DOT and the State Boys have gone Mad!!!!!!!

Again it's as simple as if it was out of date that is a violation and subject to civil penalty. It has nothing to do with the court house. It has everything to do with a federal requirement for an annual inspection. And as was suggested to me in a private message, why wasn't it detected and corrected during/after the pre-trip inspection?

 

If they can't afford to FIX IT, we can't afford to let them DRIVE on public roads.
Simple actually.

 

Looks like after it happened a couple of days they would have gotten the message . Do they think if they run together the odds are less will get stopped ?

 

By the way, here's the 396.11(c) rule just to show that non-out of service defects must be repaired:

TITLE 49
TRANSPORTATION CHAPTER III--FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PART 396
INSPECTION, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE
Table of Contents Sec. 396.11
Driver vehicle inspection report(s)

(c) Corrective action. Prior to requiring or permitting a driver to operate a vehicle, every motor carrier or its agent shall repair any defect or deficiency listed on the driver vehicle inspection report which would be likely to affect the safety of operation of the vehicle. (1) Every motor carrier or its agent shall certify on the original driver vehicle inspection report which lists any defect or deficiency that the defect or deficiency has been repaired or that repair is unnecessary before the vehicle is operated again. (2) Every motor carrier shall maintain the original driver vehicle inspection report, the certification of repairs, and the certification of the driver's review for three months from the date the written report was prepared.

 

Doesn't sound like being excessive to me. It sounds like the state DOT has not been doing their job & now they are.

 

Your right! But the problem is, they don't have the money to fix it so they have to work it till they get the money! This is what happens when these idiots are out here hauling cheap freight and thinking they are gonna survive. Some will but most won't! None of them seem to realize that hauling that cheap freight is just wearing out their equipment and covering their payments but not getting any money put back for breakdowns. Then when something does go wrong they have to take chances.

 

A friend of mine was told by a state DOT officer at a scale house in Illinois that they're not going to be giving any breaks for anything. He hauls bulk in a hopper and was 300lbs over on his trailer that was right at 34,000 when he loaded. Normally the scale master would let him try to shake the weight around and let him go once he got it legal. Not this time, and the lady told him, "We've been instructed not to give any warnings. If you're not in compliance in any area, we're to cite you."

Sounds like revenue generating and job saving to me.

 

I agree. But again if the money is not there it should be parked. Why risk having any enforcement official place a vehicle out of service and receive a civil penalty on top of it not to mention what happens after that defective equipment causes an accident.

But in the instance of any accident it is economically more feasible for a fatal than a non-fatal accident. In a fatal accident the damages are limited. In a non-fatal, the damages could last a lifetime for instance if someone were to become an invalid in a wheelchair for the next 30-years. And that's not being crass, it's just a fact that most people don't consider.