Mudflap warning in TX.
 

Coming out of Corpus Christi, they were a bit thick on 77. I got pulled over just before Odem. No, I wasn't speeding, and nothing wrong with log book or my hours. But the mudflaps on the trailer were more than 8 inches off the road while I was driving. They are the stiff plastic ones, but they've been "sandblasted" over the years with the little grains of sand that get thrown at them by the tires, so they do have a bit of a curl to them. They're legal when standing still, about 6 inches off the road. But when I'm moving, the air moves them back and raises the edges to almost a foot off the road.

He said the trailer needs to have the metal brackets put on to keep them in place while traveling. (No, he did not suggest a cousin that could put them on for me)

But, I gotta wonder... With all the trucks I see going up the road and the mudflaps "flying", has anyone else been told about this? Just a warning, and not a ticket. No money to the State of Texas.

Yes, I got the same warning from the same place just a few weeks ago.

Was his name "CASTRO" by any chance???? M. Castro Jr.???

He was just making record there Windy! So many contacts per month!! :p

Not only have I never had one of these before, but I've never heard of it either. Missing mudflap, yes, even one that is half torn off. But this one is brand new to me.

On the plus side, he did have a good sense of humor, along with a decent personallity. Not a bad guy, but I nearly accused him of inventing that one.

No I wasn't just making contact. I really did get a warning for the same thing and in the same area. Since I am at home and not in the truck where my briefcase is I can't tell you the officers name. It was at the scale house just north of there on 77 in Refugio county though.

Wow! This is DOT at its finest! LOL. Just looking to bust drivers for whatever they can. Why did they pull you over though? Just a random inspection?
I've never heard of a minimum length for mud flaps while driving, but its probably in the regs somewhere?

Glad they only gave you a warning.

Actually, it was the mudflap that he pulled me over for. He was sitting on the side of the road when I went by, and said the wind was picking up the flap above legal height. It must stay within 8 inches of the ground at any speed. Makes me wonder about some of those rubber ones that you see flapping in the breeze. You know, the really flexible ones. I'll bet they LOVE those.

Quoting from the ntea website: "Currently, there are no federal regulations governing mud laps or splash/spray suppression devices." However, many states do have mud flaps regulations. Texas is one of those states. Quoting from the Texas regulation: "They shall be located and suspended behind the rearmost wheels of such vehicle or, if in combination, behind the rearmost wheels of such combination to within 8" of the surface of the roadway. A tolerance of 4" will be allowed and shall be at least as wide as the tires they are protecting."

kc0iv

Was it DPS, County or local that pulled you over?

This has been an issue with TX for years. And for good reason. Having a flap on a truck or trailer that is flapping wildly or runs a foot off the pavement is as good as not having no mud flap at all.

In your case it may have been a questionable stop, but there are plenty of Mexican trailers and gravel buckets running around TX with this situation and they are trying to get a handle on the problem. Just be thankful it was a warning only.

I also think it's a pretty reasonable rule and should be inforced, as long as you only got a warning seems fair enough to me.

Well, I've talked to two other drivers that have been pulled over for the same thing. In my case, the officer did not find any violations other than the mudflaps. In one case, the driver let his logbook go for 4 days without making any entries. Obviously, shut down and fined. The other had his log page completely filled out when he started out the day.:eek1::hellno: (I've NEVER had the balls to do that) Another shutdown for a false logbook. I'm beginning to think the mudflaps gives them a good reason to pull the driver over and check him/her out. In my case, all I got was a warning for the mudflaps. But the other two... OOS carries a monetary figure along with it. They did not say what it cost them.

Dot strikes again
 

I was looking for a better driving job, and then I see this thread. I run local, but it has really gone downhill since the economy went downhill. I think that I just may get outta trucking and try to get a job that you don't have to worry about the DOT trying to get money outta the truck drivers pockets. Besides, no money in trucking these days, unless you drive yourself ragged, always gone from home, worrying if you gonna make enough money to survive this economy. I know I will get hammered with being called a quitter, or worse, but it can be frustrating having to deal with trying to make a living driving a rig these days. The DOT only want their fair share of the truckers money.

Sadly enough, DOT/Trooper/Local/ANYONE with a badge can pull a CMV for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. EVERY STOP is a "fishing expedition".

The mud flap was an easy citation/easy money and hard to beat in court. If you had a light out your CMVm in most states all you would have to do is show proof of correcting the violation, pay a small administrative/court cost and case dismissed. Different story in a CMV. Truckers have bulls-eye's painted on them. There's very few rigs out there that don't have at least ONE equipment deficiency - even if it's a minor one (like MUD FLAPS) that can be cited for. I go through my local farmers market (used as a truck stop since we have none in Ft. Lauderdale) and 1/2 the rigs in there should be put OOS for safety violations.

Rick

I think these people often use anything to pull you over and check things out. A friend of mine was pulled over in Ohio a few months ago. The officer told my friend that he was doing something like 72 mph, but he was not going to give him a speeding ticket. They inspected his truck and wanted to look inside his side kit to see how he had his load secured. Once they found he had a load of onions the let him go. My friend said that he wasn't going anywhere near 72 mph. I think that had he really been going that fast in Ohio that he would have been issued a ticket. I believe they just wanted to see how he had his coils secured. They are not supposed to pull you over unless there is just cause. If there isn't anything they can always make something up.

These people are not supposed to pull you over without just cause. If there isn't a good reason then they can always make something up.:roll:

If the regulation says 8" and a 4" tolerance is allowed, then shouldn't 12" be acceptable? Also impressive that the cop can take an accurate flap-to-ground measurement "at-speed".

Didn't you know?
It's called "CALIBRATED EYEBALLS":cool:

As long as the mudflap met the requirements while still I don't see how the cop could accurately gauge how high it went while going down the road. I think you could beat this type of ticket in court, provided you want to take the time.

As a "warning ticket" with no dollar figure attached, I'm not too concerned about this ticket. I do know that by looking back through the mirrors, you can not see the mudflap. If the sun is right, you can get a look at the shadow it casts on the road, but guage the height of it while going down the road from that shadow, and you're better than I am.

Now, from the cop's point of view, if the lower edge of the mudflap is about the middle of the axle, knowing the height of the tire, he could say it's over 8" from the road surface. But, as to just how much over that it actually is while you're driving, he didn't even try to say. I've not talked to anyone that was fined for it, but it does seem as though they are using this to "get a foot in the door" to check anything and everything else out. That's where the tickets come from. It simply gives him cause to stop you, and the rest of your ducks better be all in a row.

What I would be curious about is, "does this affect the company's SAFE STATS"?

drugs
 

The stop probably had nothing to do with the mud flap, it was more likey a drug check. That is a major drug trafficking corridor. I use to run the valley every week for three months of the year for several years, and almost every week I would get stopped{they look for O/O type trucks and especially reefers and dry vans), I've been stopped by local, county, state and transport police as well as border patrol. They would use any excuse they could to stop and look you over. Once they pull you over they then can find probable cause for a vehicle search. they don't stop you to search you, they just want to get a look and take it from there. Ameture drug smugglers (truckers) will break into a sweat or act odd when stopped, and they watch for the tell tale signs. You said he was friendly, they want to converse with the subject long enough to look for a give away. If they search and find drugs it helps to show they had a reason for making the initial stop. Most law enforcement wouldn't embarrass themselves over something so trivial as a mud flap stop. Of course there's always the exception and we could all tell stories about that. Now just to avoid any argument, I am not talking about getting hassled on the scale or during an inspection or getting pulled over for a missing mud flap, I'm just saying thats a real hot spot for incognito drug inspections and it's a good chance thats what that was. I haven't been thru there in a while and maybe things have changed

Man, I would love to join in here and tell my story of getting pulled for a mudflap, and paying for a Logbook violation.... oh, and "HOW I LEARNED the rules of OOS orders."

But, I just barely had time to see that KC0iv had already done so, and that my "OLD" friend WindWalker had flipped out over it.

Okay.... NOT a "flipout." But, I would have expected such an experienced, and "seasoned" driver, with many years and miles on the road MORE than me, to have "recognized" and been aware of.... so many "local and state rules" that the FMCSR's allow, that will give ANY DOT LEO a "reason" to make us their "first RANDOM CMV inspection" of the day! :hellno:

They have all the just cause they need...just 'cause you are a truck driver.