Gotta love DOT, set up at rest area in the middle of the night.

Before I even started driving and previously reading on this site about these actions by the DOT I decided I would Never Ever do a 10 at a rest stop.

I don't deal well with BS when I am exhausted and sleeping like a rock.

 

As long as you had already been off duty for at least 2 hours. You could do a split 10, right?

 

Latest DOT recruits hittin' the street

 

Its just a guidance not a law.

 

I have never had it happen to me and I have parked at pickle parks for ten years. If it does I would calmly explain to the officer I'm on my rest break. If he forces the issue then I just have to realize he is a dick and will have to start my ten over. It sucks but probably wouldn't make the top 5 of f'ngs for the week anyhow. It almost never happens. Kinda like being attacked by Bigfoot.

 

Never a good idea to be confrontational with LE. As a former cop, I can tell you most "transactions" are based purely off your attitude. I've let people get away with some amazing crap because they had the right attitude. I've thrown the book at others with poor attitudes. If you piss them off, they'll find a reason to cite you.

The best thing to do in this scenario would be to open the window in your sleeper and ask them what you can do for them. They'll try to bait you, don't fall for it. Politely inform them you're on your 10 in the sleeper berth and can't come up to the window since being in the driver seat would bring me on duty and the delivery is too tight to restart your 10. They'll smile, tell you to have a good night and go away. There's other suckers to be had.

Do I agree with this practice of poaching? Absolutely not. There used to be things called unwritten rules based on congenial understandings. Waking a guy up in a rest stop was one of those things. We should never punish someone for getting off the road when they fell they need a break. That's a much better option than scraping them off the interstate a couple miles down the road.

 

You can simply not answer the door knock. You are not required to unless your parked illegally.

 

Nope, best thing you can do is not answer the knock, dont say anything, dont get out of the sleeper, your not required to, do nothing say nothing, go back to sleep.

 

Unless you get a cop like this, which I still would ignore.

 

Well, I guess you could do that. However, let me tell you what I would do if I were still a cop (and have seen done in the past). If I know you are in the truck and refuse to answer, I'll assume something is wrong with you medically. That will justify knocking out your window and opening the truck to make sure you aren't dead or dying. Zero liability to me for doing my job. 100% liability to you to replace the window.

If you get argumentative with me, I'll arrest you for Obstruction and have your truck towed.

All this could have been avoided with a quick conversation out your sleeper window.