Don't Forget To Make Your Bed

good friend of mine a DOT officer always said he would write tickets for an unmade bed do not know if that was true he never said best to be tidy

 

Appearance and attitude drive how picky inspectors can be.

I knew our driver was full of 'tude' when the Connecticut trooper wrote a violation for the empty windshield washer fluid after 1.5 hours of inspection. Ten day old tractor and brand new tanker which could possibly be a treasure trove of potential violations [multiple compartments = multiple chances to have something amis even on a new tank] and after 1.5 hours all he found was no washer juice.....

He had to have been POed at the driver's 'tude.

 

When I did dirt hauling back in the day I'd wipe the red/white reflective tape and all the lights. The long hood would also get a wipe down where you could see it. The truck looked cared for so I never got pulled into the scales.
But half the time I'd been put OOS. The good old days of cowboy trucking.

When doing OTR I would make my bed when I got up and all my things were neatly put away. A sleeper can feel roomy and comfortable if you keep it neat and tidy. I couldn't live like some of the drivers out here. I'd feel cramped and claustrophobic.

 

It’s a Volvo. Probably a lot of other things to write up also.

 

I do my best to keep my rig tidy as well dispite the constant and usually losing battle against dirt dust and grime that comes being a rock bucket. About once every 3 months i do get a detail though and once every 6 i do a high end deep clean detail. My truck usually looks dirty but cared for and even though i get pulled in once in a while i almost never fail an inspection. Only one i did fail was due to my insurance paperwork being expired and my having derped and not put the new sheet in my binder. And that was a minor thing since the insurance was upto date.

As towards making my bed i typically just flip the sheet over it fold it twice then throw my duffle and laptop on it due to lack of room and my sheet being a king size comforter on a twin bed lol. Just keeping things tidy helps with the fact i have only 2 shelfs and makes it bareable if cramped. Wish i could find a place that can install aftermarket cabnets so i had room for everything lol. But its not just keeping it tidy helps with room, its keeping it tidy keeps stuff from becomeing a missle if the worst happens and you wreck.

 

We were talking about just that thing last week at the annual meeting of the Society of Secret Agents and Astronauts.

 

There is no law saying bed has to be made . Come on drivers. The officer was being sarcastic because the driver was giving him a hard time.... I've never had an encounter like this with a Highway patrol or a dot . And I have been pulled over and inspected many many times.... It goes along ways to break the ice with a small harmless joke to incite a smile or small laughter to show them u are harmless and then show them respect and have your paperwork in order... No wonder why these officers have a bad attitude a lot of the times because they have to deal with dill hole drivers like this guy.

 

You give dot a hard time and he will find all sorts of things to get you on. I have been through half a dozen inspections mostly level ones and never have gotten a single violation, even though the officer pointed out several things I had wrong including a log book violation. It was a bit after new split sleeper changes happened and I was over my 14 hour limit but thought I was legal even though my tablet said I was in violation. The dot officer explained to me why I was in violation and what I needed to do but he overlooked it and gave me a clean level one.

 

Reminds me of a few years back when the state of Minnesota was putting driver's OOS for fatigued driving because the bed wasn't made and the trash can was full.

Ended up in court after a bunch of drivers and companies started complaining.

 

back in the 80's Connecticut would give you a ticket if you had your curtains open an you didn't have white sheets on your bed.