[inmate1577]

Reminds me of a qualcomm message I received a few weeks ago. Apparently another Co. driver hooked up to a trailer, gave a tug test (twice) , visually inspected to see if the kingpin was locked in, hooked up his lines, raised his gear and gave another tug test and then when he pulled away, the trailer fell off the tractor , of course this was the driver's version of events.

They took the truck back to the shop, inspected both the trailer and the 5th wheel and found nothing wrong.

Care to clarify your story, Mr. Driver? :lol:

I also heard that another driver hooked up to his trailer but didnt remove his kingpin lock first. Had actually remove the the 5th wheel off the truck to separate both trailer and tractor.

So the 10 min it takes to do a PTI and TIV saves alot of explaining later on.
Last week I saw a Covenent driver sitting on the side of the road with his trailer sitting on the frame of his tractor and 5 guys trying to jack up the landing gear so he could hook it up again. Wanna bet he didnt check a thing before he left the shipper?

[Hat Rak]

Originally Posted by bigtimba

A pre trip is a matter of law, not conscience and I would challenge anyone to demonstrate before a jury that you can do a thorough one in 15 minutes.

I can do my PTI in 10 minutes. It's a routine, it's done every day, so it's easy to go through the motions and know what's what and be quick to determine something amiss.

Regardless of the fact, the logbooks are only marked one quarter of an hour intervals, and there is nothing wrong with taking longer than 15 minutes but less than 30 to do your PTI, but only mark down having it take 15 minutes. Of course, that'd be stupid, because then you'd be eating up your 11 hour clock.

Ya know, it's hilarious to see all the trucks on the side of the road with alligator bits scattered across the highway. Should've kicked your tires, driver.

You probably never see me do mine because I'm starting my day while you're asleep, say about 1 in the morning.

[kc0iv]

You said:

Ya know, it's hilarious to see all the trucks on the side of the road with alligator bits scattered across the highway. Should've kicked your tires, driver.

I've had several "alligator" in my days. I have always used a tire gauge to check my tires. Plus I might add if you are kicking the tires you are not checking your tires.

see: www.michelintruck.com/assets/pdf/Service.pdf page 21


kc0iv

[Hat Rak]

That's alligator bits, good sir.

And yes it's more than just kicking. Its checking the tread depth, the even tire wear, the temperature of the tires when you take your breaks, and yes the air pressure. However, if you don't kick em, you aren't checking them at all, meaning you aren't even looking.

[Stainless]

I admit that i don't always do a pre trip even though i'm paid by the hour. Sometimes if there's a torrential downpour or its -20 outside i do a very quick walk around at best....make sure lights are working, kick the tires etc and rush back to the cab.