Just some of the stupid things I see

I was invited in to the Dunsmuir Scale (I-5 South, around Mt. Shasta) by the CHP Sergeant...no inspection or anything...my load was a whole 8k...they just wanted to ask some questions and hear the drivers thoughts.

They remarked about the same....their inspections and violations are getting "mundane", the excuses are just as lame as before when something is found....but compliance is on a dramatic rise. Except for CR England...they said they depend on England for their "quota" of citations and violations.

 

They don't have a "quota." They can write as many as they want!

 

Funny thing, I heard that a certain truck got pulled in to a scale and they found a tire totally flat, the airbags on the rear trailer axle weren't getting any air or were blown out, and something else that I forgot what it was. They let him go, said he was exempt because he was hauling hay.

If that had come from any other source I'd call bs on it, but I know that truck was still rolling cause he blew his clutch out further down the road and the guy was heading up there to tow it back. So, uh, behold the power of hay?

 

He should have pulled the whole lot of you over & written every last one of you for improper following distance. 1 truck length = roughly 75 feet. Problem is, at 60 mph you are traveling 88 feet per second. In other words, you are admitting that you were in a line of trucks, each one with less than a second to react to whatever happens in front of them.

Remember, that is a SERIOUS VIOLATION...§ 383.51(c)...2 convictions in 3 years and you're disqualified for 60 days.

 

I agree with RoadGypsie that instant karma is very gratifying to witness.

Rolling south on US97 between Chelan, WA and Wenatchee, a guy in a car was passing everybody and driving at around 80mph. I was going 62mph in a 60mph zone, single lane in each direction with the Columbia River on the west side of the highway. When he passed me, I had to lay on the brakes rather heavily or he would have run head on into a big truck. As he came back into the lane, he almost clipped my front end. He sped off and passed a few other cars. I cussed about it and then moved on with my thoughts.

Ten miles further, here's the same guy on the side of the road with a WSP car behind him and Barney leaning in his window having a little chat.

Here's a hint about US95 in Washington: There is no shortage of law enforcement on that road, especially the northern end. You might get away with five over in a truck or ten over in a car, but don't press your luck.

 

You told on yourself telling on the other guy.

Sounds like monkey see monkey do with a donkey in the back. All it took was the donkey to mess up and the whole crowd would of wiped out.

Times like this is when a driver learns patience. Kick back, follow a SAFE distance +1, turn the stereo on and enjoy the scenery.

You play with fire, one of these days it will bite you. Tailgating is tailgating. It serves no purpose. You read all the time about two, three, four trucks in a wreck. Many of them stories could of been zero-one truck if the others just maintained a safe distance.

Back in the 90's I worked with a guy that was 7'2" and about 450 lbs. We called him Big Foot. I come into work Monday morning and there was Big Foot talking with one of the dispatchers. I snuck up behind him and gave him a Hey, how ya doing rib punch, playing around. He dropped to knees and about cried. I didn't know a couple days earlier he was in a scenario like you described and ran into the back of another truck on I-81 because he was following too close. He broke three ribs. I felt real bad I took Big Foot down. But it was a wake up call to actually see the ramifications of what can happen. Most drivers think, "it will never happen to me". Lucky for me he got fired before he healed, lol.

I bet if we had a way to interview some drivers in heaven, they would have some invaluable advice to give some drivers. None of them thought they would die either.

But the Earl Hickey karma thing is gratifying.

 

I have had quite a few gems this week. I was around our scale facility when I see a truck bypassing. I stop him. He hands me his CAT scale ticket that shows him over 2000 lbs on a axle. The tells me "I'm overweight so I wasn't going to stop." That's a good idea. Get a serious violation (moving violation) for not coming in, plus the overweight.

Had 2 guys suspended, another at 94,000 lbs and a bunch of other violations. One fella had all his trailer brakes inoperative. Just when I think guys are getting straight, I see some stuff like this.

 

Well he already paid $9.50 for his overweight (scale) ticket, and you gave him another one? Jeez, that's just not fair!

 

I was east of Stevens pass on highway 2 just west of Wenatchee in the middle of the night when A HP passed me. Shortly after, a guy missing a headlight tailgated me hard for a few miles then passed. I saw him get up on the HP's tail and give him the same treatment. It was so bad, I figured he was a friend of the HP's and was having a little fun with him. The HP car had no tops lights but had the WSP plates and lights in the rear window, apparently the guy didn't notice and didn't know the HP either. The HP jerked his car onto the shoulder, let the guy pass and then pulled him over. I had slowed down quite a bit and when I rolled by, the HP looked like a Marine DI giving it to a new recruit. I don't like cops, but I enjoyed that show. That neck of the woods isn't a good place to act stupid.

 

Wow! 2k, man he could have killed someone with that amount of weight.

The only thing he did wrong was failed to pay the state for a "permit" because that makes that added 2k legal. See it's not about safety, it's that he failed to pad the right pocket. I understand your just doing your job and I'm not picking on you, it's just how stupid the whole system is. I'm legal at 80k on 5 axles........unless I pay the state $65 then 120,000 is legal, (same truck, same brakes, same tires ect) guess that piece of printer paper is more magical that I thought.