Need dot consultant? Dot advice

You know what? I am persistent, relentlessly persistent and now I am determined to find that DataQ. I used it last summer and won a challenge. Even though I am not very optimistic about this next one, I will let FMCSA and DOT know what I think about their new system and will get this out of my system. And I hope and ask everybody that has been unjustly affected by this CSA, will challenge them too. DON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!

 

If I don't get the info from my company tomorrow, I will register and twitt those FMCSA folks and ask them where in the world they put DATAQ... Sent my complains to FMCSA webmaster today and told them their site needs to be more trucker friendly and provide quick info on how to challenge CSA... but wonder if they give a **#@...

 

Does this help ? https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Data/Guide/DataQs_Users_Guide_and_Best_Practices_Manual.pdf

 

Thank you RickG, for the info. I'm not sure I have read that manual before. It came up in Jan/11. I was able to access DATAQ last summer and filed a challenge and won. But the link is gone now and can't find any info about it. Will keep searching and will post info here when I get it. Thank you again.

 

The website for DATAQ's I think is:
https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp
Usually Carriers have the login and submit the DATAQ challenges.

As to the headlight or other mechanical defect, look at it from an inspector's point of view.

When I perform an inspection on your vehicle, my job is to determine if the headlight operated properly at the time I inspected your vehicle. If not, it gets shown as a defect on the inspection report.

Whether or not it gets CSA points, I have no idea. I have nothing to do with CSA or the point system.

If you challenged (DataQ) the headlight violation on the inspection I did, and were asking for the headlight defect to be removed, you would be asking me to say now that the headlight DID operate at the time of inspection, when it actually did not. That would not be truthful.

 

THANK YOU! Scalemaster! Your link is the right one!

I TOTALLY agree with you about your point of view. And that's why although I will file a challenge, I am not optimistic this time and I still got to figure how I will phrase my challenge and in which category I will place it. I know what the code says and I can't deny the headlight was indeed out when the officer did the inspection. I would not ask him to say that there was no defect when there was one indeed. However, I will try to find (if it's possible) a way to minimize the severity of the "violation", (and reduce the points) considering a few other facts and circumstances.
What I really wanted was for the officer to let me fix the headlight right there (I had a couple of spare bulbs and could have done in a few minutes). But he didn't let me do it and told me to follow his instructions as he started the inspection right away.

Maybe I should have insisted to fix the headlight first and then let him do the inspection... What do you think?

But I was afraid he would not let me do it and would make the situation worse for me.

He told me not to worry, he was going to give me "just" a warning. Well, I said, a warning still counts points.... But like you said, it's not their problem how many points... and they will not reason with driver, not their problem how unreasonable the points system is and how that will affect and damage driver's career and life.
I pointed to him that there was no need for headlights at that time (it was noon, bright sunny day and I was going west). And the law in that state does not require headlights at that time unless it's raining. But he didn't care either... I understand, not his problem...

We drivers are being unjustly attacked... And we need to stand for what is right and defend ourselves. This CSA gives us no way to defende ourselves. This is not even constitutional!

Although I may not win this one, I will give them FMCSA and DOT my opinion and I ask every driver who feels he/she is being unjustly punished, to do the same.

And I ask every DOT officer to be reasonable! Have some understanding of what is REALLY important. SAFETY!

 

I don't think that would be a good idea.

This CSA thing is what is causing you and I grief. If it was just between you and I and a roadside inspection, you have a light out, I make you aware of it, you fix it, noted on the inspection, no ticket, no harm, no foul.

What happens afterwards with CSA and points I have no training in, and no control over. They take the data from the inspections I do and crunch the numbers and keep track of them however they want.

I am not sure how damaging a couple of CSA points for a light out is to your record. If I understand the theory behind it, CSA is not so concerned with any individual violations, but they are looking for a history of repeated violations.

 

When you say "would make me aware of it... and would make a note on the inspection" what does it mean? Would that be a warning?

I didn't get a ticket. "Just" a warning but warnings count points just like tickets and sometimes are worse because they can't be fought.

I was counting the days to finish 2011 with 5 pts (if my calculations were correct). But now this, it is not a "couple of points" like you said.... I wish it were.... It's 6 points x 3 = 18 points! + 5 = 23 points!! for something that I had not control, and it wasn't affecting safety at all....

I do inspect the vehicle several times a day, every time I step outside and check things that nobody cares to check. So, this is very frustrating, because no matter how careful I am, there are things impossible to control and the points are high.

I would have to stop every 30 mins and 1 mile before every scale house and do a walk-around (which is not practical)...

 

i'd like to know the reasoning myself why we can fight tickets and not warnings.

i've had two tickets in colorado so far. and they said neither would add points. one was for being oversized (6inches over the trailer width) and scale wouldn't sell me a permit. and the other was cuz the office screwed up and permited me for the previous truck i used to drive and not the truck i was just given.

in texas i got a warning becuase my mud flaps were flapping in the wind and no reflective tape on the upper rear of the cab. he didn't say anything about points.

he did try to say my running lights on top weren't working though.

that was texas highway patrol. looking for something to do.

 

Snowwy, PLEASE challenge those VER (Vehicle Examination Reports)... Complain to FMCSA, don't just take it What they are doing is wrong!
Problem is, most drivers are too busy or uninformed or just lazy to care about it. But this affects our lives BIG time! And if we don't fight back, they will take control and keep hitting us with more absurd rules like this.

Go to the link Scalemaster posted here, register and file a challenge. Provide all the info and all the supporting evidence you have to validate your claim (pictures, documentation, etc).

I won one case where the DOT officer was wrong. FMCSA removed my points.

Once I got a warning because my mudflaps were swinging too much Fortunately, officer didn't give me a roadside inspection. Imagine if he had... How would I fight that?

We must fight to change many things in this CSA and one of them is either reducing points of warnings or abolishing them. It makes no sense and hurts us A LOT!