I'm going to try and do this while it's fresh in my head, and only after calming down a bit ... I've been in this Industry for 33 years and I've never heard anything like this. Quarterly safety meetings were yesterday and our Safety Supervisor invited Arizona DPS to come in and give a presentation on the CSA 2010 regulations which are now in effect. We had a lot of questions and were looking forward to a productive meeting, boy did we get fooled. Shortly into the meeting we knew were in trouble, this Officer of the Law proclaimed, and the quote is verbatim: "It's my job to put the screws to you...." Seriously. Most of us lost track of how many times this guy said "It sucks to be you..." and that seems to pretty much be his answer to a lot of well thought out and insightful questions. We knew it already sucked to be us, but we were looking for some guidance and information to make this workable for everyone, not this smug, arrogant and cocky attitude he was throwing around. During a break I asked him a question about where a Driver has resources to get a safety issue resolved when he can't get it with the Company. His answer: "How many friends do you want to make?..." I just looked at him not knowing what to say. I thought it was a good question as much of the time we're not sure who to talk to for legitimate issues. The best question came from our Safety Supervisor herself when she pressed him, she asked if he inspected his own vehicle before starting his work day. His answer: "Am I supposed to, yes. Do I, no...." So kids, it's a do as I say, not as I do kind of world out there. And when you get pulled over by DPS in Arizona just remember, "It sucks to be you...." We already knew that, but thanks just the same.
I spoke with OOIDA yesterday in their Compliance Division....they say the Officer should be reported to his Superiors for coming off like that. His comments were unethical, unprofessional and over the line in most everyone's opinion that I've presented this to. I'm going to sit on this for a few more days and get some input from some of my fellow Truckers out there.
What say you? Am I on the right track or not?? Any and all input appreciated, not sure what exactly to do with this at this point.