From: timothy.smith1@att.net
Date: Sun Jun 05 2005 - 11:45:13 PDT
Sonny,
I think that some
> people are simply lazy when it comes to something that they don't ordinarily
> do, they don't feel like looking it up or might think they can't find it and
> then they would look bad in front of the motorist.
Very, very true! Some officers have a big ego they have to feed. I learn something new every day, often times from truck drivers who are at the pointy end all the time and who come into contact with a lot more officers than I EVER will.
...about ten miles in to the state I was pulled over by a DOT
> Officer. He started out by saying that I had a light on the trailer that
> was not functioning. I told him they had been okay that morning.
Lights are mysterious things.. They go on. They go off. Frankly, I don't get too excited about lights unless they are key to safe operation.
...He must have asked me a half dozen times
> if I ever sold anything when I went to one of those shows
Roadside interview is an important part of DOT-ing. It is part of our task to determine who is subject to the regulations and ensure they are in compliance and/or help them to come into compliance with the regulations. What a lot of people don't understand (sadly, this inludes inspecting officers) is that for someone to BE in compliance they have to be able to understand the regulations (often times the hardest part of this is knowing what darned questions to ask!) and if an officer doesn't take the time to adequately explain what the regs ARE he's lost half the battle.
Then
> he said "I know that you are a recreational vehicle but you still fall under
> certain DOT rules, I asked which ones are you talking about strictly so I
> would know and he said "Just certain DOT rules. He then bid us a good day
> and we left.
Sounds like bullshit to me too. Still most state equipment/inpsection regs are mirror images of the FMCSR's because they come from the same place...industry standards.
> I never did find the faulty light. I think the "Chicken Koop" saw my
> Freightliner nose and put him on me, maybe not but thats what I think.
I think you're probably right about that. Trucks marked with "recreational vehicle" and "not for hire" are often the very commercial vehicles that are trying to fly under the DOT radar. Of course "not for hire" don't mean diddly because there are nearly as many commercial vehicles out there who are hauling their own products and equipment and there are lots of recreational vehicles that are being used for commerial purposes as well. So, we gotta stop 'em and sort em all out. Makes for a long day sometimes.
TJ
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