if you back over an object and damage a mudflap or bracket or weight to the point it could be a hazard, then it becomes unsafe equipment and should be caught upon the next pti or sooner and fixed. i have seen flaps on top of tires going down the road [usually dump trucks] just being eaten away by tires. that is simple laziness on the driver part. i drove dumps and this will happen upon dumping and backing. you pull them down before you leave. as far as dragging on the ground, seen that also. should also know that is not ok. what is the peave is when. mudflap is 8" i believe is what is proper and you get nailed because its a couple of inches either way from there.
as for the lights being out and being seen. dot requires a certain # of marker lights on the rear of a vehicle, the entire vehicle to be correct. it also states placement of said lights. that is what they have decided is appropriate for other drivers to see the vehicle. i dont want to be penalized for trying to do better. dont get me wrong, you shouldnt have a butt load of EXTRA lights out. but, if its a non required light and i am on a trip in the night and it burns out and i go threw a scale or get seen by a dot officer i shouldnt have to worry about getting a warning or ticket. its kinda like helping someone who is in a life threatening situation out only to recieve papers you are being sued for doing so. another example, we have all seen the trucks with enough lights on them to be seen a 1/2 mile down the road. should he be warned or ticketed for one non dot light being out. thats the problem all over. people trying to do better being penalized for doing so.
your statement about one light being out being the difference of being seen or not. i personally would rather come upon a truck with more than required lights than just what dot requires. i never thought dot required enough on the rear. that is the one place we all need to see. so if the required lights are working and all but one of the six extra are too, dont hassle the guy.
as i previously stated and as anyone who has seen my truck can confirm. we are all about safety and everything working and being up to snuff with the rules. its just this nit picking stuff that the dot does [in the name of safety] that gets me when we see them doing unsafe things as well and not following proper procedure. its even getting worse now with all the states in a budget bind, and this being used for revenue.
the dot in all the states have never been on the same page. we have all had to know the little quirks that some states have. with csa 2010 coming in it has proposed new quirks that we have to be aware of also. things that have never been looked at are being looked at. some for safety reasons and some for a simple chance at revenue. some of you have already experienced good examples of this. some even had to use the rule book to keep from being ticketed. we shouldnt have to show dot, they should know. some stuff is questionable and some is down rite stupid. [example] i know someone, on EO, had a tire or inflation issue they had to prove. get this. LA. scale, i pull in as directed. they stop me on the scale and hold me there. im trying to reason why, all is good 500# in the box. sit a while longer. all up 5 min. then scale person comes out ask me to open door. proceeds to look at tire and inflation sticker on door then looks at tire. comes back and tells me i have wrong tires on truck. i say, huuuh. scale person says yes, door sticker says you should have 275/80r/22.5 and you have 11r/22.5. at this point i wanted to bust a nut laughing but did not. anyway we spoke a few minutes and problem resolved. but scale person really did think that if the tires on the sticker were not on the truck it was a violation. what prompted this was making sure the tires on the truck would carry 12000# which they do [mich. xza 3] and scale person made it a point to tell me the weight rating was ok but the size was wrong. its the things like this that get to me.
i have gone on long enough, this is just one persons opinion. agree or disagree is your choice. but if we all do our best we should all be ok. at some point some may get bit but i dont think it will amount to much as long as it not habitual. of course no matter how good we are, sometimes we just wont be good enough.