Community Forums

baddwalk · 12-30-2004, 03:31 PM

I know that it has been mentioned here to some degree about towing a trailer behind a fiver. Yesterday I had the oppertunity to witness an amazing sight. I was on patrol and saw a 99 Dodge 3500 pulling a 31 foot fifth wheel. Behind the fifth wheel was a 20 foot cargo trailer loaded with four quads and on a lift above them was a sand rail. They were on their way to Glamis.

Here comes the intersesting part. The driver was traveling at 68 mph (13 mph over the allowed speed limit)in the rain. An accident waiting for a place to happen. When I talked to him, he did have a Class A Commercial CDL with doubles endorsement. Because the fiver was 31 feet long, I measured the entire length of the combo and he measured out at 67'1". California only allows 65' unless both trailers are less that 28'6", then they can go to 75'. His trip was ruined when he was told he had to drop one of the trailers. The citation wont be cheep either, heh heh heh.

baddwalk · 12-30-2004, 03:31 PM

I know that it has been mentioned here to some degree about towing a trailer behind a fiver. Yesterday I had the oppertunity to witness an amazing sight. I was on patrol and saw a 99 Dodge 3500 pulling a 31 foot fifth wheel. Behind the fifth wheel was a 20 foot cargo trailer loaded with four quads and on a lift above them was a sand rail. They were on their way to Glamis.

Here comes the intersesting part. The driver was traveling at 68 mph (13 mph over the allowed speed limit)in the rain. An accident waiting for a place to happen. When I talked to him, he did have a Class A Commercial CDL with doubles endorsement. Because the fiver was 31 feet long, I measured the entire length of the combo and he measured out at 67'1". California only allows 65' unless both trailers are less that 28'6", then they can go to 75'. His trip was ruined when he was told he had to drop one of the trailers. The citation wont be cheep either, heh heh heh.

Hitchhiker · 12-30-2004, 04:46 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by baddwalk:
His trip was ruined when he was told he had to drop one of the trailers. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I bet you wrote him a ticket for illegally parking the trailer he had to drop too?

Paul Heuvelhorst · 12-30-2004, 05:45 PM

Good for you... was he a California licensed driver, or an out-of-stater?

I have a friend who was caught doing something similar (about 18" over length), but because he was pulled over by a CHP close to home (about 10 miles to go) he let him off with a warning.

So, you see, CHiPs do have hearts!!

baddwalk · 12-30-2004, 09:04 PM

Naw, I let him go to the scales house and drop the trailer. Good thing for him he chose not to drive over the scales. I figured pinching him for his speed and being overlength was enough damage to his self esteem.

I did not look to closely to see if the rear trailer also had a brakaway safety cable. He was a California licensed commercial driver so I figured he should have known better to begin with. Usually I don't hammer RVers since they tend to be some of the best people I have met. Only when they are getting really stupid. Now boat people are a different story. LOL.

Flatbroke · 12-31-2004, 08:17 PM

Did you cite him for being over length also? why was it a good idea he did not go over the scales?

jka · 01-01-2005, 07:08 AM

I understand the ticket for speeding but couldn't you have gave him a warning for the 25 inches he was overlength. Are you sure you measured his setup correctly?

Sounds to me that you got way too much enjoyment from ruining his trip and the fact he now has to pay a "citation that won't be cheap either". If your measuring skills are as bad as your spelling I wouldn't be surprised if you were wrong on the length.

Guys like you are what give law enforcement officers a bad name.

Garth · 01-01-2005, 07:57 AM

jka,

I agree that the "heh, heh, heh" was a bit much, but I'm glad he did what he did. He was not giving law enforement a bad name. Instead, the driver of the RV was giving RV'ers a bad name.

The RV'er was not only endangering the public with his driving habits for the conditions, but who does he think he is to believe that the rules are for everyone else except him? If we have to follow the rules, so does he.

It's also too easy to armchair quarterback the officer from thousands of miles away. If there's an issue with his "measuring skills," it can be brought out in traffic court should the driver choose to challenge the ticket. In the meantime, the RV'er shouldn't have been bringing attention to himself by significantly exceeding the speed limit with a rig that sounds like it was unsafe on the roadway. Just estimating, but a 99 Dodge pulling a "31 foot fifth wheel," a "20 foot cargo trailer loaded with four quads," and a "sand rail" on a "lift" sounds far over capacity to me.

Personally, I think the vehicle was being driven in a reckless manner and that everything should have been impounded . . . the truck, 5er, and trailer. He could have paid the impound/tow fees and picked the stuff up from the yard with two vehicles of enough capacity to properly tow his toys. If he wants to play, he has to pay, one way or the other . . . but that's just my opinion.

jka · 01-01-2005, 09:11 AM

Garth....I am in complete agreement with you, no person is above the law especially if that person is endangering the safety of himself or others. There is no question in my mind that this situation needed to be dealt with.

However given the tone of this officers thread in my opinion, he seems to be, lets say a little too enthusiastic.

Why did he even mention damaging this drivers self esteem? What has that got to do with it? He says that he usually doesn't "hammer" Rvers but "boat people are a different story." I guess he feels it's okay to "hammer" them.

If baddwalk was truly concerned about the safety of this setup he would have had the rig on the scale and also checked for a brake release cable. He then could have informed the driver of any other safety violations.

There are ways to handle every situation and each one is different. In my opinion baddwalk needs some work in that department. He should get more gratification out of the fact that he rectified this problem.

I also agree with you that this driver was not helping with the reputation of Rvers.

My strong reply was directed at baddwalk and noone else.

Let's all have a safe and Happy New Year.

Hitchhiker · 01-01-2005, 11:32 AM

Flaming Prohibited on iRV2

Each and every member of iRV2 is entitled to, and is encouraged to post their opinions on various subjects of interest to all of us. However, on iRV2, we prohibit personal attacks on an individual for expressing his or her views and/or opinions, commonly referred to as 'flaming' on Internet forums.

Please continue the discussion of the merits or negatives of the situation without the criticism for the member for expressing his views or feelings.

Flatbroke · 01-01-2005, 12:21 PM

I think the officer was just looking to brag.

Hope he feels better now.

01-01-2005, 04:01 PM

I bet there was more to the story, but that it was left unsaid.

As far as boat people, many are in a class of their own. They tend to drive like they are still on the water.

But then there are the logging trucks, the cattle haulers, etc.

Ray,IN · 01-01-2005, 05:50 PM

Badwalk was really easy on the guy. He could have added up enough infractions to get the guys CDL(read livelihood) suspended. Badwalk, you have my respect. I have 3 present Indiana state policemen in my family, and some of the situations they explain make it clear it's not the money that causes one to enter law enforcement.

baddwalk · 01-01-2005, 08:35 PM

JKA,
If you found my post, or any particular comment in it offensive, than I appologize for that. After reading my own post, I will agree that the "Heh Heh Heh" was in poor taste. As for the "boat people" remark, that was meant as an attempt to be humorous therefore the LOL (Laugh out loud). Sometimes we may or may not agree with what is being stated, and we may or may not always agree with the person posting their views, but that is what free speech and a free exchange of ideas is all about. I respect that.

As for my job, that I do take very seriously and the methods I use to enforce our laws and try and keep my states highways safe for all to use,that I will not appologize for. Far to many times I get to see the results of unsafe conditions caused by errant drivers. I take no satisfaction in seeing the shattered remains of occupants inside of vehicles that are sometimes twisted beyond recognition. Sometimes I do get a small measure of satisfaction in issuing a citation. There was more to this story than what was originally posted.

This particular driver did get off very easy when you look at the totality of the circumstances (ie. speed combined with being overlength and a few thousand pounds over towing capacity and combined weight in inclement weather). This driver could have easily been cited for reckless driving, taken to jail and lose his drivers license. I chose not to do that. Leson learned? I think so.

As education of California's traffic laws are important, I have in the past and will continue to answer posts and private e-mails from members regarding questions about this states traffic laws. We all have our little areas of expertise, and sharing them with other members is what make this such a great site. By the way, the spelling errors are my computers fault. LOL