercial vehicle unit to deal with them. Most road patrol officers are the same. Some have had inspector training and will stop them. But until you see some of the things I see drivers doing you wouldn't believe a trucker would do that. I will give you car drivers do stupid things as well. I stop them each and every day as well. But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, when a truck is involved in a wreck, it is usually a serious personal injury or fatality. Trucks take longer to stop and can not manuever like a car, that is fact. I don't think the video is telling officers not to stop a car, however, it is telling them, do not ignore a violation if it is a truck.

 

Although I am sure this video was meant to inform LEO that stopping a CMV is within the scope of their duties and how to appropriately do so, I also feel that it was a blatant attempt at singling out those of us that drive for a living. I also interpreted them as telling officers to pull over the speeding truck because it is heavier before pulling over a car. I do really wish I would see people pulled over and ticketed more often for improper lane changes, be it in a commercial vehicle or a car. Almost every accident I see is caused by this. And I see one or two almost everyday.

In the end we as professional drivers should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen, it is our job after all. So take it in stride, run legal (ish) and close to the speed limit.

 

The other day I had the privilege of seeing the same trooper that had stopped one of our trucks, stop a 4-wheeler pulling a small trailer. When I went by, the trooper and the vehicle's occupants were all looking at the trailer hitch. Apparently something was not quite right with it.

I thought to myself, if the car driver had done a proper PTI before leaving, he wouldn't be having the problem with the trooper now...

 

I see cops breaking traffic laws much more often then I see trucks doing it. I can't remember the last time I saw a cop actually use his turn signal, or saw one that wasn't tailgating. And most of them drive like a-holes whether on-duty or off, because they never write each other tickets.

 

thats exactly why i get a good laugh when you see on the news "breaking news a XXXXX Officer was involved in an accident today, the officer is ok though"

its a shame perhaps if more of them had their heads cracked open when they do stupid stuff they might just grow a brain cell or 2

They had a San Antonio, TX cop wreck here yesterday watched it on the news, he rearended a pickup truck


American Trucker

 

The way I saw it was that the feds are using the safety issue to cloak the fact that they are profiling professional drivers. The part where the officer was talking about Timothy McVeigh really stuck out. What in Gods name does Tim McVeigh have to do with driver safety? As far as I recall McVeigh was not a truck driver and was driving a rented vehicle.

Don’t get me wrong safety is very important but profiling truckers as potential terrorist is pretty darn spooky.

Welcome to XYZ trucking rookie. Your trainer could be a potential obese drug using alcoholic ex-con or terrorist who suffers from high blood pressure and sleep apnea but don’t worry too much about it when you crawl into your bunk at night and you’ll most likely be conversing with law enforcement quite often. Talk about sleeping with one eye open and a weapon in my hand.

This is what I got my A license for? Can somebody recommend a good psychiatrist?

Driving the old dump truck is looking better every day I visit this site.

 

I grasp the idea that routine traffic stops catch criminals...But to include the Oklahoma Federal building attack, and reference mass murder(s) in a video from the FMCSA about truck drivers? Really? Necessary?