Marker Lights on Semi Trailers and bad tires

I am a truck driver and do a lot of drop and hook. Most drivers don't take care of equipment, so I find lots of marker lights bad as well as bad tires.

At what point would you consider putting a driver out of service, or ticketing for marker lights not working.

What about bad tires? - If a tire has 1/32 of tread just in one grove, but the rest may be say 5/32 should I not pull it?

The idea is to have a point where I tell the company I won't pull the trailer until repair.

Any guideance would be great. :doh: :noidea:

Well Im not DOT certified but I run a lot of RADAR and when I stop a CMV all bets our off. ? I start stopping cars for 12-15 over depending on traffic and I stop CMV at 10 over (again depending on traffic). If I stop a CMV for speed and the tires are bald thats another summons. Marker lights only get wrote if he/she has an attitude.
That being said the reason I pop them for bald tires is because of re-caps blowing out and leaving big chunks of rubber on the highway. You would be amazed at the damage a re-cap will do to a car at 65 mph. And these drivers know they lose them but dont care enough to try and get them out of the roadway

I was a trucker before being a cop. That thick fed book you get when you become a driver, that needs to be your bible. If you have a slack company that is not taking care of the fleet, don't drive it. I get a lot of short haulers in my town and I have a field day with the log trucks. Most drivers wil get a warning the first time I see them, but I ain't scared to shut 'em down the second time I see them. That tells me that either the driver didn't say anything or the company threatened the driver when he told 'em about it. Either way, the shutdown is deserved.

MY advise is when you dont feel comfortable doing something is when you should put a foot down. IF you feel that the tires are not safe then dont drive on them. As for markerlights I dont really say anything if a few are out just get them fixed

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Originally Posted by wcso234

That being said the reason I pop them for bald tires is because of re-caps blowing out and leaving big chunks of rubber on the highway. You would be amazed at the damage a re-cap will do to a car at 65 mph. And these drivers know they lose them but dont care enough to try and get them out of the roadway

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I ride a motorcycle 7-8 months out of the year and they say getting hit with one of those re-caps is like getting hit with a bowling ball at 65 MPH. So please be safe in what you decide to pull. That kind of impact could easily KILL someone and you do not want to have to live with that just because you did not want to say anything.:)

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Originally Posted by BEK320

MY advise is when you dont feel comfortable doing something is when you should put a foot down. IF you feel that the tires are not safe then dont drive on them. As for markerlights I dont really say anything if a few are out just get them fixed

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To me, it's pretty simple. The bottom line is that the DRIVER, not the company is responsible for the operation of the vehicle. If he takes that truck out, and it's got a problem... He's the one who's going to get the ticket. He's the one who might, in a worst case scenario, face manslaughter charges when something happens because of the condition of the vehicle. Not the company... The company may get named in a civil suit...but the company won't go to jail.

So... if the truck's got a problem -- make 'em fix it. I generally give a driver a chance to get a light or something like that fixed; if I catch them with a problem day after day... I give them some "encouragement." If it's enough -- I call for a motor carrier safety officer to inspect 'em!