{"id":21630,"date":"2018-10-01T00:10:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T04:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=21630"},"modified":"2018-09-30T14:58:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-30T18:58:21","slug":"ask-the-law-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2018\/10\/ask-the-law\/ask-the-law-october-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask The Law \u2013 October 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Questions about Retreaded Steer Tires, Cell Phone Use &amp; More Answered by Law Enforcement Officials (as of October 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice.&nbsp; These interpretations were made on September 4, 2018.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Brought to you as a public service by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA and 10-4 Magazine.&nbsp; Please submit questions to <u><a href=\"mailto:wheelchock@comcast.net\">wheelchock@comcast.net<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n<p><u>RUNNING RETREADED STEER TIRES<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> My understanding is that steer axle applications are the most stressful of any wheel position on a commercial vehicle because of the high lateral forces they are subjected to.&nbsp; With this in mind, is it legal to use retreaded tires on the steer axle?&nbsp; Thank you in advance for your time \u2013 Darnell in Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p><strong>A: Provided by Officer David Kelly, California Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Section, Sacramento, CA:<\/strong> California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 13 Section 1087 (c) states that recapped or retreaded tires shall not be used on the front wheels of a bus or farm labor vehicle.&nbsp; They are also prohibited from use on truck tractors or motor trucks listed in California Vehicle Code Section 35400 unless they comply with specified requirements under T13 CCR 1087.&nbsp; Compliant retreaded tires may be used on a steer axle in California.&nbsp; Code of Federal Regulations Title 49 393.75(d) only prohibits the use of retreaded or recapped tires on the front wheels of buses and is silent on their use for trucks.&nbsp; I recommend contacting the specific state when operating intrastate only, as alternate local regulations may apply.<\/p>\n<p><u>MOBILE CELL PHONE USE IN A CMV<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> Is it illegal for a CDL driver to use a mobile cell phone while behind the wheel of a CMV if he or she uses a headset or ear buds?&nbsp; Thank you for your service \u2013 Abe in Maine<\/p>\n<p><strong>A: Provided by Sgt. Pete Camm (Ret.), California Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Section, Sacramento, CA:<\/strong> That is a \u201cstump the officer\u201d compound question that requires a multifaceted answer.&nbsp; The federal regulation concerning \u201ccell phones\u201d can be found in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR), Part 392.82, Using a hand-held mobile telephone, which says: (a)(1) No driver shall use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving a CMV.&nbsp; (2) No motor carrier shall allow or require its drivers to use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving a CMV.&nbsp; (b) Definitions.&nbsp; For the purpose of this section only, driving means operating a commercial motor vehicle on a highway, including while temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic control device or other momentary delays.&nbsp; Driving does not include operating a commercial motor vehicle when the driver has moved the vehicle to the side of, or off, a highway and has halted in a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.&nbsp; (c) Emergency exception.&nbsp; Using a hand-held mobile telephone is permissible by CMV drivers when necessary to communicate with law enforcement officials or other emergency services.&nbsp; The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration\u2019s Mobile Phone Restrictions Fact Sheet, available at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fmcsa.dot.gov\" target=\"_blank\">www.fmcsa.dot.gov<\/a> (then search for the Mobile Phone Fact Sheet), provides for specified operations of a \u201ccell phone\u201d while \u201cdriving\u201d a CMV.&nbsp; The guidance is silent concerning mounting a cell phone, which suggests the phone could lay on the dash, center console, etc., provided the phone is easily reached by a driver properly restrained by a seatbelt.&nbsp; The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) appear silent concerning headsets and ear buds, too.&nbsp; However, many states regulate whether or not \u201cany\u201d driver may wear a headset or ear buds.&nbsp; Many states laws\/regulations allow a headset to cover only one ear and\/or allow the use of an ear bud in only one ear.&nbsp; So, if a CDL driver operating a CMV can leave the cell phone where it is laying or mounted, push a button and ask Siri, Alexa or whomever, to call your dispatcher, spouse, etc., and end the call with a push of a button he\/she would be in compliance with FMCSR.&nbsp; If not, pull into a safe parking space to use a cell phone to place a call or text.<\/p>\n<p><u>SWITCHING TO PERSONAL CONVEYANCE<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Q:<\/strong> Can I go off-duty and switch to personal conveyance and continue looking for a safe location to park?&nbsp; Thanks \u2013 Edward in New York<\/p>\n<p><strong>A: Provided by Senior Trooper Monty Dial (Ret.), Texas Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Garland, TX:<\/strong> The new interpretation for use of a CMV for personal conveyance has not changed when it comes to a driver running out of hours, except if you are at a shipper\/receiver and they will not let you remain on their property.&nbsp; Once you are out of driving hours, you cannot switch over to personal conveyance and then continue to drive, even if you are only looking for a suitable location to stop and rest.<\/p>\n<p><em>~ The \u201cAsk The Law\u201d program is an ongoing educational effort between Ol\u2019 Blue, USA and commercial law enforcement agencies.&nbsp; Ol\u2019 Blue, USA is a non-profit organization dedicated to highway safety education and to improving relations between the motoring public, law enforcement and commercial drivers.&nbsp; Ask the Law is a registered trademark of Ol\u2019 Blue, USA.&nbsp; This column is copyrighted by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA.&nbsp; <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Warning: The information contained within this column is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.&nbsp; The content contains general information and is not intended to and should not be relied upon or construed as a legal opinion or legal advice regarding any specific issue.&nbsp; Be aware that the material in the column may not reflect current legal developments or information, as laws and regulations are subject to change at any time without notice.&nbsp; Always check with the most recent statutes, rules and regulations to see if any changes have been made.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Questions about Retreaded Steer Tires, Cell Phone Use &amp; More Answered by Law Enforcement Officials (as of October 2018) Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice.&nbsp; These interpretations were made on September 4, 2018. Brought to you as a public service by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA and 10-4 Magazine.&nbsp; Please submit questions to wheelchock@comcast.net RUNNING<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":21631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ask-the-law"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21630"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21840,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21630\/revisions\/21840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}