Just some of the stupid things I see

What does it really matter ???

Why keep pushing for more restriction and tighter rules???


If the driver is NOT a "company driver", meaning driver is O/O or L/O, then whatever distance they drive the truck that they pay fuel/insurance/taxes on.. is up to them.

If i want to run 250 miles from Olive Branch to Meridian for my home time, I fall under the "PC" rules .... as long as there is no load on trailer and I am not under dispatch.

If I run from Dallas to Meridian... Same thing.

And IF i decide to leave Kalifornicate or Yankeeland and head somewheres else UNLOADED ..... it's my truck....
Just like any other free citizen of this Nation, I get to use my own property for my own purposes without being molested.

Until someone makes it "illegal" for a PREVOST motor home driver to run 16+ hours without stopping... or for ANY motor vehicle driver to drive more than 14 hours in one day... maybe the UNION SPONSORED rules in FMCSA should be applied with a bit more common sense and a little less prejudice for those who are just working.

Some "DOT" need to realize who pays their salary, and without whom they wouldn't even have a job.

Instead of nit-picking the small things, how about going for the more important violations???

 

WE SMOKED IT!

Don't ya just love that crap. I've run into it on the street, but never figured to see it here. . .

Hey DB, Merry Christmas!

 

You are in an industry with many rules and regulations. You accept those rules when you enter the game.

Dieselbear and I are just the guys in the striped shirts enforcing the rules. We neither make the rules, nor have any input on the rules. Our job is to enforce ALL the rules, the small nitpicky ones, and the ones that can get you kicked off the field.

Don't kill the umpire!

 

In some ways, being an enforcement officer is worse than being a driver. These guys are threatened, yelled at, spit at, and generally maligned on a daily basis. Folks, they are doing the same thing as you. Doing their job. They aren't trying to pee on your parade, they are trying to get through the day. It's their JOB to nitpick. Treat them with respect, and they will do the same. Give them a hard time, and they will do the same. Give them a really hard time, and they will probably find some reason to put you OOS. Like everyone else, they have a toolbox. But it's up to them whether they use the hammer or the teeny tiny screwdriver.

 

OK...I get the "striped shirt" analogy to sports.....

but you guys are "law enforcement"...."striped shirts" and "legal" make me think of.......well...... do handcuffs and steel bars ring any bells?

 

Problem is... They keep changing the rules!

MANY absolutely ARE trying to pee on my parade. I've had is happen several times over the years. Some are just out-n-out jerks, some may just be having a bad day...

They are suppose to treat Everyone equally and fairly under the law. I'm sorry the last driver threatened, yelled, or spit at him. But it's no excuse to take it out on me.

--They accepted those rules when they entered the game!

 

Yea, they keep changing the rules.
That's life. What's new?
It should be up to OOIDA and/or the company you drive for to keep you abreast of those rules. It's up to you as a driver to make sure you're up to snuff.
The last thing a driver want's is a 'surprise' on the side of the road.

As for playing by the rules? Yea, I suppose that's what's required.
Most of the complaints from drivers I've seen here and talked to over the years is for 'stretching' the limits of those rules.
Like the driver that complains about a speeding ticket..."I was only doing 62 in a 55".
Nit picking? Maybe. But the rules are the rules.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to everyone.

 

Enforcement isn't held to the same standard as the truckers. I make a mistake or have a malfunction and I'm one notch closer to losing the means to feed my kids, when the cop at the scale makes me buy an overweight permit, but gives me an overheight permit instead, it's just a typo, no big deal. If I get caught with the wrong permit, however, it would be a big deal for me because it's my responsiblility to have the correct permit. I find errors on my permits frequently, when I get them corrected, I don't write the cop that made the mistake a ticket and move him one step closer to unemployment. I also don't carry a gun when I talk to cops but for some reason they carry one when they talk to me, we're not the same.

 

The rules get progressively more complex. Look at the new HOS rules. We have some of the smartest O/O's and company drivers in the industry contribute to the discussions here at TTR. Even they have differing opinions on what the rules say and mean.

All kinds of drivers get penalized by "gotcha" enforcement tactics.

Go check out the Hot Shot thread. Drivers getting put OOS if they can't produce motel receipts.