Just some of the stupid things I see

I'll disagree with you there, but I will agree that it's a better topic for another place.


Some of us have a bad taste in our mouth over LEO's because they DO make it a habit of pushing the limit too far too often. I for one think citizen over-sight committee's with the teeth and ability to hold LEO responsible for their actions are long over do.

Some of this "stupid things I see" make me wonder how many officers do look for the silly things and such.

Not saying some of the things I have seen here make one wonder.

I have been waiting since Monday night to get pulled into a scale to explain why I have no right side bumper. I have seen more than a couple people walk by my truck shaking their head.

I can imagine WHY some people are thinking I am missing that part of the bumper. Not one of them have asked me either.

I am sure that a scale master would really have a fun time with my truck and all and not have a concern that it was a deer hitting my truck that took the bumper off.


If dieselbear got run off on account of the sentiment from others, makes you wonder how much the LE community needs to really clean up it's act then.....

 

True the Leo's job is to enforce...but not to interpret! Any and all laws, rules, regulations, need to be scrutinized and completely understood before being implemented. The exact reason that when a change, or new law is introduced, there is a period of time that the "new" is tested before complete enforcement. As most of the FMCSA regs are written...in legaleeze...that there is too much room for "interpretation"...and any law/rule/reg, should be equally enforced, interpreted (by legal determination, not lay interpretation)...also, not have a different or even subtle difference when being addressed by a different State, zone, or region.

 

I worked for an excavating company one time. Every now an then a loader would bust the lens on a side chicken light. Here would come the boss with a hammer and finish busting off the light. They ain't giving me another ticket is what he would say. So I know it does happen.

Maybe some misunderstood me. I'm not anti-government at all. I just think the rules need rewritten because it was built and added to over the years. These forums tend to show some regs that can be confused by drivers, safety and even an occasional leo. I was just throwing stuff out there to show how some can get confused. I wasn't trying to prove anyone wrong.

When someone asks a question and there are several answers, something is wrong.

 

We're in a society now that can't even agree what 2+2 is. I would fully expect some different interpretations of laws from one LEO to another. Not saying that it's right....but that I rather expect it.

I think CondoCruiser is spot on in his last post.

 

Agreed, but with the addendum that often when there are several answers, some of those answers are hearsay misinformation that gets passed from one misunderstanding to another until it balloons up like an elephant with flatulence problems.

Everybody here knows that our industry (like most, I imagine) is rife with folks who talk first and research later (if ever).
Combine that with the cross-section of our fellow truckers that have had their already existing conspiracy/victim/martyr complex exacerbated by a few marginal experiences and you've got a perfect powder keg of "THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME!" rage just begging to go all Hindenburg.

As far as legalese. Legal language is legal language for a reason. Yes, it can be misused and manipulated to dupe common people into getting screwed, but by and large the history of the language of law has more to do with finding the kind of precise specificity that prevents laws from being overly general in their implications or open to sweeping interpretations.

If 393.3 said "All lights must work." You'd have to go practically to the supreme court defining a whole host of things that aren't obviously implied in the law. Common sense works well enough until somebody's trying to make a quick buck or get out of trouble. It goes both ways.

 

Granted that things are out of control, but just the same - even if you get an evil jack-booted thug DOT power-trip super-trooper writing up bogus tickets, it's still the job of the courts to interpret the law and dispense a mediocum of justice.

...or that's the way its supposed to be.

The real problem is the bovine excrement heaped upon the industry in the use of warnings by the CSA program, and the lack of due process involved in the DataQs program. That combined with the difficulty for OTR drivers to get back to a given jurisdiction to fight said bogus ticket. There have always been stupid LEOs, PO'd LEOs, LEO's tired of trucker BS, LEO's on a power trip...

And there always will.

 

You know the simple answer is make sure all your lights work. If they did simplify it and mandated only a set of lights and that they work people would whine that their individuality was being crushed and depressing them. Hell when they changed the rear light regualtion all you heard was super truckers saying" It's my #### truck I'll run whatever lights I wish". Eventually it will just come down to the simplest form. These lights, no more no less period because of the myriad of ways people can take things.

As Saienga said it is written for that way for specificity but people like the aforementioned jackwagons instead of trying to operate within or fix the system will simply throw up their hands and declare life is tragically unfair. Kinda like a child that asks to play a game then whines when they hear the rules they do not like the game.

I would also say it is every states right to set their regulations so long as they meet minimum requirements. Don't like a States rules feel free to not visit that state. Kinda like it was supposed to be set up in this republic, you should be allowed to vote with your feet and your wallet.

 

It's been touched on a couple of times here. Leo job to enforce the law. Judge's job to interpret and uphold the spirit of the law. If you think Leo was wrong go to court. I hear so many driver's at truck stops and such complain about a wrongful ticket. The first thing i ask them is did you fight it? Of course mostly the answer is " Nah, too much trouble." That's a problem.
An leo that is writing bogus tickets is not going to stop until a judge makes him. It's his job to review what the Leo is doing.Judge's opinions are reviewed by other courts. But, if you don't fight it, the judge doesn't review it.
I don't often agree with Revelation 911's opinion, but at least he fights to the end when he feels wronged.

 

There is a lot you can do long before it comes to going to court.

Every LEO has a supervisor, who has a supervisor, who has a Chief, Captain, etc. It is actually their job to review what the LEO is doing. You can call the agency the LEO works for and ask to speak to a supervisor, better yet go as high up on the food chain as you can, get the head of the agency or at least some official in the main office.

Be polite and ASK for help, do not accuse. You will get a lot farther that way. Tell them you feel you were issued an inappropriate citation, that you do not see where you were in violation, and could they look at the regs with you and help you understand. Believe me, the agency does not want officers out there making sh!# up. They want to know these things and are usually agressive in putting an end to them. They can take a lot harsher corrective action against the rogue LEO than the court.

Much better to get a ticket voided or nolly-pros'd than have to fight it in court.

If you can't get anywhere by yourself, and you work for a large carrier, have your safety guy make the calls. Sometimes they can get farther than you can.

 

This guy gets points for using a chain.