DOT knocking on door to wake you up is this legal?

If you are legally parked they might be ABLE to, but that defeats the purpose of having a driver rest in order to safely drive. DOT has also been instructed to NOT wake drivers for an inspection.

CVSA tells officers not to wake up sleeping drivers, leave off-duty truckers alone

 

That is a guidance from CVSA. It's not a law.

 

That's if you LET them hook to it. In that case then you'll pay to get it back.

 

This is why I always tell truck drivers it’s best not to consume any alcohol even while off duty or in the sleeper while out on the road. You never know when you might get asked randomly to move that truck. Pull into a rest area that has a two hour parking limit and maybe you didn’t catch it. Even at a truckstop. Maybe you didn’t see that dumpster that you’re blocking in when you parked in the last spot. Maybe there’s an emergency and they need you to move your truck. A broken Watermain, a busted fuel pipe. Who knows.

 

Walmart seemingly has three stages of parking that I found to be true.
1. Absolutely no truck parking whatsoever and if you try and park there you will get booted and or towed.
2. Some Walmarts seem to only periodically enforce there are no parking for trucks. You might hear about a trucker getting booted or asked to leave randomly but sometimes they look the other way and will let you park there.
3. And now about 1/3 of Walmarts left will allow truck parking. Period. They don’t care if you park there and some even supply designated truck parking. This group (#3) is shrinking every month though.

 

Walmart can allow trucks to park on their property but the landowner or the city/county can prohibit truck parking at the Walmart, so WM has to post signs and enforcement will be sporadic. If a driver ignores no parking signs you have nobody to blame but yourself when you are ticketed or towed. Walmart and others didn't not sign up to park every truck driver that is afraid to back into a spot or wants to buy $3-300 worth of paper towels. Chase the RVs out of the truckstops.

 

This is actually a great policy, and I back it up 100%. The problem though is the average run-of-the-mill cop is not worried about what CVSA says. Most of the time when a driver is awakened by law enforcement it is basically one of two reasons. A welfare check or they are not parked legally/they are legally parked but for some reason, they have to move. That CVSA guidance is directed to DOT cops in their capacity as DOT enforcement cops.

The OP basically left the question a bit open-ended and the thread has morphed, so honestly without fully understanding the question you might be 100% right with that link. Also, I don't think it is "illegal" for a cop to wake up a driver, it is against the spirit of the rules set by the FMCSA and the CVSA guidance on this issue. @brian991219 might have more to add!

 

While not unlawful to wake a driver up, even when legally parked, it is problematic. You are 100% correct that it violates the spirit and intent of both the FMCSA guidance and CVSA operational policy. The problem is, as you pointed out, most officers are not CVSA certified motor carrier officers so they neither know about FMCSA/CVSA policy nor do they care. They just want to clear another call off their dispatch log.
The good news, contray to popular opinion, it does not interupt your 10 hour break even if you have to move the truck. FMCSA guidance makes this clear. The bad, well it interrupts your rest and when you wake unexpectedly mid-cycle it leaves you tired and groggy. Not a good condition if you do need to move along with your truck.

Now, to address a few other things in this thread. A commercial vehicle is not the same as your private vehicle or private residence so there is no expectation of privacy when you are in a truck. Do I agree with that, no, but it is how the regulations and laws have been interpreted by the courts for years.

As for welfare checks, those rules will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and may or may not apply to commercial drivers parked in public or private areas. In general officers have wide discretion to conduct a welfare check, almost to the point of abuse of power in some instances. Again, don't agree with it but it has been supported by the courts for years.

As for towing with a person inside, the actual law varies from state to state and it is permissible in many states provided there is clear and open communication between the driver and the passenger(s) in the towed vehicle. Without that communication you will not be towed while inside your truck, however law enforcement will forcibly remove you so that the truck can be towed.

Please don't shoot the messenger, I realize parking is difficult and truckers are often in no win situations -I ran the road for years myself- but I also respect private property rights and when requested by a property owner or law enforcement I have impounded many trucks that were unlawfully parked on public and private property throughout the years. Law enforcement always backed the private property owner's right to have a trespass vehicle removed.

Now, like everything else, each jurisdiction has unique laws related to private property impounds and what was lawful here in PA or NM (where I owned towing companies) may not be lawful everywhere. As for police ordered tows, those laws are very similar everywhere and if the cop called the wrecker you can bet it is leaving on the hook or you will be paying a drop fee if you change the cops mind after the wrecker is on-scene.