DOT violation for loose lug nut

I would say this is a pretty small equipment violation. This won't show up anywhere but your PSP report, you can get it for $10 instantly. Just Google FMCSA PSP report. As I was informed, there are no PSP points. Each PSP violation, and this is one of them, is just a violation. Your company will get CSA points. The company or insurance company may have a formula that rates the specific violation in a way to generate a score. I don't know. As I understand PSP items they no longer count 3 years after the date of the violation. The first year they are counted as 3 times the severity. 366 days later they count only 2 times the severity. 365 days later they count only 1 times the severity until the next day and then they count zero times the severity. If you are clean otherwise I would say you may have just lost your chance to carry the President's furniture from DC to Area 51, otherwise you would likely have no consequence from this. Never cross a scale/weigh station/temporary scale with a known violation. I thought my driving record was perfect but I had a PSP record of 2 ABS lights and 1 air leak in the last few months before I decided to retire.

 

PSP for 3 years..that’s it.

Be happy that the offer found the loose lug nut..Imagine what could have happened if he didn’t

May want to get all the lug nuts re torqued..

 

Don’t beat yourself up over it, crap happens. The officer was on a mission to find something and they did.

Learn from it and move forward.

Someday you’ll be able to tell your grandkids about your outlaw trucking days!

“Hey, grandpa, tell us the story about the loose lug nut again”

 

You just ended your career, go to McDonalds, and get a job there because whatever you do you won't work in this industry anymore. This is worse than running into a busload of newborns on holiday with nuns in Cancun.

OK, you see how stupid that sounds?

It is as stupid as to worry about this and your career.

Stop worrying about it and get into better habits with your pre-trip.

Be glad they caught it, tires coming off is a b******tch.

 

Do you plan to carry a torque wrench with you to check for loose lug nuts every morning?

No, it is a minor infraction that can happen to anyone.

 

I was told if you see black streets protruding out from a lug nut. It's loose. By my first local job years ago.

To be felt by hand. It must have been really loose.

Wait 30 days and pull up your psp. And look at your company records on fmcsa website. You used to be able to see the violations and scores.

I think it was changed though and no longer available for just anyone to see anymore.

I think the system for company updates once a month unless it changed to 24 hours recently. So it might take a few days before you can see your own report. But you won't see your points. We don't get that privilege.

 

The level 1 inspections I remember, the officer checked lug nuts by hand.
I do carry a Torgue wrench to tighten nuts after tire service away from home.

 

Shops should be torquing it.

The one I visit now does. And the previous one did.

I won't leave anymore without seeing it done. After the last job.

 

While i dont fully agree with you, the last sentence i ABSOLUTELY agree with:
"Be glad they caught it, tires coming off is a b******tch."


I did a thorough pretrip. Including checking all lugs for looseness, left out, drove 120 miles, loaded, did a tire check (thump/check for streaks) walkaround after securement, then drove on to deliver 180 miles away, between temp changes, weight and rough roads 100 miles out pulled into a weigh station and he found a sheared lug resulting in missing nut on a trailer tire, i snugged 2 nuts then proceeded as gently as possible to delivery. Then went immediately to a shop.

We found 2 loose-ish nuts, 3 cracked or broken lugs, including the broken one, and i didnt like the nuts wear in on the rim

My guess was when i had all 8 tires replaced 6 months previously, they didnt torque to spec, they just gave them all "enough" ugga duggas.

Moral of the story is, you can have stuff wrong even if you do a thorough pretrip.