Surviving A DOT Safety Blitz
Topic 22623 | Page 1
I will have to ask, what is a dot blitz?
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
I will have to ask, what is a dot blitz?
From my understanding all scales will be open for 72 hours, and they'll be conducting more inspections, both at the scales as well as roadside.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Every year they select specific things they look for. One year it was tires, another load securement, now i think seatl belts?
you still need to be good all the way around, buy they concentrate on one yhing each blitz
Every year they select specific things they look for. One year it was tires, another load securement, now i think seatl belts?
you still need to be good all the way around, buy they concentrate on one yhing each blitz
They are focusing on HOS /Logs this year.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Rainy pretty much summed it up.
At least once a year and sometimes twice a year they do a blitz or Roadcheck or Safety check and focus on a specific compliance or safety issue.
As Daniel pointed out this year they are focusing on HOS and ELD compliance.
Those of us driving for the mega carriers probably won't get as much scrutiny as the owner ops and small carriers because our companies have been using electronic logs for a while. You still want to make sure you're doing your stuff correctly though.
Also this is a national blitz. States can and will do there own blitzes and they work the same way.
Electronic Logs:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
It also occurs every year, Tuesday thru Thursday, during the first full week in June. Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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DOT Pre-trip inspection (PTI)
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A DOT blitz is nothing to fear and easy to survive.
First tip is to do your job. Do your pre trips and post trip inspections and report needed repairs.
Second tip is get your tractor washed and clean the inside. DOT knows those that take care of the truck are less likely to have violations. The entire point of a blitz is to find unsafe drivers and equipment.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.