There are a lot of gray areas which contain areas that are enforced and areas that aren't enforced, giving some of us a sense of accomplishment if we get stopped and don't get ticketed or warned about a certain part of the law(s). Given that the d.o.t. in most of the states I have been in understand at least a little more than us, but very few know the whole thing completely, and they are subject to the same problem that we have, which is interpetation. That is why there seems to be a rash of roadside stoppings for certain types of vehicles, then they leave them alone for a while, stopping other types. Probably someone higher up the food chain has submitted a target list for the month and the guy on the street is just trying to cover his tush and keep his boss happy.
I quit worrying about the d.o.t. rules as they apply to my drivers license, and have become extremely SCARED of the CSA2010 rules as they apply to commercial drivers. I long for the days when all I had to worry about was if my weight was ok when I went across a scale. Heck, when I first started driving, my wife did my logbook once a week so I could turn it in to get paid. Things are rapidly changing, and not for the better...
dot had a guy pulled over last night, with a truck stacked on another truck (front axle sitting on the fifth wheel, rear axles on the ground, and a ball hitch on the back of that one pulling a straight truck (about 26'). I bet the d.o.t had a field day with that guy... wouldn't want to be him, because Florida law doesn't allow that combination best I know.
David from jax
Interpetation by the guy on the side of your door is the only one that is really going to matter. Right, wrong or indifferent...