LBZ
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Wasted expensesBi-annual truck inspections. Is this not a big waste of money & time? They check the lights, odometer & and make sure the wheels turn side to side. In Springfield it takes about an hour or so because there is always a line plus the price has went up a another few bucks. Still relatively cheap, but just a pain and a waste to do twice a year.
Maybe this inspection would make sense if having a sticker on the winshield would alleviate DOT officers from wanting to do more inspections... 
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Tom Cobb
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VA used to have a 6 month insp years ago. Not sure if they still do. I worked part time at a gas station that did inspections. We pulled tires and removed brake drums to insp. shoes, etc. It was expensive at that time. In TX at that time we had basically the same insp. we have now with emissions added to list.
Insp are necessary but it should be a real insp that will get dangerous cars off the road but 6 months is to much. In VA the police, local and state, would stop you if you had a insp item that was not right. If they stopped you for something else and insp the vehicle and found a defect the vehicle did not move until it was fixed. It could be towed.
Sometimes I think that is necessary to get some vehicles off the road. I see them everywhere that are unsafe or lights out, etc. I see vehicles that have been in accidents and should be off the road. I see cars with the spare tire on, (that is only designed to get you to a place to get the tire repaired) driving 60-70 mph and the tire is only designed for 50 mph and is clearly marked on the tire. I have seen the same car day after day with it on. Clearly a dangerous situation.
Police have no clue about it and most are to busy to stop them or don't care. The whole situation is a mess to say the least.
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LBZ
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I guess you are right Tom, I am sure they take some vehicles off the road that shouldn't be out there. Just irritating when you do your maintenance routinely and keep things legal to throw more money out because of those who do not.
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Tom Cobb
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I agree. It is always those who want do right and obey the laws that end up paying for those that don't.
I would like to go back to the laws of the old west. Shoot the suckers that disobey the law or don't want to do what is right. Hang those that won't help to bring dicipline to the bad guys. LOL
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bth9461
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2 times a year is too much, once a year should be enough. Brad they only make you get an inspection for CMV's right?
Brian
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Tom Cobb
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In TX all vehicles are inspected once a year. CMV's cost $60 for the same inspection that I would pay $30 for a non CMV. That is likely because of the inspector and perhaps mine was a dually. Big trucks pay the $60 for a more in depth inspection.
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bth9461
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Thats Gov't gone wacky, you have been infected by CA liberal's. I would expect this in MA, NY, or CA: but TX, wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems a little overboard on Gov't regulation.
Is this just a rubber stamp system to get money? Or do they really take 1000's of vehcles off the road. Think about what kind of money this must generate for a quick inspection by someone that is not that well qualified I would gues to do all the vehicles in TX.
I have to go to a HVY TRUCK garage to get a certified mechanic to do the inspection, they are very professional about it. I could not imagine putting every vehicle through this. My GM dealer is not certified to do these inspections.
Seems like TX is going liberal on you TC. LOL
TX more liberal than MI, what is this country turning into, forget about a pocket Constitution, every citizen needs a personal FED/STATE REG LIBRARY. All the books need to be RED to.
Brian
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Tom Cobb
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It is really not a money making deal for those who do it. It is regulated by the state. The equipt they have to have is expensive and is state mandated. The station and the mechs have to be state certified and trained. It is mostly an emissions inspection. But they also do a safety inspection. If the vehicle does not pass it has to be repaired and reinspected. You pay for everytime you have to reinspect. Frankly I am glad they do it.
Take a trip down south sometime and you will see why I say that.
TX has a more stringent inspection in DFW and Houston because of fed mandates for pollution/emissions control. I am not sure about the other cities in TX like Austin and San Antonio but they maybe affected also.
How is the trailer doing? Git er done young'un.
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LBZ
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Brian, the inspections are for commercial vehicles only. I am not sure what the GVW has to be, but I remember the farmers every year grumbling about having to get their grain trucks inspected. Of course that was when they were using the 3 tons with dump beds, now most have moved into class 8's or sub out a majority of the hauling around here. Particularly after several locations in the state started manning portable scales within blocks of an elevator. Test weight on grain can vary so much from year to year that none of these guys knew what they were truly hauling and the DOT guys were & continue to clean house.
Anyway back to the topic,  I was wondering about the profits(if any) that were ever shown to the states that do these inspections. I am sure at inception they were profit generators, but looking at the cost of buildings, training, staff salaries and other variables I bet they are operating at a loss. So my guess is that these places (in Illinois at least) are not only costing us up front, but on the backside too?
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bth9461
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I guess if they are state garges then I doubt they are turning a profit, but what kind of manpower it must take to do other than CMV's.
Brian
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LBZ
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I found out when I had the new trailer inspected that it was only a 6 month inspection because I did not have the DOT # on the door. Will get an annual inspection in October.
HOWEVER on the wasted expenses front, I got a ticket at the P.O.E. in Kansas for not paying my 2007 Unified Carrier Registration. The kicker was that I was never billed for it because I had my Authority voluntarily revocated in July of last year & according to one of the national U.C.R. board members they did not even put the 2007 Fee's into effect until after August 24th, so that is why the bill was never sent (although I did pay the $39 + other fee's online over this past weekend).
I have spoken with everyone I can think of in Kansas trying to get the fine reversed & waiting for another call back from the county attorney as we speak. The fine is $100 + $75 for court costs for not even going to court. They did say they would keep it off my record.
Regardless, .... like this is beyond irritating in principal, particularly when one of the Kansas commissioners told me this morning that KS is behind 5.5 million in what the projected fee's were to produce. (It is for safety projects you know  )
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Tom Cobb
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KS taxes everyone based on value (ad-valorum tax). I really can't see how they get by with it since haulers just pass thru the state. You will get a tax bill from them because you have to do the ucr registration for each state. You will also get a tax bill from AR.
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LBZ
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The U.C.R. is paid in your home or base state, however I am not impressed with this idea they are going to send me a tax bill. Going to have to take KS off of my IRP & just not go there if that is the case!
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Tom Cobb
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The tax is not much but the idea behind it pisses me off.
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LBZ
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Trust me, I am totally with ya on your thoughts about the KS way of thinking.
When I was in the scale house & realized I was getting a ticket I asked the DOT officer: "Wait a second, I am liable for a fine even though I was not notified or billed for..." she cut me off & snottily responded "well yeah it is the law". Took everything I had not to just go off!
Just my opinion but laws like she thinks are more often found in communist states across the pond.
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Tom Cobb
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I don't think you will be billed for UCR. You have to sign up for it first and then you will be billed for it. That is the way it was for the old system.
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LBZ
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I already have my 2008 U.C.R. to operate this year. I got that at the Illinois Commerce Commission when I reactivated my Intrastate Authority in April 2008, the fine is for the 2007 UCR fee that went into effect AFTER I was out of business last year.
I do not dispute that I owe for the 2007 UCR, my issue is with the $175 fine and not knowing I owed for the stupid thing.
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Tom Cobb
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If you were not in business in 07 then you had no obligation to pay UCR.
I would get you docs together on when you went out of business and when you restarted and contact the state attorney generals office and the state and fed DOT.
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bth9461
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Maybe if you were in business for any part of 07 they expect you to pay it, If you had not come back it might not have matter, but they might have you on a technicality.
Brian
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LBZ
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I finally got to speak with the County Attorney yesterday &.... she wanted to hear nothing of my issue.
Yes I did run Interstate in 2007 so I did owe the UCR fee. When I voiced that I had voluntarily revocated my MC & DOT #'s before the UCR fee's went into effect & because of that was NEVER billed for, nor notified by anyone to pay the $39 even when I went into the ICC office to pay the 2008, her response was: "It is your responsibility to know the rules of the road before driving any vehicle in any state & your not knowing in not a defense. Besides I am not going to be liable for Kansas not making the 5.5 million dollar Highway safety funding, which your fine will contribute to."
She is the third person who I have spoken with in KS who is petrified about this funding project! Someone in that state is pushing this hard & has to be pretty high up to get this much attention from those below. She did say I was welcome to come out there & go to court and the judge may or may not throw the case out, but again she didn't want the responsibility of the above mentioned quota.
So I have contributed my $175 for well being of Kansas.  All I have to say is watch out if they do in fact miss their dollar quota this year as you will not be able to afford safety in 2009!
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bth9461
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I took KS of my IRP plate and refuse to go there, because of their property tax on trucks/millage. Wish I could do the same to NY ans AR. Would be interesting to see all Trucking Co's boycott one of these states. I or 2 months of no trucks would get their attention.
Of course I would like to see the FED's nationalize all I/S hwy's or cut off HYW funds ton states with toll roads on the I/S Hwy's.
Brian
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LBZ
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There was a lot of media about different states this past spring trying to sell their highway systems to private entities to make them toll roads. I know the Indiana Governor was getting a lot of that press as a good part of his budget included funds from the sale.
With what I just heard this morning about the bank bail out, the S.E.C. & so forth, I believe the funds to do the right thing were in place & have been dramatically manipulated to where the local, state, & Fed. gov't's are looking for other places to collect instead of fixing the real problems with each segment!
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