Customs fine $5000

[terryandrene]

I gotta add my agreement to Doc and DD comments

We all tend to expect our respective carriers to make sure we know how to do our jobs by explaining all aspects of freight hauling so that we have no problems to solve for ourselves.

In reality, a carrier should not have to explain anything except procedures peculiar to that company. They hired us not as trainees but because we assured them that we were competant as owners and/or professional drivers. It is now incumbant on each of us to maintain our professionalism by learning the traffic laws, scale house requirements, pre-trip inspection requirements, and cross-border documentation requirements, etc, etc.

I truely feel sad for the predicament Finn777 has found himself in and hope that by now he may have a solution if his carrier hasn't stepped up to the plate to help him.

I suspect that Finn has received a notice of assessment of a civil penalty of $5000, not a fine. The distinction is that a civil penalty is assessed by a govt agency and a fine is assessed by the courts. These civil penalties are usually negotiable with a well written letter to the agency that issued the citation. If you explain the situation you may well have the penalty reduced to a managable amount or expunged altogether. In any event, don't hesitate to take action. A letter can, at the very least, delay the need to promptly pay.

Good Luck, Terry

 

[truckerbuddy]

lets all take a stand!!!! everyone turn down canada loads and let the feright sit at there loading docks with no trucks to move it after a while they will see giving us fines that big for little things will only make us not run feright into canada. FORD,GM,and other big companys will see this and lobby for changes. In other words STRIKE-STRIKE-STRIKE CANADA. they would have to pay me 3.00 per mile before i ever take a load up there. in other words F-CANADA

 

[spitfire]

SECOND !!!! ALL IN FAVOR!!!

 

[DocRushing]

The problem is not with Canada.
The problem is returning to the US.
Why would we wish to hurt anyone in Canada?
What useful purpose would we serve by hurting anyone there?
Doc.

 

[RichM]

Learn the rules,abide by the rules,be polite to customs and you will have no problem.

 

[highway star]

RichM, the filer code is a number that identifies the broker you are using. If you were using FedEx, you would put 112 in the box. My company gave me a list with codes, fax & phone #s. We use three stickers. Manifest, invoice, and BOL. The one on the BOL gives us a record of the PAPS #. Panther is using three stickers and putting one on each copy of the manifest, which does'nt make much sense to me. It does sound like everyone is making way to big a deal out of the pre-notification procedure. Just do it and there will be no fine. There's nothing to be scared of in Canada. There are no monsters, although Bigfoot is rumored to spend summers there.

 

[dawgtown]

"In reality, a carrier should not have to explain anything except procedures peculiar to that company. They hired us not as trainees but because we assured them that we were competant as owners and/or professional drivers. It is now incumbant on each of us to maintain our professionalism by learning the traffic laws, scale house requirements, pre-trip inspection requirements, and cross-border documentation requirements, etc, etc." This sounds good and may apply to your situation but you don't know the particulars of everyones agreement with their company. The company has the best resources to train drivers in all aspects of the job. The companies should be very proactive in customs procedures, hazmat and any aspect of the job that can result in losses, fines or jail for the carrier and the driver. The rules and laws can change often and the company is required to provide training and update information. I completed numerous applications and my company is aware that I am a new driver and will require training. It is the companies responsibility to provide as much of that training and information as possible to ensure that the company and I are in compliance. If I were an independent O/O driver (not leased) looking for loads everywhere I would be responsible for most of my training. I am rarely at home and I don't have a mailbox on my truck. The company receives updates often and schedules all neccessary training. At least that's what they said at orientation...

 

[iheartfaye]

It really is not that big of a deal. All you have to do is fax the broker and keep the coversheet. This actually assists us because the brokers are getting pressure to clear the loads instead of sitting on a fax for hours and still not having it cleared when we reach the border.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

> This actually
>assists us because the brokers are getting pressure to clear
>the loads instead of sitting on a fax for hours and still
>not having it cleared when we reach the border.


this is great news.there is nothing more irritating than going into the broker to find out what kind of problem there is with your paperwork,and have them walk over to the fax machine and find it amongst an 2" thick stack of papers. GRRRRR. DD. x( x( x(

 

[hitek]

follow the rules...blah blah blah, just because the rules are there doesnt make them right. I drive trucks and will go out of my way to be safe and get a load delivered on time. Theres enough crap to deal with living on the road without this. Just because the government makes rules doesnt mean they have to be accepted , the last time I checked this was still a nation of the people by the people and for the people. At some point truck drivers will realize that they ve had enough ...then we'll see some pencil pushing computer monitoring bureaucratic attitude adjustment. Truckers dont realize how much power they actually hold in this country.

 

[geo]

i like way egl does canada take it buffalo and canadian drivers take it to canada

 

[dieseldiva]

>follow the rules...blah blah blah, just because the rules
>are there doesnt make them right. I drive trucks and will go
>out of my way to be safe and get a load delivered on time.
>Theres enough crap to deal with living on the road without
>this. Just because the government makes rules doesnt mean
>they have to be accepted , the last time I checked this was
>still a nation of the people by the people and for the
>people. At some point truck drivers will realize that they
>ve had enough ...then we'll see some pencil pushing computer
>monitoring bureaucratic attitude adjustment. Truckers dont
>realize how much power they actually hold in this country.



While not happy about anyone being fined large amounts such as we've discussed here, we have to slow our heads down and realize that all this "tweaking" of the rules is being done for our own good. If this is what I have to do to help keep my children and grandchildren safer in this whacked out world we live in then it's a small price to pay!
(the extra hassle, not the fines)

As for standing up and saying "we've had enough and we're not going to take anymore", I don't believe this will bring about any changes whatsoever. What it WILL accomplish is the same as it has for a long time, those of you who do not choose to run Canada can wave bye-bye at us as we cross the bridge with your refused run money in our hands!


Of all the things I've lost in my life, I think I miss my mind the most!!

 

[trump]

I think we should look at the whole idea behind par-paps and fast.I for one don't know a lot about this but come to the conclusoin that these programs were put in place to make it easier and safer for the trucker and the borded crossing people. Making these changes were suppose to ease the congestion at border crossings, and the last time I crossed at Windsor there were a lot of drivers uncluding me that were sent to there brokers and the customs office. I think it showed that pars or whatever was not being used properly .So the customs decided to get strict to get these programs to work properly. I for one am not going to cry about it but use this as a learning experience and be thankful That I wasn't fined. the expediting business is always going to be changing as we go along and we need to change with it. this is true with any profession . Well guess who runs with a laptop now. Yep I do just another way to make my job easier and faster.

 

[Lawrence]

>As for standing up and saying "we've had enough and we're
>not going to take anymore", I don't believe this will bring
>about any changes whatsoever. What it WILL accomplish is the
>same as it has for a long time, those of you who do not
>choose to run Canada can wave bye-bye at us as we cross the
>bridge with your refused run money in our hands!


DD,

I agree 100%.

US/Canadian border crossings are so in-grained into expedite trucking, I just don't see how it can be in the best interest on an O/O to say "I won't cross the border anymore".

It's like saying I won't go into NYC - I made my best money coming out of NYC. I can recall $2-$3 per mile glory runs.

Pass up that kind of opportunity is just bad business. IMHO


Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com


Education is the best defense against the media.


The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words.



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[ATeam]

Being one to continue to go to Canada, I read this thread with great interest.

The $5,000 fine gives us (wife and me, team drivers) pause, but not enough to keep us out. We once found out after the fact that if both drivers are not visible to the U.S. Customs Officer when we enter the U.S., we could be fined big bucks. They let us off the first time with a warning. That too gave us pause, but we continue to take runs in and out of Canada, though we've been offered only a few.

Know and follow the rules makes sense and is good advice. Of concern though is that some of following the rules is out of our direct control. Other people fax documents to brokers. Other people are supposed to give notice. If other people drop the ball, it's difficulty for us. Additional checking on the work other people are doing (not doing, poorly doing) now seems to be in order. That checking is an additional burden for which we are not compensated.

Finally, a good carrier will keep drivers advised of rules changes. Yes, we're all professionals that should know the rules, but our carrier compliance departments (safety, other department names) are in a far better positon to follow and communicate rules changes.How many jurisdictions regulate us? There are idling rules in numerous states and local jurisdictions now. Do we all know what and where they are? Tickets are issued for improperly positioned lift axle controls in some states but not in others. Do we all know where? Trucks are sometimes impounded by a state if you do not have an intra-state permit there. Do you know the state? Do you know if your carrier has purchased that permit for your truck?

The list of compliance knowledge is endless and beyond any individual trucker's ability to know, short of making a full time study of the rules everywhere. And then the rules will change. Good carriers earn their cut of the money by keeping drivers educated and supporting them in unfamiliar situations.

Finally, does anyone believe Osama is even a little bit troubled because governments now require new paperwork and/or procedures at the border? I'd wager he's quite pleased with the rights we've forfieted to our own goverernments since 911. Long lines of trucks at the border is a victory for him, not a hinderance.

 

[theoldprof]

The sad part of all this is that if Assama wants to ship bad stuff into the US of A from Canada, he will all his PAPS, PARS, FAST, and any other ducks all in a row.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

A-Team...JuJu and I have never been told of this visibility rule. Maybe cuz they can't see down in a van? JuJu and I have been asked to get out of vehicle so they can see the passenger though. We were also told that TWO names must be on the inbound manifest and both dribvers must be at the customs counter when presenting paperwork inside.

DD... I somewhat disagree but agree HOWEVER Just when is too much too
much? The DHS is starting to look like the Gestapo!!! Papers everyone!!
AND if you even question some of them look out!!! They getting too pushy
cuz they have the POWER!! There must be checks and balances in all aspects....someone has to pull these out of control dogs in!!! The rule of the day should not exist! or is that mood of the day~

 

[terryandrene]

OVM: Getting thru US Customs comments are yet another example where policy interpretation often differs with the speaker and the listener.

Now my interpretation.

Since before and after the formation of DHS, Customs has always required my co-driver to be seated in the passenger seat. visibility varies with the position of the Customs agent. I've been told by the agents that the co-driver must always be in the seat, never in the sleeper. That's regardless of the HOS regulation.

I have never put a co-driver's name on the Inward Manifest, nor have I been instructed to do so; however, the agent at the counter must have been informed of the co-driver by the agent at the primary booth, because I've been told to go get her by more than one counter agent. We now both go in as a matter of course.

Do yourself a favor by always presenting a passport(s) with an enclosed 5 dollar bill to the primary booth agent along with shipping papers. This will demonstate your experience at border crossing as well as your citizenship.

Trace amounts of medical thalium can be detected by the radiation detecters at the border. People who've had a stress test using thalium should be prepared to be pulled aside for review, even as much as eight days after the test.

Terry

 

[theoldprof]

I understand why driver and co-driver would want to be present, as well as having passports. What is the fiver for? Is is common practice to bribe the cops? :+ :+

 

[terryandrene]

>I understand why driver and co-driver would want to be
>present, as well as having passports. What is the fiver
>for? Is is common practice to bribe the cops? :+ :+


Prof: The $5 is a user fee that the Customs charges all USofA citizens who use the service. It's much like admission to a National park is only charged to thos who use that service. Persons who cross into the U.S. frequently can purchase a windshield decal for $100 per annum.