How to Handle a D.O.T. Inspection Like a Boss
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- Опубликовано: 11 мар 2018
- Something every truck driver will experience sooner or later, is a D.O.T. inspection or a similar inspection.
Knowing how to handle a D.O.T. inspector is important.
Dave gives some tips for drivers how to get through an inspection with the least amount of resistance!
Dave also shares several personal experiences with D.O.T. inspectors from his driving career.
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE ON HANDLING A D.O.T. INSPECTION - www.smart-trucking.com/depart...
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I started driving on 02/2017 and was never stopped for a DOT inspection until 12/24/2018 After crossing into Nipton, CA from NV. I saw the port of entry scales open so I go in there. The light indicated me to go around the building to have a level 1 done so I drove inside the shop and followed the directions/instructions that were given to me and spoke only when they needed info about the tractor/trailer, it took 1 hour. After the inspection the officer placed a sticker on my right windshield and told me I would be fine for another 3 months and congratulated me for passing. I was happy that night.
D.O T. Be like ...hey pull on this scale so we can weigh your wallet 😂
Nice hahaha
Dave, thanks. I am not a truck driver, I'm a dairy farmer, yet I could sit here and listen to you tell truck driving stories all day, and never get bored. I think you provide for your industry a great service.
Agreed, I love the stories.
Hey, thank you Keith! Dave
Ill second that, would love to have a 2 hour video with just funny stories of the road!
I think dave should make more vlogs about his experiences, there very interesting and I learn from him thanks dave!
"The carburetor "Dave you just made my day lol.
With ELogs make sure you have the little information sheet/pamphlet that tells the DOT officer how to check your Elog.
Been driving truck for 20 years. Unless you have an unlimited amount of money and an unlimited amount of hours on your log so you can spend 3 hours in the scale getting inspected it's best to just stay off of roads that have scales on them. They can find something wrong with a truck that has less than a hundred miles on it if they want to. I pull 53's on state highways all the time. You don't have to run the interstate.
I'll keep that in Mind..
I've found in my experience that if you drive a decent looking rig (crap not falling off and bungee cord together, and your polite to the officer you'll get through pretty easily.
I like this guy. He tells the truth.
I really appreciate the videos, we don't have enough older men around to share these things with the younger generation.
Have you ever drove across the scale at 7 mph when its posted at 5 mph ? DON"T . That was a bad day.
Always fight the ticket. Even if you lose, they're going to spend more money prosecuting than they're going to get from you paying the fine.
Unfortunately It's all about revenue now. I never had any issues with DOT or any other law enforcement officer back in the 90's and early 2000's. You could laugh and joke and carry on a good conversation, not anymore! I miss what cops use to be like.
Extortion at it's finest.....DAVE YOU'RE THE MAN!!!
Please tell that to my wife. Dave
Will do brother!! Take care.
Hey Dave, I was in Massachusetts last year and I got stopped at a weigh station, and all the " officers " there were cadets. To me they looked under age, I at first thought it was take your kid to work day. The cadet I delt with was as gung ho militant as you can imagine. To my horror I forgot to start my paper log ( it was early) and man this guy was in heaven. He was'nt going to let me off. He got so pissed at me when I asked where is the adult officer? In hind sight I'll never take these situations lightly and I will always keep my logs updated. That cost me $200 from the state and my then company charged me the same.
Let me add that even being a rookie. I was bobtail and I come up to a scale. I automatically went through because even though I was not carrying a load. I thought to myself I am still driving a commercial vehicle and can't chance it. And not even knowing it was, and is, the best rookie decision I ever made. Thank you for the info Dave.
The first point you made is valid across ALL police encounters. Argue the judge, not the cop. Ever. Ever.
Plus if you get a good inspection for keeping your mouth shut & keeping your cool you will get money from your company for good inspections...
Yes officer, thank you officer, have a good day officer.
That's about right! Shine your boots officer?
Run legal always! It keeps your money in your pockets. Sometimes you need to know how to get around some scales. Lol!
DOT... department of taxation.
Definitely some great advise. Just wait to fight any tickets in court. Don't give the inspector a hard time while going through the inspection. The name of the game is to get through it quickly and move on. You're absolutely correct. Thanks for the wisdom my trucking friend. I appreciate you stepping up to help out the trucking industry. Stay safe out there. Thanks.
Thank you sir! Dave
My first full blown inspection happened on my very first trip! I had been told horror stories about DOT inspectors. I was so scared that the inspector commented on why i was shaking lol. He was a nice man and thankfully, i had a new truck and trailer at the time...whew. Just did like you said i was quiet and respectful and i left unscaved. Great video! 🐍
Thank you! Dave
Alice Dominguez unscathed.
My brother worked as an inspector for many years. He was a petty tyrant all his life, but he did cut some people some slack.
Thanks Dave, I enjoy your videos. I am a landlord of 32 years getting ready to retire at age 57 and looking for a more lucrative career without the drama a Landlord has to put up with. Thinking about getting my CDL ,driving for someone for six months and then buy my Mack sleeper. Debating on a RV instead. I will keep listening to your videos and get a overall review of this industry and make a decision soon. The truckers probably hate them old men that drive RVs that don’t know how to drive LOL. I have a impeccable driving record with no accidents, no drugs or drinking. I thought I would be a good candidate.
I bet you would be! Landlord is a job I could never had done. I'd have ended up in jail. I'd try the company truck thing with a good small carrier, but I'd spend my money on the RV. Just make sure you buy one with the best rubber available and one with enough power to get you up the hills at highway speed. Dave
I learned the hardway to shut up 🙊, definitely stay quiet, there isnt much you can do once inspected.
Great advice!If they can't find something wrong,they'll make something up if they feel like it.But your attitude counts!
I worked for over 25 years as a mechanic, getting trucks away from inspections. If the inspector knew me, he would usually take my word for the safety of the rig. If your fleet has a good history of passing the checks, they are not as picky. If you have chrome ladies on your mudflaps and a ton of extra lights, it's like waving a red flag at a bull. DON'T attract undo attention to your truck and your day will go smoothly.
For this reason I keep all my truck paperwork in a binder. I have it divided into four sections. The first is tractor papers, including my cab card, insurance, IFTA, battery exemption, anything that is for the tractor. My next section is all my instructions for my ELD. The third section is all my company's permits, organized by state in alphabetical order. The last section is my DOT medical long form and card. So far, in my first year as a rookie driver, I've only had one instance I needed to provide this information, but the officer at the time thanked me for having all my paperwork neatly organized and easy for him to find. For convenience I keep this binder and my clipboard with my BOLs and other relevant trip papers on my passenger seat. They're the only things that go there.
Went through an inspection station last year and the "park" light came on. I just figured a further look see and was told I had no brake lights on the trailer. The inspector was nice about it and we walked around checked out the truck and trailer and she asked for the truck's paperwork and my log book. I told her I had done a full inspection and they had worked and I would not take a trailer with a major fault and she believed me. I asked why and she said, the trailer is dirty but everything is clean, even the tandem oil hubs were cleaned. She said that it was the small things that showed I had recently been there. When I asked about the fine, she said that I didn't get one but my employer's CVOR gets dinged. Turns out the fuse for the brake circuit on the tractor had blown and I was able to fix it and go on my way.
Moral of the story, don't argue and be polite.
Excellent morale! Dave
Speaking of D.O.T. Inspectors, years ago I had a federal load going from Pennsylvania to Nevada. It wasn't my trailer I had Bob tailed for it. There were placards all over it and it had two seals in place. The bill of lading was about ten pages long, the first page and a half being persons and agencies to contact in case of an incident. The most important first and so on. Everything was fine until I got to New Mexico which at that time at least inspected everyone. My inspector was fairly young and after checking things over wanted me to open the trailer. Having been told by the shipper that under no circumstances would that trailer be opened,I said no. The argument went on about 15 minutes despite me repeatedly suggesting that he contact one or more of the people on the bill of lading cover sheet. Finally, his supervisor come over to see what the problem was because by now my inspector was hopping mad. The supervisor took one glace at that cover sheet, obviously didn't like what he saw and with my inspector still sputtering that he wanted to inspect my load told me to get back in my truck and not to stop for anything until I got to Arizona. Never did know what was on that trailer, but I dropped it off in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. Picked up an empty and left.
I pulled into one station on the border of AL and GA. Dude was standing out there smoking a cigarette. He asked me, "when was the last time you got a ticket for your brakes?" That took me by total surprise, my only response was, "WHAT?" So he asked me again. I told him I never did. He then asked if I was in a hurry and I said "yeah, running out of time on my clock." And he waved me on. That still makes me scratch my head when I think about it.
Maybe he was just doing a survey!?! Dave
Great Vid, I had a similar experience here in Hawaii, I was pulled in for a full inspection by a new DOT officer, after 25 years of driving in Hawaii I know all the old timers, but I was written up for leaking brake fluid, so I just kept quite an took it to court, were it was thrown out. Just a quick tip, keep your dashboard clean, and your landing gear cranked all the way up and maybe you don`t get a second look.
Respect to this veteran trucker 👨🏼✈️
I have the same attitude as you and for 50 years I never had any trouble in the scales and inspections.
Once at Cascade Locks Oregon the inspector found a wheel seal just starting to leak. I got a mobile repair truck to fix it and the inspector gave the trailer a CVSA sticker.
He saved me trouble further down the road.
Thanks for the video. I'm considering getting into the industry and D.O.T. inspections never crossed my mind.
Hey Dave..."The devil knows more from being old than from being the devil." Thanks for share...!!
He said he calls it the "carburetor" because he does NOT KNOW, and was too proud to admit it, kinda like "I'M THE BOSS, WHAT I SAY GOES. IF YOU BECOME WISE, I'LL JUST FINE YOU". It is how it goes!
I just got stopped by the DOT last Friday by a surprise inspection. DOT inspector let me go with a warning for not having any load locks holding my load.
When I got into trucking I was taught never get in an argument with the CVSE inspectors I'm local so I never travel across the border into the USA. As Dave say's make sure your paper work is straight and keep your mouth shut let them find what they find and agree with it. They will find something wrong with brand new truck if you piss them off. For us gravel trucks its mud flaps and license plate lights, the mud flap could be torn or its not the regulation distance from the road surface. L plate lights they are always non functioning because road vibration takes them out. Ripped seats and burned out dash lights is their favorite nit pick items.
I remember my first blown inspection 0600 coming across the Kentucky state line out of Virginia pulling military supplies First sucker to roll in he said he didn't want to do it much as I didn't want it done but it had to happen passed clean as a whistle, second time was on i-24 wb truck in front of me stopped my Trailer tandem pin's came loose they had to come find out what that Noise was got a Over weight and over length But Like you said kept my cool and just agreed with them. Kept my duck's in a row like a good driver.
This guy is seasoned and professional.
Thank you I'm becoming a tanker driver
I'm glad this guy is on here he's educational I've never been through. Not looking forward to it definitely going to keep my mouth shut
Great video as always Dave!!
I was in my third year of driving when some of us decided to haul concrete in 59 B Model Mack's. (You learn how to drive a 5 and a 4, you can drive anything.) We were getting Bacon and Davis, so the money was great!
The old man that hired us called out one day that the DOT was set up outside the gaits, and that if anyone drove off the site in one of those 59 B Model Macks, that we would be immediately fired! Oh, and that he'd say that the truck was stolen We all got the point.
Lee bought the trucks at an auction, and as soon as we were done, he was going to take the beds off the dump trucks and dispose of them. I doubt any of them would have passed an inspection.
I got pulled into a DOT station in Oregon for driving too fast through the weigh station.
I was a new driver and all my documents were in order but I was nervous as hell.
The DOT officer demanded to know why I didn't slow down.
I told him my brakes didn't work very well.
That's when he pistol whipped me.
Port of Entry Woodburn Oregon- Every thing legal, axles, gross, and all paperwork-I'm a veteran by this time in my career so no worries. Roll across the scale get the pull over bring in paper work signal. Two officers were working the scale that day as I reported to the one who pulled me in and presented all paperwork he wanted to see the other officer was having a heated conversation with a driver that had also been pulled in. The argument was going like this- The officer- It is a loaded flatbed! The driver- No it's an empty dry box! The officer- No it's a container secured to your flatbed-it is a loaded flatbed! Driver- No it is a container I bought and secured to my flatbed to make a dry box, it's an empty dry box! Anyway my guy says everything is in order and says I can go so I thanked him and an yanked my thumb towards the other officer and driver still going at it an he shrugs his shoulders with a big grin. As I'm exiting the scale house- It's a loaded flatbed- No it's an empty dry box---- Man I bust a gut after I got outa there?
Man, excellent story! Thank you! Dave
I drive locally here in LA. I deliver to 5 stores in orange and 2 in San Diego, which has me go thru the San onofre scales everyday on my route. Honestly have never had a bad experience there. One time I even had a good amount of oil leak onto the inspection lane, but even then the inspector just gave me a warning. There was this one week where I was pulled in 4 times after they ran my DOT number showing an expired MCP. Luckily they would only give me warnings until I got on my bosses case abput having those up to date
DOT never will do a roadside inspection on a bus
People whom drive or are thinking about it should listen too this guy, solid information!
Great advice as always. I enjoy your humor also. The carburetor story is pretty good. That reminds me of an old military joke. People who have just joined the military often times get asked to get the keys out of the Humvee. Military Humvees don’t have keys. They are push button start. Always enjoy the informative videos. Stay safe trucker
You too Brady! Thanks! Dave
Good advice as always, I had lots of inspections, yes in CA too, not one ticket, could have got lots, just keep quiet, and thank the officer for pointing out the problem, sorry sir, thankyou for the info, I will know for the future. Easy, I work hard for my check, why make it easy to give away.
Learning a lot from your experience! Thank you for uploading.
Thank you sir! Dave
In California a requirement to be a commercial vehicle enforcement officer is at least 1 year of tractor trailer driving experience. It's a lot harder to pull a fast one on them when they were drivers at one time.
No kidding! I didn't know that, but it's a good idea!
I got my CDL in California about 25 years ago..I drove for about 2 years locally..Fresno to Bakersfield..I have all my endorsements including Haz Mat..After those 2 years, I went into construction and haven't driven since those 2 years..I was thinking of driving again after a divorce..After seeing a few of these videos on life of truckers..Forget it!!!
I will push carts at the local Home Depot parking lot before I ever drive a truck..Now I am understanding why there is such a shortage of drivers..
Thanks for all the informative videos man,I'm new to the industry and I have alot to learn so I appreciate the help
Happy to help Ray! Thanks for watching! Dave
Hey thanks for all the info I am a transit driver who loves trucks and want to drive when I retire your info is great for me to learn trucking
I’m new to these videos. I’m also new to over the road 18 wheelers. Many years of local employment straight trucks. I find this info very helpful and much appreciated
Every word of this guy like a vd, and down the road you will find out that if you forgot so.e of his advices, you will pay the price..when I learned from my mistakes,I found out that he was talking about everything I needed to think of,many times.
2 years ago was this video im getting the benefit of it now thank you 🧡
Moral to the story is "Stay out of California". Every time I have gone there felt like I was going to be stabbed, shot, or robbed.
Never had a bad experience in California, except for that one ticket, and I felt like I got away lucky! Dave
What part of California have you been visiting?
Dave, I love your videos, they are the best. Brings back great memories, am retired now and miss the big road.
Thanks for the tips.
I like the informative stories. I always look forwards to seeing them. Plain and straight forward videos nicely done!
I love your advice you give.
Love the stories from back in the day.
Another great video!! Keep up the good work!!
Man, you are a blessing to us
This one of the reason nobody wants to be a trucker
Good stuff Dave. By far my favorite educational trucking videos and stories. Thank you for passing on your knowledge and insight from your vast experience in the industry. It's really helpful.
I love listening to your stories when I'm trucking. More please!
Your stories {and the way you tell them} are wonderful. Keep em coming!
Thanks for all the videos Mr Dave. I’ve been watching them since I got my CDL 7 years ago. They helped me out so much when I was scared and just starting out and I still enjoy watching them. And we love the stories😄😄. Best regards from all of us in Louisiana
Now a days I’ve “unintentionally” blown every scale with an oversize (65-80 footers) even California. Either I’ve been lucky or I know which ones I can and can’t run. If the scenic route has too many turns to turn the oversize I’ll just “unintentionally” drive past it.
Another awesome video!! Thank you Sir!👍🏼🙋🏼♂️😎
Great anecdotal insights here! Thanks, I'm considering truck in the summer 2019.
The best story teller ever!
I wanted to THANK YOU - your tips and guidance and advice helped me !!
Great advice! Been there done that!
As always great video.
AWESOME video as Usual... THANKYOU FOR SHARING
Thank you sir! Dave
Great stuff as always Dave.
Thanks Scott! Dave
Nice tip on the roach burns...so as to not give them an excuse. I'd never be less than 100% sober while operating such a large vehicle but it's good to not give the appearance/suspicion of being that careless.
I don't want to jinks myself, but, the only full inspection I had it was the initial one when I bought my truck 8 years ago. Since, I had a level one about 3 years ago, and another up in PA just a year ago, I hadn't started to use my E-log, and didn't have paper logs neither, but just like you said I was nice , polit, and told him the e-log isn't working. He told me to start recreating the past seven days on paper, and when I was done he let me go just like that. these days I don't mess with the logs anymore, and hopefully by end of 2019 I'll finish rebuilding an old steel, and not have to worry about that dam thing anymore. Besafe, and listen to Dave. He knows what he's talking about.
Thanks for the stories Dave, I could listen to yours for hours :) Very well told.
Thanks! Dave
Yes sir, No sir, period everytime, I am always curious and polite, may crack a joke if I see a good opportunity. I was working for Schneider intermodal out of Denver, one of our biggest contracts was Lowes in Cheyanne. Those trucks could go 63 miles per hour (drove me nuts) and we were about to get off the highway when a Wyoming state trooper pulled us over, she came up along the passenger side where I was, I opened the door for her and she said good morning guys, I replied with good morning ma'am and then I said I know toy didn't pull us over for speeding, she laughed and we did to. She did a level 3 on us we passed she said have a great day, and don't speed. We laughed again and went on our way.
Great stories!
Excellent advise and great stories. I really enjoy your vids! Great personality.
Thank you! Dave
I could listen to him all day!
I wish my wife felt that way! Thanks! Dave
Sounds like a good bloke , knows his business , easy to listen to ...... :]
Thumbs up. Great advice and great stories.
Thanks Robert! Dave
Great video and I’ll say it again....best trucker on you tube !!
Thank you very much! Dave
You educate me very good.Thank you very much.
Wow the stories 2 million miles and I learn from you buddy always looking to learn
Big thanks Sir, we got that CVSA sticker on my first week of trucking in California almost two months ago! Yellow one!
Great advise! Love watching and listening to your videos..very friendly and helpful way to connect to all of us truckers. Keep up the good work.. we all need more positive personalities in truck world like yourself.
Thank you! Dave
Very good advice
My good friend was a DOT unit in Massachusetts,, as he laughed,, I can put a brand new cmv OOS without batting a eyelash,, your refer trailer confirms that.
Great advice!! I will be trying my hand otr trucking soon. Your videos have info than an other I’ve seen so. Thanks for all efforts and keep on trucking!!!
Thanks and good luck! Dave
My first year driving I had a flat and didn't know the air bag got punctured well I found out at the weigh station. It red flag me because of the wrong weight distribution on the back axles and I had to go thru level 1 inspection and they thru the book at me ending up with 14 citations altogether. . Luckily it all comes off my PSP scores in a few months. There's always a learning curve. Since than, I've aced each inspection.
The guy you mentioned who said you had the leak made a fool of himself, not because he mistook a compressor for a carburetor, but because he didn't have enough humility or integrity to admit he was wrong.
I agree! But it's a scary example of how well trained some of those people are!