Commentary: Do we need to worry about a parked truck?

Thank-you!

 

It is nothing more than California moving east.

 

I live in Ontario, CAL. When I moved here in '91 most of "South" Ontario was still in the
Dairy Preserve and no one hassled truckers. I had neighbors who ran tanks for the dairies and neighbors who hauled hay or cattle. I parked company trucks and trailers in front of my house. Sometimes dumps or gang trucks pulling a backhoe trailer. Most of my neighbors were cool with that as long as on Saturday, I pulled the rig around the corner for the mail carrier's access to the mail boxes. We were considered a rural route and still are a rural route to this day.
It wasn't until I brought my Ten wheeler home and backed in the driveway that the hassles started coming in from my neighbor next door. He's a Forced-retired L.A. County Deputy with nothing but time and a full tilt retirement check. I made the mistake of parking the rig on the street one night and next morning got a visit from Ontario DOT. This guy hates trucks and truckers. He even calls the cops on me when I park my Fifth wheel in front of the house, which btw, is legal for up to 72 hours here. I took care of that problem with the PD and they know my neighbor is an #######. He wasn't satisfied trying make things rough so he called code enforcement claiming that someone was living in the trailer.

I pay $800 a month to park my rigs and RV at a storage facility. I know it sucks but what the Hell am I gonna do? Most of the IE has a 5 ton weight limit for parking and I can't park my 1 ton on the street over-night if my neighbor complains because it's a company vehicle and I will receive a citation from Ontario DOT. I can't convince my wife to buy out in say Yucaipa where you can still get a 5 acre lot for a reasonable price.

It's the cities and the citizens who forget that trucks bring goods and services to them. Truck routes are just BS. Ever try to work or deliver in Victorville? What about Culver City? Yeah and Beverly Hills. All of these municipalities love truckers and their highly paid trucker salaries. Frankly, I don't see it getting better in SoCAl. Almost every city has its version of DOT. They realize it's revenue enhancement. Truck route sign-age posted behind a tree or the sign just too small to see. How about arterial streets that would normally be ok for trucks but like in the case of Washington Bld., that 3 mile stretch in Culver City is a freaking cash cow for the city. I have even received a ticket for being over limit with a permit to work on the street from the Culver City PD. The cop said he was just doing his job. They don't care, they have quotas. Even if you can beat the ticket, you've lost a day's pay to clear up the ticket.

 

Anyone can say what they want to the U.S.A. is going down the tubes. And personally I am a very easy going person but I think people who pass laws like this are scum.

 

My neighbor across the street used to drive tow truck. when He would bring it home someone would call code enforcement on him. they also called it because he had a boat, vw beetle and a pickup sitting on rock. We figured out who kept calling them on him and couldn't figure out why the guy had a problem with his stuff. The guy lived 2 blocks down the street and had a little 2010 JD tractor and equipment and various other things sitting in the grass in his yard. He also had spray paint marks all over his driveway from painting things without putting cardboard down. Stupid old retired guy that had nothing better to do I guess. Found out later from my other neighbor that years ago the same guy had come down to the neighbor's place drilled holes in 2 large trees and proceeded to dump poison in them in hopes of killing them off so that the city would straighten the street and pave it. The neighbor caught the whole thing on tape and the other guy was prosecuted for it. ( I guess he owns the cornfield across from my house and was hoping that by getting the street paved he could convince the city to let him develop and sell off his cornfield. Glad that never happened.