Which States are the unfriendliest to truckers?

CALIFORNIA IS THE WORST! the drivers are horrible, darting across 4 lanes without signals or even looking, potholes everywhere, scales on EVERY highway so if you have to go any distance you could be stopping at scales every half hour, and don't even worry about doing the SUPER SLOW 55 mph because even if you do everything right, you can end up getting a ticket. We got a ticket two weeks ago on I-5 in Kern county, we were surrounded by trucks all doing the same speed, slow, because the limit there was like 45 for some dumb reason or another. we were doing 44, and saw a CHP 200 yards in front of us - my husband and I both looked at the speedometer and our GPS which said 42-44. so we were okay. the #### CHP puts his lights on, pulls us over, and tells my husband he was speeding. $ 415.00 ticket, in these times when we can barely pay our bills, and we are pissed because it was undeserved! there was NO RADAR used, our only fault was we are an out of state driver - from Montana. so CA since they're so freaking broke is just pulling anyone over for any reason at all, they don't have to prove it, and you CANNOT FIGHT IT! if you try to fight it and you lose they can put you in jail and make you pay even more than the original ticket, with all the fees etc so we have to recourse. also, when my husband went to get out of our truck, he was ALMOST KILLED by a Gordon semi who came within INCHES of the mirrors on our driver side, pinned my husband up against the truck, while he blew by - speeding. of course the CHP IGNORED that. we HATE CALIFORNIA. HATE THE 55mph speed limit HATE the drivers HATE the roads and the LACK of rest areas, the LACK of truck stops, THE OVERKILL ON SCALES, the extra rules, the NO IDLE rules, just about everything in that state sucks. It can fall off the continent for all we care. Can't wait for that to happen. They are the most ANTI TRUCKING STATE OUT THERE

 

Removed Calf. from my cab card this year.

Been DOT ed in Ky. at 3:00am

Got called in by the scales in Oh. By the time I walked inside she had the ticket written up for the windshield on the pass. side being cracked.

Texas has become a major pain in the butt. Seams like every City, Sheriff, & the State have DOT now. Thur. evening going to Houston, on I-10 from Louisiana I counted 11 trucks being given Roadside inspections By all of above mentioned agency's.

The other morning I leave home going to pick up a load, and get to the scales in La Place La. Now keep in mind I'm from La. and have La. Plates.
This kid who could not have been over 22 walks out and said DRIVER GIVE ME YOUR LOG BOOK AND REGISTRATION!! Normally I am as courteous as can be to people that can give me a ticket. But he torqued me off. I looked down at him and said "Son I'm twice as old as you are, so try, Sir may I please see your log book and registration" he kind of got all red in the face, and said, "Sir have a nice day" and went back inside.

It seams to me that it is all about the almighty dollar now and not safety.
I was stopped in Mississippi about a year ago and given a level 3. He found nothing wrong, so what did he do, he gave me a $135.00 ticket for the license plate light being out on my trailer.

 

California!!!

Got busted there smoking a cigarette in MY sleeper, parked in a truckstop offduty. Bear said it was a work environment. I asked how the H$$L could I drive my truck from the sleeper. I still got ticketed. I threw the ticket out. Ain't been back to commieforication since.

 

lol alot of cali haters it seems

 

Every hard luck story here is based on ones personal experience.
I knew a guy years ago that got a speeding ticket on the way to Myrtle Beach SC on vacation.
Twenty years later, he will tell anybody that will listen about how tough SC cops are.
There are regional prejudices to take in to account as well.
People from GA think they are superior to people from AL.
People in FL say we are a bunch of hicks in GA.
Same thing in NY vs CT, OR and CA etc.
I have good and bad stories for all 48, and I don't take any of it personal.

I actually miss going to California. The last year I was doing some serious trucking, I made 22 turns out there from GA.
Sure, they have higher vehicle standards and some cops that take their jobs way too seriously, but I adjusted my behavior accordingly. Go along to get along.
For the most part, the people you meet out there are just like you and I, living their lives and doing their jobs. I love the scenery out there, with the variations from north to south, and made some good friends out there also.

 

Thats true
Me being from Ga and based out of mytle beach I think Sc is not bad at all
Only thing they really nail car haulers for is over length if you got a pu hangin 6ft over detour the scale house
Me being born and raised in Ga,I never thought i was better then anyone from AL btw I got some friends that live there once they get a div they will still be brother and sister I think
Far as Fl the people from fl are not bad only prob is now you cant find people FROM there when you go.and if you go south of orlando you are no longer in the usa your in little cuba
Me personally I dont mind going anywhere My fav run and alot of folks think I am crazy is Se Ga,Nc,Sc to Mt,Id,Or,Was Thats about all i do now.
I guess they could call me a hick As I live on a dirt road on 16 acres of wooded land I dont like the city I like to be able todo as I please when I am home.

 

I have to ask...How did he see you smoking in you sleeper?


In a truckstop?

It seems a little far fetched...

 

Having been both a cop and a trucker in California, I can see these posts from both sides. Now working as a cop, I was with a small town PD and two different Sheriff's Departments. So obviously, I never worked DOT enforcement.

That is not to say that I wouldn't stop a trucker and write him for a moving violation, just as I would any other motorist, but I never concentrated on commercial vehicles. In fact, as a deputy sheriff, I did very little traffic enforcement, as my main focus was on criminal activity.

However, I knew and worked with many different CHP Officers over the years. They are just like anyone else. Some are really good guys, just doing their job, and some are downright jerks with the "fifty pound badge syndrome." (Of course the same can be said for any law enforcement agency in the world!) I knew one "chippie" who used to refer to himself as a "CERTIFIED TRUCK F####R!" And think he was a real he-man. Cops like that scare me. They don't belong on any department, but it seems like there are always a few out there.

What really sucks, for the majority of law enforcement officers, and for the public in general, is that these "tin gods" give all LEOs a black eye. Of course all the crap you see on TV and in the movies doesn't help, either.

As to the people in the land of fruits and nuts, they are just like people everywhere. You have any and all kinds. It just seems like they make more noise in Kaliphornia, than in most places.

As to trucking in California, I can tell you that when I first got into it, after leaving both law enforcement and California, I was always a bit nervous going there. It took about a year and a half to get over that nervousness, that seemed to crop up every time I crossed into the state.

But in over 11 years of trucking, I never had any more problems in California, than I had anywhere else.

I sort of sit back and chuckle, when I read these posts regarding experience with DOT and LE in general. You can pretty much tell just by the tone of the post, whether the poster brought on the problem themselves, or when they truly had been screwed over. Yeah, it can and does happen. But usually (not always, just usually) is brought on by the attitude of the person who is being contacted by the LEO.

Anytime I see multiple posts by the same member here, about their bad experiences with law enforcement in several different situations, I have to wonder just WHY they don't take a look in the mirror. Oh wait, I just figured it out. They are perfect and everyone else is wrong...

In any case, yes, there is some abuse out there. But no, it is not "the norm."

 

Had the side vent open on a still day. Kept the cigarette by the side vent (I was sitting up on my bunk to read) to keep the smoke out of my eyes. He was walking down between the trucks. Must have thought I was smoking something illegal, from the way he started hammering on my door. Scared the snot outta me!

 

Yes, we are very hard to find these days. Just fine by me too. LOL! There are now 4 generations of Florida natives in our family, with a bit of Hoosier from Dad's side. U R dead on with going south of Orlando...yipes!