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ABF | Locked Trailers

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vongrimmenstein

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Here in Indy the supervisors want us to lock empty trailers in the yard & between each stop during your P & D run in the city. Does anyone know of a DOT Rule stating it is mandatory to lock your trailer going down the road? If so what is it under? 392.3 Or some other number. I know what the company wants, but what is the exact Federal Rule if any?
 
Personally don't know of anything from FMCSA. This started at RDWY when Homeland Security started thinking trucks were the next threat to America.
 
Not sure on the DOT rules. When i was at the Big R , they had a lock policy on trailers ,empty or loaded, after a while it became second nature.Guess A.B.F. figures if someones knows that all A.B.F. trailers are locked, they are less likely to go looking at our trailers. jmo
 
Thanks. I searched the FMCS regs & could NOT find anything listed for locking. Load securement, yes. But not Locked trl.
 
vongrimmenstein said:
Here in Indy the supervisors want us to lock empty trailers in the yard & between each stop during your P & D run in the city. Does anyone know of a DOT Rule stating it is mandatory to lock your trailer going down the road? If so what is it under? 392.3 Or some other number. I know what the company wants, but what is the exact Federal Rule if any?
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It comes under the do what your supervisor tells you to do rule.
 
If you do not lock your trailer, you are violating company policy, and you can receive discipline under Art. 46. They can also write you if you do not lock your tractor or cab when you're not in it. There is no DOT rule that I know of that mandates locking of equipment.
 
Muler said:
They figure they paid for locks on every trailer and they want them used. YOUR BROTHER ALWAYS!
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That is ironic. That is what I figured too so I keep mine locked. They affixed the lock and they pay me to use it. And if the lock doesn't work I have extra in the tractor and write the trailer up.
 
I know when I was running air freight at a major airport,If you were seen by the FAA/TSA even if you were empty,and got stopped with no lock,there was a HUGE fine!!!!
 
Fall's under the Homeland Security Act...All Commercial Trailer's Are suppose to be secured&lock'd.I depend's on the company's if they inforce or not.And Yes they are big fine's if not follow'd.
 
This is a good policy. It is possible for someone to put contraband on an unlocked trailer or in the cab of a tractor while you are stopped without your knowledge. Many years ago an employee was "set up" by someone. He was stopped by police on "tip" from an "anomyous source". The officer found a package in the cab. The employee refused to touch it. Even though his fingerprints were not on the package he was discharged & had to hire an attorney & go through a trial to prove his innocence & get his job back.
I don't know why anybody would not want to lock the trailer door & cab of the tractor. It protects the company & employee.
 
I had once heard a second hand story of a driver who was ticketed for not having the trailer door padlocked while traveling on the road. It sounded like a bull story to me.
Locking up is tedious chore I will admit. Have to bend waaayyyyy down while against the customer's dock to reach that lock and there are times when it is lower than the dock is. Let me tell you it is tougher to make that reach all the time. Then once the roll up door has been hammered once or twice by a loose pallet jack or the door has been worked on and the holes don't line up like they should it gets even better. If that doesn't get your goat ABF's failure to understand the relationship between padlocks and graphite will enhance the experience a little. In spite of all that I still lock up. I will confess to leaving the cab open to intruders unless I am in a location where I feel insecure about it.
 
Spent a little time trying to find a requirement to Lock, I did see a mention involving seals on "food" tankers but far now I'm calling it a Policy.
 
Locked Trailer Response

Thanks everyone for you input. I went to Homeland Security web site. They highly recommend or suggest locking your trailer or a Seal that meets Government standards. Our seals for Amazon are the rope type seal where bolt cutters won't work. To my original question, I cannot find any specific regulation or law (US Title, Section etc) or FMCS Reg that spells out what the Feds require. As to ABFer & Wolf comments, @ 24.51 per hour I have no problem putting a pad lock on the trailer & he is correct for many reasons as why it should be done. If a driver forgets to unlock a pad lock when he drops @ Amazon, they usually ask the next driver to unlock it. And sometimes they will cut the lock if necessary. Indy in the past has had a security issue with Amazon & their freight. I don't know how many times I have hooked an Amazon trailer in the yard with high dollar freight on board & there was no seal & the padlock was unlocked. I slap a seal on it & lock it & go deliver it. The seals we are using @ 050 & 319 are excellent rope seals that take a special cutter to break. Amazon picked the Seal for us to use.
 
At Holland they told us there were fines involved but never had any real proof. i.e. in writing that there is a "requirement" that empty trailers be locked.
I need to see the ticket or the regulation written before I believe it not just a "they told us in a safety meeting". I lock them when they are sitting but when I am trying to get 6 stops off in an hour I generally lock it in the storage position.
 
Back in my day at abf you would not want to get your run cleaned-up to early,our you would not be on your way home until 9:00 or 10:00 at night.(there 2-sides to every story.)

retired brother teamster.
 
Locking Trailers

Boilerpeddle said:
At Holland they told us there were fines involved but never had any real proof. i.e. in writing that there is a "requirement" that empty trailers be locked.
I need to see the ticket or the regulation written before I believe it not just a "they told us in a safety meeting". I lock them when they are sitting but when I am trying to get 6 stops off in an hour I generally lock it in the storage position.
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I do the same thing when I have multiple pick up stops in the same Industrial Park or area when they are so close to together. When leaving for the area I then lock the trailer before jumping on the Highway. Some of the dock guys used to complain a little about them being locked, but now they don't say much due to supervisors pressing the issue. I guess good habits are hard to break.
 
Boilerpeddle said:
Why because i like to get my work done and go home to my family?
Or that they would hang me for not locking the trailer?
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My guess is both UPS loves it when their guys break the rules in the name of productivity. Then they love to fire them at will for doing so.
 
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