CA: Citation for parking on interstate on/off ramps

I agree totally, but with reefer runs from the Salinas Valley to Phoenix you have to contend with the Mojave Desert in which you have a couple hundred miles of barren wasteland with maybe two places to stop between Palm Springs and the AZ border. So, you can shut down early and arrive at the DC out of hours, or minimal hours; or, you get the most out of your drive time and shut down in the desert. The company for which I ran you could bet the it was do your delivery and then 'turn 'n' burn'. Secondly, unless I have to fuel, I prefer not to park in truck stops and backing into a black hole after 10 hrs driving, when the only benefit to doing so is a Big Mac 'n' fries. Also, out of consideration for drivers in the sleeper at 3 am, I'd prefer not to back a noisy reefer in next to them.

And to clarify what I call parking on the shoulder: I never park close to the Fog Line, if I'm not at least 30 ft from the fog line then I'll find somewhere that I am. But, when practical, there is no substitute for good trip planning.

 

Fact is, there's always someone with all the answers; in this case: Call the company due to my MAJOR problem: "Dispatch? What should I do, the truckstop is full?" Sometimes, Scuby, you have to solve those MAJOR problems, like: "Where am I going to park?" yourself. Further, you have to work within the constraints of load times, distance to customer and the given appointment time. Often these are very tight, as in these particular runs. There are a number of unwritten policies in place for Interstates with a lack of sufficient truck parking, such as I-10 (Mojave Desert). Just as there are with the 55 mph speed limit. Unfortunately, you avail yourself of these policies at your own risk. On any given night, traveling the I-10 corridor from Indio, CA to Phoenix, you will notice no less than a 100-150 trucks on the shoulders, off-ramps, and on-ramps. If you live in that area, then you are probably a local driver. Sometimes, you have a load with a 24 hr window from load to delivery, and 800 miles between. In this case, I find it to my advantage to get as many miles behind me as possible in the first leg so as to allow me the time and opportunity to resolve any unforseen setbacks in the second leg. If a driver wants to speed to get this done, then he does so at his own risk. My feelings are that, should a driver safely shut down his truck, is parked a safe distance from the flow of traffic, out of respect for HOS, he should not be penalized, or not unduly so. The fact is, I would rather have disregarded the HOS and run the last four hours and shut it down in Phoenix. Secondly, should a driver be cited for parking as discussed, then a monetary fine would seem appropriate, but assessing 1.5 pts. is excessive and in no way commensurate with the severity, or lack thereof, of the violation. Of course, according to the citing officer it was not only for safety, but reasons of National Security that were the motivating factors for his doing so. His reason? "Ever since 9/11 we have found it necessary to enforce parking regulations along interstates because of the possibility of terrorist truck bombs." Makes about as much sense as calling our Night Dispatcher, a 22 yrs old kid, in training to be promoted to the day shift, and lacking even the experience of riding in the passenger seat of a truck for a little jaunt around the block. The day I have to call dispatch for advice on how, or where, to park my truck is the day I truly do need to park my truck---forever.

 

In reality, you can, to an extent, do it most everywhere EXCEPT California. Take Utah, after crossing from NV to UT on I-80, signs are posted all along the roadway, "No Stopping". But, they also post signs to the effect "If You are Tired, Pull Over and Park". It seems contradictory, but obviously they are saying, if you want to stop and have a picnic---Forget It! If tired, do the sensible AND safe thing---Park! In Oregon, you'll get cited, I got one up there. Paid a $55 fine and it vanished into thin air, nothing on my MVR, no point assessment. In California though, the citing officer saw that I was out of hours, yet he told me that I should have continued on another 15 or 20 miles where there was a rest stop, despite the fact that common sense tells you that at 3 am, with the truck stops in Indio full (there's a couple of them) the rest stop will be full also. So, I guess for him, the lesser of two evils is to violate the HOS until such time that I find parking. So, let's reverse this scenario: Had I been driving and he stopped me, saw that I was in violation of HOS, all I had to say was, "I was looking for a legal place to park." And his response? "Good job, driver! Here's your license, I'm sure you'll find something up the way." No citation. Okey-dokey! Makes as much sense as a truck limited to 55 mph while traveling a fwy with a posted speed limit of 70 mph.

In my opinion the DOT/Law enforcement mindset, with regards to truckers, is an adversarial one. Take this instance:

While delivering to Carl's Jr. DC in Anaheim. CA. I was asked to circle the block because trucks were blocking the entrance and I was blocking traffic. I turned left onto a one-way street, my other choice was straight ahead into a residential area. It was posted "No trucks over 3,000 lbs", I was cited for: [FONT=&quot]

21461. VC (a) It is unlawful for a driver of a vehicle to fail to obey a sign or signal defined as regulatory in the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Despite the following:

[/FONT] 35553 VC Load limits are not enforced when vehicles are loading or unloading in the immediate vicinity of a loading or unloading area.


I showed the officer my paperwork and he knew the company was around the corner. Why did he cite? You got me. Aside from the fine---another 1.5 pts.


Am I mad? Hell YES! Am I working? Hell NO! Haven't driven for the last year and a half. The points have all come off now except the last one listed. These were in addition to a logbook violation that I won't go into since I had myself to blame for that one. This is the only profession I know of that, "If an officer wakes up in a bad mood; a driver could well go to bed without a job." Anyone, with a badge, has the power to deprive a driver of his means to make a living on a whim. It is a power that is given with the understanding (hopefully) that it will be wielded without bias, predjudice, or whim; and within the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. Yet, I see little evidence of that happening.