Feet back and spread'em

[pete3799]

I’ll try to shorten this up as much as possible ……So I’m on my way back from Ga. with a load of J.D tractors (2 tractors and a loader/backhoe) drop one tractor in Fredricksburg, VA. Wed. afternoon and make it into southern N.J. where I spend the night. Leave so. Jersey at 2:30am so to beat the traffic onto Long Island (Freeport) arrive there at 5:30 crawl in the bunk and take a nap (dealer doesn’t open till 8:00) leave there around 9:00….. Next stop Fairfield, ME.
The ME. Scales are open so I roll in and the trooper asks for my log book. I hand it to him and he asks were I’m going, were I’ve been, did I have any other stops that were unloaded already, yada yada yada. So I tell him where I unloaded the other tractors and he says pull in the parking lot (keeps my log book) and says he’ll be over to see me.

A quick lesson on log books is in order here.

The new rules allow us to drive 11 hours. We cannot exceed 14hrs.total on duty and driving then we have to take 10 hrs. off before we can drive again. The clock starts when you first leave. If the shipper or consignee dinks around, the clock keeps ticking, if you get caught in traffic, the clock keeps ticking, if you get tired, pull over and take a nap, the clock keeps ticking etc.etc.
So rater then loose the 3 1/2hrs I was at the dealers ………..are you ready………I FUDGED MY LOG
I showed leaving Jersey at 5am (False)driving 3 hrs. (True) arriving in Freeport at 8am (false) leaving there at 9 (true) and now I’m in the parking lot of Maine’s finest.
So here’s what takes place.
Trooper asks for: drivers license….Check. Truck & trailer reg…check. Medical card…check. Toll receipts…Did you say toll receipts?.....check. Now he asks me to get out of the truck and asks if I have any drugs, firearms, Etc.” NO”….check…” any weapons?” me “my pocket knife” …him ”hand it over”….check. Then he proceeds to frisk me… WTF? Him “anything in your truck that will harm my dog” me “a York peppermint patty” him “yeah ok” So he puts his dog up on my trailer and walks him up to the one remaining tractor. Sniffs around, gets down, and then puts him in my truck…. Check. Now he starts in on my logs and receipts. So while he’s doing that I walk over to another trooper and ask him what’s up. He says what do you mean what’s up? I said why the frisk and search? He says S.O.P. Now I’ve heard some horror stories about Maine troopers and truckers but never really believed them ……till now.
Well after about 20 mins. He beckons me to his cruiser and commences to tell me that I’ve falsified my log (toll tickets don't match my log) and that he could arrest me and have my truck towed away if he wanted to and slap a 1000.00 fine on me.

Anyway, before I turn this into a novel, he gave me a warning ticket and told me to tear up todays log and make a new one.

So am I supposed to feel lucky that I didn’t go to jail or pissed that I was treated like a criminal. Mind you this search and frisk took place before he checked my log.

P.S After i get up the road a ways i realise he forgot to give my pocket knife back.

[greglepore]

Both. The log thing was a real break. The frisk is probably in fact s.o.p. for the safety of the cop,
but I'd feel abused nonetheless.

[Dan J]

As you know you're an easy target. Truckers get no respect from anyone and deserve it from everyone. All cops aren't dicks but you never meet the ones that aren't

[TimT]

Leave so. Jersey at 2:30am so to beat the traffic onto Long Island (Freeport)

You were probably within a two or three minute drive of our shop..

Dropped the tractors at a shop on Sunrise Highway?

[RWebb]

1. you broke the law

2. you then committed fraud to conceal it

you should write the cop a nice thank you note

[Gretch]

Plus, you guys are the only people in maine who actually have any money any more. The whole rest of the state is on the dole and the coppers know it.

[The Gaijin]

Broke the law? Fraud? Based on Big Brother's keeping tabs on you? (Toll receipts) Why don't we start installing microphones in lawyer's offices or cameras in doctors offices instead??

The more time they spend playing "CSI Maine" - the less time they spend on drunks, tired drivers, unsafe equipment, crazy driving and everything else to do with real public safety.

Glad to hear you got only a warning.

[RWebb]

tired drivers is exactly why they have those rules - the rules he violated

[The Gaijin]

It's the "treated like a criminal" part that should bother us. Can anyone imagine a uniformed agent from the FDA, State Bar or SEC storming into a doctor, lawyer or stockbrokers office and sniffing around?? Hardly.

[id10t]

If the frisking was for safety purposes, that does not give reasonable cause to search the truck if you are outside of the truck. Esp. with a dog. Unless of course you told him he could search....

[Zeke]

I guess the moral is if you are going to alter the log book, do so as to make it jibe with the toll receipts. If that's not possible, then you get caught.

Sounds to me that if you parked the rig by 4:30 the previous day, you had it made. Obviously you didn't. What tripped you up on that? A toll after 4:30?

[pete3799]

[QUOTE=TimT;5682729]You were probably within a two or three minute drive of our shop..

Just east of Freeport high school. Next to the BMW dealer.

Originally Posted by RWebb

1. you broke the law

2. you then committed fraud to conceal it

you should write the cop a nice thank you note

I was not over hours. My logs just didn't jive with the toll receipts.

[pete3799]

Originally Posted by milt

I guess the moral is if you are going to alter the log book, do so as to make it jibe with the toll receipts. If that's not possible, then you get caught.

Sounds to me that if you parked the rig by 4:30 the previous day, you had it made. Obviously you didn't. What tripped you up on that? A toll after 4:30?

Jersey turnpike toll ,Goethels bridge toll,didn't match my log.
The Throgs neck bridge toll, and all after were OK.

Just for giggles any body care to guess how much it cost in tolls from Maryland
onto Long Island then up to Maine? 5 axle rig (sixth axle was up)

[Laneco]

Pete - you got a big fat break on the log book. Honestly? At the exact point where he found the false log, which is pretty easy to do, you were going to be cited. His choice to NOT cite you was probably based on your demeanor and otherwise good qualifications. It was a judgement call in your favor that you apparently earned during the inspection/interview process.

On the other hand, I would not have frisked you, but then again I would probably have written you a ticket if you were over your 14 at the time I stopped you with a false log to conceal that fact. I did roadside truck inspections for over a decade and I NEVER frisked a driver, belittled a driver or issued any type of personal attack on them. Further, I addressed the driver with their NAME. Most of my co-workers referred to them as "DRIVER." I always felt that was rude. Only twice did I have a dog sent into a truck and both times...somebody went to jail for possession...

I did vehicle/driver inspections very aggressively. Alot of tickets and red tags bore my name, Pete, but I proceeded with a balance. Professional drivers are there to make a living. Most are good Joes, very good in fact. My goal was to pull tired (or potentially tired) drivers and unsafe equipment off the road. Not to parade a personal power trip against a hard working individual. I find such behavior disgusting.

I really do understand why you did (with the log book). Shippers screw drivers left and right with absolute impunity. When the day comes (in some rainbow filled future) where the shipper is held as accountable as the driver for impossible schedules and unheeded delays, then and only then will this change.

In the meantime, watch the comic book. Keep it current and accurate. Stay safe with the shiny side up. Everyone has a reason to get home safe, you as much as everyone else on the highway.

Oh - p.s. - the knife is yours. Call him and ask that it be mailed to you.

angela

[Oh Haha]

From what I've heard from other drivers, you were lucky that he just gave you the warning.

I don't drive more than 100 air miles from the shop so log books are not in my routine.

The MSP has been cracking down here on simple things. Most guys I talk to think it's to generate revenue for the state.

I heard of a driver in Ohio or Illinois that received a "notice" because a manifest was not signed properly by a client.

[pete3799]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Pete - you got a big fat break on the log book. Honestly? At the exact point where he found the false log, which is pretty easy to do, you were going to be cited. His choice to NOT cite you was probably based on your demeanor and otherwise good qualifications. It was a judgement call in your favor that you apparently earned during the inspection/interview process.

On the other hand, I would not have frisked you, but then again I would probably have written you a ticket if you were over your 14 at the time I stopped you with a false log to conceal that fact. I did roadside truck inspections for over a decade and I NEVER frisked a driver, belittled a driver or issued any type of personal attack on them. Further, I addressed the driver with their NAME. Most of my co-workers referred to them as "DRIVER." I always felt that was rude. Only twice did I have a dog sent into a truck and both times...somebody went to jail for possession...

I did vehicle/driver inspections very aggressively. Alot of tickets and red tags bore my name, Pete, but I proceeded with a balance. Professional drivers are there to make a living. Most are good Joes, very good in fact. My goal was to pull tired (or potentially tired) drivers and unsafe equipment off the road. Not to parade a personal power trip against a hard working individual. I find such behavior disgusting.

I really do understand why you did (with the log book). Shippers screw drivers left and right with absolute impunity. When the day comes (in some rainbow filled future) where the shipper is held as accountable as the driver for impossible schedules and unheeded delays, then and only then will this change.

In the meantime, watch the comic book. Keep it current and accurate. Stay safe with the shiny side up. Everyone has a reason to get home safe, you as much as everyone else on the highway.

Oh - p.s. - the knife is yours. Call him and ask that it be mailed to you.

angela

Again I was not over hours. I just left early to avoid the kamikaze pilots in New York City. I thought i might be short on hours getting up to Maine so i condensed
my waiting hours.

[Jeff Higgins]

Sounds to me like the shakedown started before the doctored log book was discovered.

It is my understanding that no one need consent to a search of their person or vehicle under any circumstances whatsoever, until and unless the officer has a signed warrant to do so.

That said, it sounds like you consented. Is there pressure placed upon truckers to do so? In other words, if you refuse, do officers typically start playing games and finding ways to hold you, making you wish you had consented?

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by The Gaijin

Can anyone imagine a uniformed agent from the FDA, State Bar or SEC storming into a doctor, lawyer or stockbrokers office and sniffing around?? Hardly.

A lawyer that falls asleep on the job isn't going to kill me.

The rules aren't unreasonable, nor are spot checks. I don't appreciate being stopped on the road for sobriety checks at Christmas time, but I accept it. If you don't want your body scanned or frisked, don't fly. If you don't want to have your logbook examined don't drive a rig.

[pete3799]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Sounds to me like the shakedown started before the doctored log book was discovered.

It is my understanding that no one need consent to a search of their person or vehicle under any circumstances whatsoever, until and unless the officer has a signed warrant to do so.

That said, it sounds like you consented. Is there pressure placed upon truckers to do so? In other words, if you refuse, do officers typically start playing games and finding ways to hold you, making you wish you had consented?

I gave consent to the search. Didn't want to stir the pot.
By the way....he told me that if i didn't give him the toll receipts they can call my cell phone co. and track my time and locations from them. Don't know if thats BS or not. Sounds like a good CSI episode.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by pete3799

I gave consent to the search. Didn't want to stir the pot.
By the way....he told me that if i didn't give him the toll receipts they can call my cell phone co. and track my time and locations from them. Don't know if thats BS or not. Sounds like a good CSI episode.

We were just discussing GPS tracking on cell phones on another thread today. They can certainly see where it is right now, but I'm not sure if the companies log historical data that could be used to track one's movements. Pretty scary if they can. Even scarier if the police can get ahold of it, particularly without a warrant.

So, if a driver chooses to "stir the pot" by refusing a search, how bad can they make it for you?