Just some of the stupid things I see

[HR][/HR]If its on the truck, its gotta be working. Even if the feds dont require certain lights or other equipment, individual state,county, and local laws can require them.

 

I know there is a lot of mis-information about this, both in the trucking industry and with some law enforcement.

You must have all REQUIRED lamps operable. If the lamps are extra lamps, then they are not in violation when they are not operable.

For example, turn signals. The requirement in the regulations reads "One on each side of the vertical centerline at the same height and as far apart as practicable." ONE is required on each side. If you have two, so much the better. If one of the two is inoperable, but you still have ONE operable, that is not a violation.

393.9 reads:
Lamps operable, prohibition of obstructions of lamps and reflectors.
(a) All lamps required by this subpart shall be capable of being operated at all times. This paragraph shall not be construed to require that any auxiliary or additional lamp be capable of operating at all times.

 

Then why do so many idiot cops think it means ALL lights.

Sorry. I am just tired of cops that like to make up the law as they see fit. It's expensive as hell to fight all the stupidity they try to write tickets for and there is no accountability on the part of law enforcement.

 

So if people are indeeed getting tickets for it IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER what the true law is? I would say that this is so stupid BUT ITS NOT! Its genuis! The laws of this land are meant to be interpreted for a reason. My cousin who is attorney stated " the laws are written in such a way that if the court wants to find one person guilty and another innocent FOR THE EXACT SAME THING it can."
We all know this is true. When you have cops running around without even so much as a B.A. what do we expect?

More and more we are living in a police state. With all these laws and regs who can actually keep up. We all know its getting to be a joke!

Now the city of Austin is considering a law that makes it illeagel to have your hitch in your pick up! Some guy ran into a truck and if damaged his car (no crap you rearended him) so now he wants the hitches removed from everybodies trucks! He even made a website hitch-hater.net or something. I went to his website and asked him so if you had ran over my kid while not paying attention instead of slamming into a truck would so sue me as the daddy because the my kids teeth scratched your bumper?

Just another example of too much on the plate! I've become sickened by all this B.S

 

One must keep in mind that these rules and regulations were/are written in "Legal Jargon"...meaning, key elements are written in a way that leaves the phrasing of specific words room for "interpretation". We all know how varied "interpretation" can be from one LEO to another LEO, and from one Judge to another Judge.

Let's use the phrase "at all times"...does this mean continually burning when turned on (headlights, tail lights), or does this mean as example, turn signals, 4 ways that operate both when turning (have the second brighter element within the bulb) but are still lit when not applied at the single element level. If the turn signal, lower level is not working, but the turning element is working, this is a violation as the light, as designed is not operating fully.

What about the "reverse lights"...only light up when gear is placed in reversed, yet if hooked to a trailer cannot be seen except from an angle, not directly behind the trailer. Or the license plate illumination lights...again, cannot be seen from directly behind but from an angle. These lights are not listed in the Federal R&R's, but are in individual State codes, and truckers get violations for these not working....if checked during an inspection...but have you ever been checked for these during an inspection if you are hooked to a trailer?!

Required lights: It is written within the regs, how many rear facing marker lights (minimum) are required, yet placement of these lights vary...especially the group of 3...these can be found either top or bottom. With regard to these, and the other "required" rear facing lights...how many can be "out" and you can continue, but if one more goes out, you can be in violation. This "percentage" of "out lights" varies from scale to scale, and is not specified in any Federal rule. Again...INTERPRETATION IS THE KEY!

What about the ABS Warning lamp...drivers side next to the rear corner marker light? Is this light covered in the regs(?), I have been told it is, but I have never seen the regulation requiring it...and it is only lit when there is "supposedly" an "issue" with the system. I have seen the dash warning light (Trailer ABS) lit yet the trailer light isn't, and vice versa. How does an inspection detect if this light is "operable" if it isn't illuminated(?), has this ever fallen into an inspection, along with the "check" if it is coordinating with the dash display? Another ambiguos idiosynchrisy we have to deal with...along with the LEO's dealing with it!

 

Actually the marker lights on the rear of the trailer are spelled out by type of trailer and year of manufacter. And they all must be working.

And the licence plate light is in the green book also. Don't know why, since no plate is required on the back of the tractor.

 

Which brings me to another question.

If these truckers that just cannot manage to get enough lights on their rigs....front, sides, steps, stacks, rear, bottom, undercarriage, trailer fully lit....you know what I mean.....

There is section in the regs that states the "additional lights" may not over power the required lights (headlights was specified)...yet I see some (especially long nose trucks) with these new LED light bars, up and down and across the radiator,up the stacks and mirrors, along the top of the windshield....yet I can barely make out the headlights....yet I never have seen or heard of anyone getting "dinged" for the excessive magnitude of the "chicken lighting".

Also there is a statement of requiring the headlights to be "aim-able" along with the (now termed) driving/fog lights. [yes I know there is a difference (supposedly) that the driving light is white, the fog is yellow]...but have you ever seen a truck getting a talking to about his "star gazing" headlight or driving light....of course you are blinded for a few seconds after it passes you...I have also heard that some newer Volvos the headlights can't be aimed, they are set in position (I doubt this but I have heard).

 

My LED yellow lights installed in place of my fog lights are brutally bright. I could drive without headlights. It's great.

 

The Federal requirements for CMV lighting are found in Table 1 of 393.11 FMCSR.

The table gives the color, number and location requirements.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...8&view=text&node=49:5.1.1.2.36.2.12.2&idno=49

 

Another rule that is beaten to death and can be misconstrued.

AND

Plain and simple. Leave it at that. But nooooooooooooo, let's write some other stuff like....

That rule can be twisted and said how can a burnt out light be steady burning if it doesn't work?

There again, it says lights must meet visibility requirements by FMVSS No. 108 which includes accessories. If it's burnt out, you can't see it.

Depending on who reads the rules and what part of the rules they read is how they are going to be interpreted.

Something so simple as a light bulb the rule should say "required lamps should be working and accessory lighting is not required". End of story, no more said hidden around the regulations in different places.

Who writes these rules has an IQ of 200. Only he can understand himself or a team of 8 people scratching their heads.

They ought to write a FMCSA for Dummies so the whole trucking population can thoroughly understand some of the rules. There shouldn't be questions and doubt. A better job can be accomplished.