How is it like being weighed or checked by DOT?

Wow! lol. DOT is a division within the State Police that oversees commercial vehicle enforcement. Unless you have a Pre-Pass and get a green light, you are required by law to enter a weigh station. They'll usually weigh you and off you go. If they do a DOT inspection, they'll ask you to pull around back. They check air lines, brakes, safety equipment, leaks, log book, etc. If you pass, you get a sticker on your windshield and off you go. If you fail, you'll get a ticket for items that failed the inspection and you have 30 days to fix/repair said items. They must be signed off by a certified mechanic and mailed into the state that the inspection took place along with any fines that were assessed.
You get treated with respect unless you're one of those whining and complaining drivers who thinks the DOT and everybody else in the world has it out for them.
Hope this answers your question.

 

I've never had to walk through a metal detector...
If you keep your records and paperwork in order, as well as your truck in good repair, you have nothing to worry about.
Getting weighed is no big deal either, unless your rig is overweight...

 

If you work for a reputable carrier with Prepass you typical get to bypass the weigh stations 95% of the time.

Even when you do go in, unless they can see something that raises questions you will pass right through 95% of the time provided you are not overweight. (I've parked my truck twice in the past 3 years)

The officers are from DOT are not state troopers but they often seem similar to troopers

When you are asked to park your truck, many times it is just a paperwork check. In that case they want to see the vehicle and trailer registrations, your CDL and sometimes your log book. No big deal.

Once in a while you may get the full inspection where they want to check all your lights, tires, air hoses, etc. A full inspection of everything may take 30-45 minutes or so. If everything is up to snuff it's nothing more than a minor delay. They do not go inside your cab or sleeper.

If they find a tire not meeting their standards or something else that's not compliant they will place you out of service until you get it fixed. So in that case you call your company's roadservice and they get some contractor to come out and fix your problem so that you can roll again.

For the most part it's all business but you could get an occasional officer with an attitude.

The Border officers you run into returning to the US after a Canada run can often be a lot bigger pain than what you encounter at weigh stations. The delays can be long even if everything is in order. Had some intimidating border agents at Port Huron, Mi several times. They have a drive thru X-ray machine there. I've been delayed there for over 3 hours a couple times.

But for the most part in weigh stations they are no big deal if you are running legal, your equipment is properly maintained and all your permits, registration and documents are in order.

 

You'll get used to the body/cavity searches after the first couple of times.....

 

As for the officers at the scales doing the DOT related stuff not being full blown troopers, some states, like Iowa, the commercial vehicle enforcement guys ARE full fledged state troopers.

 

Its like an anal probe but not nearly as fun.

 

But if your down in the southern states, they do and at radom do drug's check, both inside the truck and inside the trl for drug's or iillagles, i wacth a u - tube were a driver made a false bulkhead in front of trl, took the fake wall down, there it was from floor too ceiling pack tight with cocaine, i myself was in fl, when a dot pulled up along side me, i was in grocery store lot buying my grocery's, he said i want too see your log book, cdl and medical card, sure no problem, okay i gonna ask buck too inspect your truck for drug's, ok np, can he go inside your truck , sure np, i opean the door and buck ( a very big german shepard) jump right there and started too snoop around, i told him the dot cop i dont drugs or any that crap, he came back out with my cough syrup in his mouth, i was laughing so hard bout that time , dot cop said i was good too go, i thank him for clearing my truck, so keep your nose clean, do everything they say , and weight the biggest issues for me being a company driver, they always like to make me heavy and before you leave shipper , make dang sure your legal or it can get costly in a hurry. and in Iowa they do spot checks on any roads , those are real fun on portable scales, these are big money makers for the dot,

 

I get embarressed everytime I weigh heavy. I start eating salads and drinking diet cokes.

 

Like The other drivers said: In most cases, Mr D.O.T./Scale-master is not a big deal if you are doing your JOB. What will get a Driver in BIG Trouble is "Probable Cause". Some time it is just a random check. Most of the time Law Enforcement is looking for sloppy drivers. Sadly the roads are full of them

Probable Cause is when you drive with: burned out lights, bad tires,never scaled your load. Your truck ever had a bath? Does the Scale-master see crap all over your dash as you pull by? When DOT stands on your running board and ask to see your physical card; does him/her see a clean cab or a pig pen? I've seen the examples I have given turn into a Full Inspection

Later at the Terminal you hear sloppy drivers whining about "That Evil DOT wrote me a ticket!" You were the one driving down the road with the ''please Inspect me banner on your truck.'' Mr DOT now thinks the rest of us are like you. Wonder why I'm looking for someplace else to work? BTW

DO Not Rely On Prepass to get you by the Scales. Do your job as if you are going to get The Red Light and Full Inspection every day. This may seem paranoid at first, But why not drive away from a random Inspection with a positive CSA score?

Be Safe Out There