XPO | DOT Inspection Violations

eurodaytona

TB Lurker
Credits
0
Ok, so a few days ago i was pulled in for a Level 1 Full road side inspection by the Virginia State Police. I didnt think much of it because i always do a very complete pre trip. So long stroy short he ask me how far away my mechanic is because im going to need him, so i asked what the problem was. 1 violation on the truck (which put me out of service) was a lower rear leaf spring eye mounting bolt was loose. He said the bolt was loose because he could "spin" the washer with this finger. This is a bolt that you would have to really lean in beyond the front tire to put your hands on. (sorry but i dont have time to put my hands on every bolt on the truck before heading out). Visibly this bolt was identical to the one above it, you'd never know it was "loose". The bolt was snug....but the washer would spin.

2 minor issues with the trailer.

My trailer was equipped with ABS. The orange light on the rear of the trailer is supposed to have the words "ABS" imprinted on the lense or a sticker above or beside that orange lense. Ok, so ive never heard of that one before. I have seen a few pup trailers with the ABS lense or a sticker but that is like 1 out of 20 that have that. That violation came up on my report as this. ABS Malfunction Indicator Lamp for trailer manufactured after 3-1-1998 not marked "ABS" as required.
So drivers......remember this......if your trailer was manufactured after March 1, 1998 and has ABS your orange lense has to say ABS or indicate that it is a ABS light.

The other issue on the trailer was the rear reflective tape on the rear door. I had about 1" of tape missing on each side of the carriage bolts. He said the "gaps" totaled more than 18 inches....(which i dissagree) so therefore another violation.

This sounds like some picky bull**** to me. its like they have to find something to put on the report. My question now is how will this effect my CSA score?

My last DOT inspection included bull**** like (tractor has a oil pan gasket leak) ...ok so what truck with 1.1 million miles dosent leak oil? WTF!?!?
 
Ok, so a few days ago i was pulled in for a Level 1 Full road side inspection by the Virginia State Police. I didnt think much of it because i always do a very complete pre trip. So long stroy short he ask me how far away my mechanic is because im going to need him, so i asked what the problem was. 1 violation on the truck (which put me out of service) was a lower rear leaf spring eye mounting bolt was loose. He said the bolt was loose because he could "spin" the washer with this finger. This is a bolt that you would have to really lean in beyond the front tire to put your hands on. (sorry but i dont have time to put my hands on every bolt on the truck before heading out). Visibly this bolt was identical to the one above it, you'd never know it was "loose". The bolt was snug....but the washer would spin.

2 minor issues with the trailer.

My trailer was equipped with ABS. The orange light on the rear of the trailer is supposed to have the words "ABS" imprinted on the lense or a sticker above or beside that orange lense. Ok, so ive never heard of that one before. I have seen a few pup trailers with the ABS lense or a sticker but that is like 1 out of 20 that have that. That violation came up on my report as this. ABS Malfunction Indicator Lamp for trailer manufactured after 3-1-1998 not marked "ABS" as required.
So drivers......remember this......if your trailer was manufactured after March 1, 1998 and has ABS your orange lense has to say ABS or indicate that it is a ABS light.

The other issue on the trailer was the rear reflective tape on the rear door. I had about 1" of tape missing on each side of the carriage bolts. He said the "gaps" totaled more than 18 inches....(which i dissagree) so therefore another violation.


This sounds like some picky bull**** to me. its like they have to find something to put on the report. My question now is how will this effect my CSA score?

My last DOT inspection included bull**** like (tractor has a oil pan gasket leak) ...ok so what truck with 1.1 million miles dosent leak oil? WTF!?!?

we have two rows of reflective tap across the rear, door and bumper. Those two combine to cover the full width. I have never heard or read of a requirement of 18". My understanding is that it must be continuous, meaning the gap on the bumper from con-gears and dock locks damaging the tape causing gaps and the same area on the above stripe qualifies the rule by being 100%. So in other words between the two strips we do have 100% coverage left to right, center gap on the bottom, no gap at the center on the top stripe.

we have a person at the FSC that fights these kinds of citations. Can you get a picture of the rear of the trailer cited? This would go a long way in helping your case.
 
I did take pictures of all 3 violations. The rear door of the trailer did have plenty of reflective tape....its just that the tape did not cover over the 4 or 5 carriage bolts on the back of the door. Id post a picture on this thred, but i have yet to figure out how to do that. Looks like i can only post a URL link to a photo. What's your take on the ABS thing? Friday i took a yellow metal pin and wrote "ABS" beside the orange light. I asked the officer if i could do that.....he told me "yes" as long as the letters "ABS" were 1" or larger.....haha.......like if they weren't he would take out a measuring tape and measure it and if they were 3/4's of a inch id get a viloation for that.
 
As far as I can remember U-Bolts are not part of the pre-tip. That would be no different than the free play in the 5-wheel. The book that the manufactures have to follow says 3/16 of a inch max. The shops don't worry about it because it is not in the green book.
 
seems like the DOT guy was just having a bad day and just nitpicking.

And how many of our trailers are new? I dont remember seeing one? Most are 1994 and older.:Violin:
 
Get a glass of blue Kool Aide and put some ice in it, drink it straight down, you will feel alot better,:ShakeHandsNah:
 
Sounds like a shackle pin bolt was loose, which sounds like a legit reason for the citation. While he is correct on the ABS light, as long as the light functions correctly, most let it slide. Legit, yes, but very minor. The DOT tape is BS unless the tape on the bumper was missing. You are required 1 row covering the full width of the trailer, between 15" and 60" from the ground. Con-way trailers have 2. Between the 2 you are covered. Since he didn't say anything about the bumper tape, I assume it was all there. If the bumper tape was all there, the door tape isn't even needed.
 
As far as I can remember U-Bolts are not part of the pre-tip. That would be no different than the free play in the 5-wheel. The book that the manufactures have to follow says 3/16 of a inch max. The shops don't worry about it because it is not in the green book.

U-bolts are part of the pre trip inspection.
 
Ok, so a few days ago i was pulled in for a Level 1 Full road side inspection by the Virginia State Police. I didnt think much of it because i always do a very complete pre trip. So long stroy short he ask me how far away my mechanic is because im going to need him, so i asked what the problem was. 1 violation on the truck (which put me out of service) was a lower rear leaf spring eye mounting bolt was loose. He said the bolt was loose because he could "spin" the washer with this finger. This is a bolt that you would have to really lean in beyond the front tire to put your hands on. (sorry but i dont have time to put my hands on every bolt on the truck before heading out). Visibly this bolt was identical to the one above it, you'd never know it was "loose". The bolt was snug....but the washer would spin.

2 minor issues with the trailer.

My trailer was equipped with ABS. The orange light on the rear of the trailer is supposed to have the words "ABS" imprinted on the lense or a sticker above or beside that orange lense. Ok, so ive never heard of that one before. I have seen a few pup trailers with the ABS lense or a sticker but that is like 1 out of 20 that have that. That violation came up on my report as this. ABS Malfunction Indicator Lamp for trailer manufactured after 3-1-1998 not marked "ABS" as required.
So drivers......remember this......if your trailer was manufactured after March 1, 1998 and has ABS your orange lense has to say ABS or indicate that it is a ABS light.

The other issue on the trailer was the rear reflective tape on the rear door. I had about 1" of tape missing on each side of the carriage bolts. He said the "gaps" totaled more than 18 inches....(which i dissagree) so therefore another violation.

This sounds like some picky bull**** to me. its like they have to find something to put on the report. My question now is how will this effect my CSA score?

My last DOT inspection included bull**** like (tractor has a oil pan gasket leak) ...ok so what truck with 1.1 million miles dosent leak oil? WTF!?!?

yes you will get points, now with CSA if DOT give you a warning you still will get points.
 
One of my friends is an ohp officer in the weights division and he's does road side inspections ..He said that is the numbers one reason we pull over trucks .. It's an easy score ! Most truckers ride in the right lane and the abs light is how we determine who to pull over most of the time ! That light is an open check book because we can always find something wrong ! I received a warning bout a year ago for that abs light being on from a different officer on a road side inspection, so from now on when that light pops on ... I unplug it because that warning went on my record , I will take my chances on the highway and get it into the shop for repairs when i return to the sc .. I really don't need some some dot officer getting into my pocket book because of a yellow light bulb . If and when you get caught ' just play stupid.. Most outlaw truckers are good at that game anyway !!!!
 
If you get pulled over. Get a ticket. Have it thrown out in court. Still get points. Even after it has been removed. Points stay.
Since you want to be a smart ### go right ahead waste your money on one of them CDL traffic ticket attorney that don't know anything, when you show up for court who you think they going to believe the truck driver or the guy that Certified by the fmcsa to do inspections.
 
I dont think he was being a smart ### ... highspeeds was just saying the points will stay on your record after a ticket has been removed. If that's true or not ' I don't know ... And I really don't want to get a citation just to find out !
 
One of my friends is an ohp officer in the weights division and he's does road side inspections ..He said that is the numbers one reason we pull over trucks .. It's an easy score ! Most truckers ride in the right lane and the abs light is how we determine who to pull over most of the time ! That light is an open check book because we can always find something wrong ! I received a warning bout a year ago for that abs light being on from a different officer on a road side inspection, so from now on when that light pops on ... I unplug it because that warning went on my record , I will take my chances on the highway and get it into the shop for repairs when i return to the sc .. I really don't need some some dot officer getting into my pocket book because of a yellow light bulb . If and when you get caught ' just play stupid.. Most outlaw truckers are good at that game anyway !!!!

Be careful, you unplug that light and mngnt. finds out it could be your job. They are getting or were getting pretty anal about stuff like that.
 
I dont think he was being a smart ### ... highspeeds was just saying the points will stay on your record after a ticket has been removed. If that's true or not ' I don't know ... And I really don't want to get a citation just to find out !

Two guys out of my barn. Got tickets thrown out. Still on scorecard. And even more important, still on your bucket list.
 
One of my friends is an ohp officer in the weights division and he's does road side inspections ..He said that is the numbers one reason we pull over trucks .. It's an easy score ! Most truckers ride in the right lane and the abs light is how we determine who to pull over most of the time ! That light is an open check book because we can always find something wrong ! I received a warning bout a year ago for that abs light being on from a different officer on a road side inspection, so from now on when that light pops on ... I unplug it because that warning went on my record , I will take my chances on the highway and get it into the shop for repairs when i return to the sc .. I really don't need some some dot officer getting into my pocket book because of a yellow light bulb . If and when you get caught ' just play stupid.. Most outlaw truckers are good at that game anyway !!!!


You have no idea just how stupid I can be.
 
Be careful, you unplug that light and mngnt. finds out it could be your job. They are getting or were getting pretty anal about stuff like that.
Mr. Rightturn I really appreciate your concern with my well being over my future employment at Conway and the interest of my safety while I'm boosting yellow dot lights off these trailers , but saying ' it could be your job ' .. Is just the same as crying wolf over and over and over . We as employees have heard this so much from these managers it doesn't even make anyone flinch any more ! Mngnt needs to come up with new scarier tactics because that one is really old ! And as for me jacking lights , I will continue to dis-connect them if they are on . I personally cannot afford to pay the state for violations from operating this junky city equipment !
 
Mr. Rightturn I really appreciate your concern with my well being over my future employment at Conway and the interest of my safety while I'm boosting yellow dot lights off these trailers , but saying ' it could be your job ' .. Is just the same as crying wolf over and over and over . We as employees have heard this so much from these managers it doesn't even make anyone flinch any more ! Mngnt needs to come up with new scarier tactics because that one is really old ! And as for me jacking lights , I will continue to dis-connect them if they are on . I personally cannot afford to pay the state for violations from operating this junky city equipment !

Only said it cause that is what they would use-(Altering company equipment)
 
Ok, so a few days ago i was pulled in for a Level 1 Full road side inspection by the Virginia State Police. I didnt think much of it because i always do a very complete pre trip. So long stroy short he ask me how far away my mechanic is because im going to need him, so i asked what the problem was. 1 violation on the truck (which put me out of service) was a lower rear leaf spring eye mounting bolt was loose. He said the bolt was loose because he could "spin" the washer with this finger. This is a bolt that you would have to really lean in beyond the front tire to put your hands on. (sorry but i dont have time to put my hands on every bolt on the truck before heading out). Visibly this bolt was identical to the one above it, you'd never know it was "loose". The bolt was snug....but the washer would spin.

2 minor issues with the trailer.

My trailer was equipped with ABS. The orange light on the rear of the trailer is supposed to have the words "ABS" imprinted on the lense or a sticker above or beside that orange lense. Ok, so ive never heard of that one before. I have seen a few pup trailers with the ABS lense or a sticker but that is like 1 out of 20 that have that. That violation came up on my report as this. ABS Malfunction Indicator Lamp for trailer manufactured after 3-1-1998 not marked "ABS" as required.
So drivers......remember this......if your trailer was manufactured after March 1, 1998 and has ABS your orange lense has to say ABS or indicate that it is a ABS light.

The other issue on the trailer was the rear reflective tape on the rear door. I had about 1" of tape missing on each side of the carriage bolts. He said the "gaps" totaled more than 18 inches....(which i dissagree) so therefore another violation.

This sounds like some picky bull**** to me. its like they have to find something to put on the report. My question now is how will this effect my CSA score?

My last DOT inspection included bull**** like (tractor has a oil pan gasket leak) ...ok so what truck with 1.1 million miles dosent leak oil? WTF!?!?

sounds to me like you better polish up on your pretrip, take responsibility trucker
 
Top