HELLO FELLOW EXPEDITERS, JUST A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU! I WAS COMING OUT OF PHARR TEXAS, SHUTTING DOWN IN SAN MARCO, TX(REST AREA) THE TRUCKS AIR CONTION QUIT WORKING SO I DECIDED TO MOVE UP THE ROAD TO GET A ROOM. WHICH I FORGOT TOO LOGG about 55 or so miles. after 16 hours off duty/ sleeper got a load in arkansas. 3 hours into the trip got stopped in mt plasent tx, (not so plansent for me). the last weigh station ou of tx on i30 the officer gave me a ticket for false report on logs 175.00. officer would not listen that is just honst mistake, or it was a 105 degress (heat index) and i have asthma . and shut me down for another 8 hours. WHAT SHOULD I DO PAY IT OR FIGHT IT!
FIGHT DOT!
- Thread starter boxtruck6
- Start date
Hopefully by the time you have your hearing, you will have gotten your AC fixed and a note from the Doctor will prove your Asthma, so I too would fight it. If you are a local or even with in 500 miles of the place I would call the court and set up the hearing ASAP. Sounds to me like you have a sure win. Even if you don't the 8 hr shut down may be enough of a payment. Good Luck!!!
I have been in similar situations before. The only thing is, it will cost you more money to fight it than to pay it, and you still stand a chance of loosing. If you have a lot of money to stand up for a principle, than go for it. Unfortunately most of us do not, and we learn to accept the bad DOT officers who won't listen along with the good ones who will. To make you possibly feel better, a couple of years ago I was beaten into the ground to the tune of $560.00 by the NJ DOT for out of adjustment front brakes. The truck just came out of the shop after wheel bearing replacement, and the mechanic simply forgot to reset the slack adjusters. I reset them both in about 30 seconds, but the officer did not believe my story and wrote the ticket. Bad luck- sometimes just part of the profession:-(
-Weave-
-Weave-
paperback1
Expert Expediter
Buck up adn pay it. You know you were wrong in the first place. Sure it might have been an honest mistake, but it was still wrong. Be a stand up person and take responsibility for what you did. Don't try and pass the buck. I bet you won't ever make the same mistake again. Think of it as paying to learn a lesson}>
Those guyes at Mt Pleasent can be a pain. You might try.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/interp395.8.htm
Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a CMV for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?
Guidance: When a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver's home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver's terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver's en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver's home, from the driver's home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier's CMV for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/interp395.8.htm
Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a CMV for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?
Guidance: When a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver's home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver's terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver's en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver's home, from the driver's home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier's CMV for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.
dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
Welcome Bill and thanks for a very informative first post. DD
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MILITARY MOM AND PROUD OF IT
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MILITARY MOM AND PROUD OF IT
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I just don't think they would consider 55 miles of deadheading a short distance. That ruling is for if you are using the truck, empty, to go from your terminal or possibly a layover spot a few miles to Mickey D's or a motel. ALWAYS, ALWAYS 
make sure your log is legal when running on the highway at any given point where you might pass through a weigh station, the most likely place to get caught if you aren't being careful. Sometimes you have to fudge it to do what you have to get done (In a safe manner, of course.) Every time I have been pulled for a DOT inspection were the times I least expected it- it's like they know somehow:9
-Weave-
make sure your log is legal when running on the highway at any given point where you might pass through a weigh station, the most likely place to get caught if you aren't being careful. Sometimes you have to fudge it to do what you have to get done (In a safe manner, of course.) Every time I have been pulled for a DOT inspection were the times I least expected it- it's like they know somehow:9 -Weave-