{"id":840,"date":"2011-06-01T19:47:43","date_gmt":"2011-06-01T23:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=840"},"modified":"2011-06-08T22:03:00","modified_gmt":"2011-06-09T02:03:00","slug":"atl-june-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2011\/06\/ask-the-law\/atl-june-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"ATL – June 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Questions about 34-Hour Restarts, Stopping
\non Railroad Tracks & More Answered by
\nLaw Enforcement Officials (as of June 2011)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice.<\/span>
\n These interpretations were made on May 11, 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brought to you as a public service by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA and 10-4.
\nSubmit your questions to www.askthelaw.org<\/a><\/h4>\n

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN LAS VEGAS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Please join our Ol\u2019 Blue, USA \u201cSafety Center\u201d\u00ae at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas, NV on June 9-11. We are pleased to announce that Trooper Elmer Johnson and his team from the Nevada Highway Patrol will be joining us in Las Vegas to answer your questions again this year. Visit our website at www.safetytour.org<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n

NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN RESTARTS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> If a driver takes 34 hours off and then drives 1,500 miles to get home, then takes 24 hours off, how many days can he drive before having to take another 34 hours off? Thanks \u2013 Bill in Indiana<\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>Provided by Jim Brokaw<\/a><\/strong>, formerly a Staff Sergeant with Nebraska State Patrol, Carrier Enforcement Division, Lincoln, Nebraska: 49 CFR 395.3 addresses hours of service of drivers and sets the maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles. Assuming your company operates every day, you are limited to 70 on-duty hours in an 8-day period and 14 on-duty hours a day. At this rate, you will accumulate 70 on-duty hours in just five days. So, following a 34-hour break, the maximum number of days you can drive is five before you have to take another 34 hours off.<\/p>\n

STOPPING ON RAILROAD TRACKS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> One of my weekly stops requires me to cross some busy railroad tracks and then immediately come to a stop sign. If I stop at the stop sign my 53\u2019 trailer blocks all the tracks. I\u2019ve had some close calls here, and usually just roll through the stop to avoid a catastrophe. Going another way is not an option. Got any advice? Thanks \u2013 Larry in California.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Provided by Sgt. Pete Camm (Ret.)<\/a><\/strong>, California Highway Patrol, Sacramento, California:\u00a0 Your scenario is the subject of catch-22 debates within commercial and law enforcement communities since the mid-1990s.\u00a0 Subsequent to several highly publicized CMV vs train collisions, the FHWA\u2019s Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) conducted a study and each state was supposed to submit diagrams of problematic railroad highway grade crossings.\u00a0 Many towns grew up around railroads and most built dirt stagecoach and wagon roads paralleling the tracks.\u00a0 These dirt roads morphed into current-day paved roads during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.\u00a0 Wagons and horses are not nearly as long as CMVs, towing 53\u2019 trailers, and CMVs are much longer today than they were in the mid-1900s.\u00a0 While I cannot condone breaking any law, common sense from both CMV drivers and law enforcement is a mutual solution, for now.<\/p>\n

DRIVING WHEN ILL OR FATIGUED<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Back in 2001 I received my first CDL while living in California.\u00a0 I remember a section in the handbook about \u201cduty of the driver\u201d stating that a driver must pull them self from duty if the driver feels that they are unfit for duty.\u00a0 I was wondering if this is a nationwide thing or just a California thing, as I have moved to Texas and now have a Texas license.\u00a0 Thanks for your time and God Bless you \u2013 Darrel in Texas.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Provided by Senior Trooper Monty Dial (Ret.)<\/strong><\/a>, Texas Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Garland, Texas:\u00a0 There is a section in the FMCSA rules, which can be found in Part 392.3, that states a driver shall not operate a commercial vehicle if the driver is ill or fatigued.<\/p>\n

COLORED LIGHTS ON A CMV<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> Is the use of green lenses on the back of the cab legal?\u00a0 I always thought that as long as they were not blue, they could be used.\u00a0 Thank you in advance \u2013 Ken in California<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Provided by Officer Amy Bachelor<\/strong>, California Highway Patrol, Commercial Vehicle Section, Sacramento, California: Federal Motor Regulations 393 subpart B requires that all lighting equipment meet the installation and performance requirements contained in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) #108.\u00a0 FMVSS does not have a provision for any colored lights; therefore green lights are not allowed.\u00a0 In California, Vehicle Code Section 24003 does not allow lighting unless required or permitted.<\/p>\n

~ The Ask The Law\u2122 programs are an ongoing educational effort between Ol\u2019 Blue, USA\u2122 and commercial law enforcement agencies. 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. \u201cAsk The Law\u201d is a registered trademark of Ol\u2019 Blue, USA. This column is copyrighted\u00a9 by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA. Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice. These interpretations were made on May 11, 2011.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Questions about 34-Hour Restarts, Stopping on Railroad Tracks & More Answered by Law Enforcement Officials (as of June 2011) Warning: Laws are subject to change without notice. These interpretations were made on May 11, 2011. Brought to you as a public service by Ol\u2019 Blue, USA and 10-4. Submit your questions to www.askthelaw.org WE HOPE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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-840","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\/840","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=840"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":991,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions\/991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}