ICC bumper damage enough to put it out of service?

OP started two threads on the same topic.
Maybe one of the Moderators can combine them?

 

Contact a lawyer who does trucking stuff. I would drive it if I got a signed copy, on company letterhead I was not responsible for tickets, fines. They had had an expert inspect it and it was legal. Take pics, drive.

 

Bigger question is did they fire the driver that bent it up in the first place

 

It seems like half of trailers have damaged side skirts. As soon as some driver backs it down a steep loading dock, especially if they have moved the tandems to the rear first, those skirts are damaged or destroyed beyond repair. I've actually been unable to deliver to one place because of that. Thanks, California.

 

Chain it to a post and pull forward 6 inches take the chain off and roll.

 

What's the big tsimis here, a chain and a telephone pole, just easy does it. I don't think the flaps are an issue, and never dealt with skirts, but I've hauled so many wagons with bent ICC bars, especially RR wagons, if I'd have refused them, I wouldn't have made a dime. Those center hook dock retainers do a number on many. It's good you are questioning this, but hook on and GO ALREADY,,,,

 

Legal or not, I would not pull it! Might as well put a neon sign on the back saying I want a inspection!

 

Yeah, no.

A little bend here and there, no biggie. But one side is at a 30 degree angle, the other at 45 degrees. Putting aside the question of legality we run into the "reasonable person standard". Say someone rear ends the OP and dies. Based on the recent Wabash decision, OP is screwed as a "reasonable person" would say that bumper has been bumpered a couple three too many times. Anything other than a square on hit and the car is going to underrun, and I wouldn't put any money on a square hit not underrunning.

In the larger context, if the company is willing to run a trailer with this kind of DOT bumper, what other corners are they willing to cut?

 

I see dot bumpers like this all the time on the big company trailers going up and down the Nafta Hwy. Also many horribly rusted or corroded. This is not just a small company cutting corners. Big company’s don’t fix stuff too. Unless they started trading trailers for new every 3-5 years like power units this will always exist.

 

I dispute this because the purpose of the bumper is not to stop anything on the outside of the bumper, the part that matters and would be an OOS would be the center piece with the horizontal center peice attached to the Gussets being the most important because the gaurd is there to prevent a car from sliding under the trailer for the Mansfield Effect. The pieces on both ends will not stop a car if it comes in at an angle.

It ends up being the officer's decision.

 

Doesn't look like the right side is within 4" of the side of the trailer.

(2) Impact guard width. The outermost surfaces of the horizontal member of the guard must extend to within 100 mm (4 inches) of the side extremities of the vehicle. The outermost surface of the horizontal member shall not extend beyond the side extremity of the vehicle.