Roadcheck 2008

[Jack_Berry]

i got pulled over in van wert at 0115 for the light over the rear plate not being on. i looked back and saw light and knew it had become dislodged. (don't look for the light it is over the license plate)told the officer that. he wanted the registration, license and questions answered first.
yes, i am the owner(proud moment)
just bought it sunday thats why the michigan plates.
ppwk is right here, lets see, bank loan(don't want to see that sir just the registration), the bank checks to the previous owner, um here is more bank ppwk, o here is the registration.(okay mr berry everything is in order(i knew that!) please get the light fixed. as he is walking away i ask if i can exit the vehicle(yes i used those words) to look at the light. okay he aceeds grudglingly. i open the door and the light is out of the socket. i plug it back in and shut the door. (thank you mr berry it is working now)

 

[Jefferson3000]

Dontcha love it?

 

[TeamCaffee]

Heck no we do not refuse bonus nor would we if FedEx Custom Critical gave out one! I agree with Paid Vacationer enjoy it! I was just wondering why it was given.
Heck I am so tight I got in a terrible quandary the other day when a Flying J gave us a senior discount. I about had to bite my tongue not to argue that we are not there yet but a discount or money back is not something I am going to refuse!

 

[pelicn]

All the scales we passed were closed. In KY they were set up in a rest area with flashy signs telling all commercial vehicles to stop. I pulled in, they were waving trucks through while standing there gabbing with each other. We stopped at the rest area to let the dog out and while doing that, I watched a Custom Critical tractor trailer blow by the the rest area on the other side. A minute or so later, highway patrol came screaming by so I wonder if the tractor was being pulled over for not stopping.

It seems every year they make a big deal out of Road Check, and we've never seen anything other than business as usual during that time.

 

[Broompilot]

I agree with Turtle, lower insurance costs for all of us.

Is this a Money Generating Thing? If it is I AM ALL FOR IT. Are you not sick of paying $ to keep your truck Maintained, IT IS ACTUAL every month there is something to be repaired to keep my Truck from ever being put out of service. And it gets to be expensive, just Monday evening I discovered a marker light out above the Visor and my marker light on the side of the Trailer, turn worked but marker not working. OK easy enough fix, until I pull it apart the Prongs on both lights stuck in the light and not the harness, so now I need harness's that I do not have or the melting gun to fix it with so into the TA and $60 later I am legal. The point is I cannot fix everything out here and its gona cost $ to repair, sure I might have made it back home, but I too would like a sticker and darn if they just did not wave me thru everytime.

But I can look no further than the truck next to me at any truck stop and I would be willing to bet that I could find at least one Mechanical Failure or a lying log book to go along with it. That if the truck or driver I am talking about were ever involved in an accident a Lawyer would have his fortune increased due to negligance.

Come on People we see it all the time, lights out, WORN out Tires, leaking fluids, cracked springs, leaking hubs, etc....

What would be the % you would estimate that could not pass? I think about 33% agree or dissagree? I for one wish they would do this MORE OFTEN, one way to thin out the companies/OO who opt not to keep the equipment up to standards. Talk about the OOIDA sign SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT maybee the customers out to have one that says SAY NO TO UNMAINTAINED FLEETS.

 

[pelicn]

I've only been driving for 4 years, but in that 4 years I've made many many trips through the state of PA. I've seen ONE open scale, in that state, in all that time.

 

[EagleRiverWI]

Tri State and Bolt both pay $50 for clean inspections. A few of the non expedite trucking companies I have worked for over the years also paid. In the last 6 months I had 2 clean inspection bonuses and 6 logbook bonuses. I was using driversdailylog.com to get perfect logs. The logs are easier to read and the program does the math and alerts you of potential violations.

 

[Broompilot]

I've only been driving for 4 years, but in that 4 years I've made many many trips through the state of PA. I've seen ONE open scale, in that state, in all that time.

Consider yourself Lucky. I was in PA two years ago this 4th of July. EVERY one of those closed weight stations was open I believe the 4th that year was a Monday, Friday I got my questioning. I know I pulled into 3 and my start point was I 80 & 81 heading to the Carolina's.

Now that was nothing more than a SHOW AND TELL to the General Public on a Holiday Weekend and all I wanted to do was take the load home. Some other drivers were not so lucky. When PA does it they really do it.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

Two reasons. When a vehicle or driver is placed OOS, it costs the driver, but it costs the carrier more.

One, it's an incentive to actually check things and make sure everything is good. The majority of drivers, especially those who drive for an owner, aren't as likely to pay attention to the details.

Second, it lowers the carrier's percentage of drivers and vehicles that are placed OOS due to violations, which in turn lowers their insurance costs, not to mention a high OOS percentage is a red flag to DOT auditors.

Correct: You hit the nail on the Head!!!

Its the same when I do a PM on the Tractor and Trailer the Big guy buys me A steak dinner for the night.

When I get the DOT Inspections done for the Truck and Trailer I get 100 bucks and and a dinner for being OOS and Completing them.

Note as Turtle said its an insentive for the Drivers to be more than just a Wheel Turner

Thanks

 

[pelicn]

Note as Turtle said its an insentive for the Drivers to be more than just a Wheel Turner

Isn't that a sad fact of the state of our industry? Why can't a driver be responsible without getting an "incentive"

 

[x06col]

It's worse than sad there pelican, but, a fact of life it seems these days. The only problem I had with a "reward" was i figgured one of the clowns, one day would be short a hunnerd bucks and stop at a scalehouse and ask for an inspection when they wern't ready. Luckily, it didn't happen.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

how come the only 2 things that never need replaced is that seatbelt buzzer and the low fuel light????

 

[iceroadtrucker]

It's worse than sad there pelican, but, a fact of life it seems these days. The only problem I had with a "reward" was i figgured one of the clowns, one day would be short a hunnerd bucks and stop at a scalehouse and ask for an inspection when they wern't ready. Luckily, it didn't happen.

Well its like this man plain and simple. Do I own the truck?
Nope. I said in another thread what a owner was doing while I was laid over in Ohio he sent his Drivers home and did the PM and DOT's himself as he said he kept his drivers happy that way. At home they were just that at home. When on the road they were just that Working. Some Company owners find other Ways or Perks for compenstaion for their drivers. The Steak dinner or Meal for a PM is one of the Perks. The other is the Dinnner and 100 bucks for the truck being oos for a DOT the same goes if the Truck breaks down and U go OOS you get a 100 bucks a day for each day the truck is OOS. But then again COL How many Majors do U have that will stay out 8 9 10 weeks at a time. Or be out 8 weeks in a few hours then back on the Road? I bet None That are not Married. If you got a man and wife team then U may have that. So for a Company Owner to give those kinda Perks to a driver well maybe the Company Owner see the Man is worth his her weight ++++++++.
Just depends on the situation. One ower will do the the PMS and Dots himself while the Driver is off time. Another choose to give incentives to get the work done .

 

[nightcreacher]

Maevin,give me that number,100 Bucks a day for being broke down,ill sell my truck and go work there.As far as the inspection blitz,just hauled 40000 lb haz mat from az to ND,not one scale pulled us around back,guess they were afraid they might find something

 

[x06col]

Well yes, seems it takes a fanatic to be sucessful in this business there ice. Seems if you don"t wanna some times on a short fuse, you'll sit for a while. Oh well, some'll learn an some won't. We all might find it's not a perfect world with sunshine and 68 everyday. But, you still can be like some, and don't wanna do it with gusto, and take your chances winging it by yourself. If you want a learning experience.

 

[cheri1122]

When PA does it they really do it.[/quote]
And they might do it when you least expect it, too . I was pulled off a SR in Pa, back when I drove t/t, for a 'surprise' inspection. (It wasn't just me, they were pulling every truck over, & I passed, no problem)
Agree with Broom, that inspections are a good thing, generally, just wish they didn't get so nitpicky about the trivial details, sometimes. My last inspection, they wrote me up for not having the BOL number written on my log sheet - and that was the only violation they found.

 

[x06col]

Sadly, it's still a violation. Seems if you will take care of the details, the big stuff just seems to fall in place.

 

[TeamCaffee]

X06col that has to be your best line ever! Pay attention to the small stuff and the big stuff takes care of itself! While we do not like the road side inspections as of the time you have to spend sitting there and also the tension of wondering what they might find. Overall though we do not worry about them due to the maintenance that we do to our truck. We had an interesting inspection in California that took over an hour while this guy looked and looked for a problem. He finally found a hair line crack in one of our brake shoes so no sticker. The interesting thing though was we had those brake shoes checked and they did have several hair line cracks in them and they needed to be changed. The brakes worked fine and just looking at them on the ground no problem took being down in a pit with a high powered flash light to see a problem that was developing.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

BOL on the logbook? First time I've heard about that being mandatory.

 

[moose]

Hands up for all you patriots that still think it is all about SAFETY ,
its not .
its about MONEY
its about STATISTICS .
its about the DOT image , and recruiting , and grants.
just wait 2 weeks till they proudly present this year violation record,
and look and see what the media will do with that statistics...
insurance companies also take advantage of this statistics.
driver safety starts at driver school.
truck safety start at the service bay.
the lack of driver safety is a result of the lack of driver training, and monitoring.
the fact is that the truck need to pass a DOT inspection only once a year.
there are other ways to keep safety on the road , rather then pull a driver O/S for a minor defect.
its have very little to do with enforcement , and a lot to do with aditue.
i expect the trucker at the left lane to be educated as a mandetetory.
unfortunately its not .
i expect the truck on that left lane to be safe to drive.
unfortunately its not.
i expect the driver at the left lane to be healthy , and drug tested.
fortunately it is. (for some extent..)
we are all way too over-regulated , keeping a mark on a book will not keep us any safer .
by the time we get to the scare-house , it is already too late.
once you hit the road with an unsafe driver,truck or load, it is too late.
it is just my opinion.
Moose.