New CDL Rules in Ohio

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pdqdl & littlenick. That's good detective work and looks like bad news for lots of buckeyes. I worked for a private carrier in my previous life and so PUCO never had any authority over us. Sometimes they'd try but I'd just stick my arm out the window and tap the name on the door. That was always the end of the conversation. I don't know how they now make the authority jump of Public Utilitiy (PUCO) for PRIVATE CARRIERS. As far as the provisional waiver, that's been in effect for DOT physicals and it's given when a condition is quantified outside the limits of the physical requirements or in some cases, the examiner identifies a non quantifiable condition that requires more frequent monitoring The applicant then has a certain time limit in which to bring that condition under control. If they can't then they fail the physical. I received a provisional for high blood pressure and if I remember correctly, I had 90 days to control it. Because I received a provisional waiver I had to take a physical every year instead of every two years. I'll wait and see how the whole thing shakes out. I can't imagine that the changes will remain as they are but who knows? On the surface they seem like changes made in the interest of safety but I had 25 years of seeing the farcical absurdity of the process and I'm not willing to return to that BS.
Phil
 
They started cracking down on the landscapers here last summer. Thing most common was overweight and improper fuel can(carb)$500 fine and improper fuel can attachment $500. ( can wasn't strapped to the trailer) Cost a buddy of mine $1500 in five minutes. He was able to squish the bad can one and half the weight one but the attachment one they wouldn't budge.
 
OM ..FREAKN G!!!!! Soooo wtf....does this mean I cant legally drive any of my over 10k and under 26k trucks without a class A cdl and/or a medical card?? My freakn pick-up weighs 11k for Gods sake. I hope I am overeacting. I tend to do that.
 
OM ..FREAKN G!!!!! Soooo wtf....does this mean I cant legally drive any of my over 10k and under 26k trucks without a class A cdl and/or a medical card?? My freakn pick-up weighs 11k for Gods sake. I hope I am overeacting. I tend to do that.

In TN if your in a truck that weighs less than 26K without air brakes your still good. Combination vehicles with a trailer greater than 10,001 lbs require class A. I have a F350 crew cab with a utility bed that dont require a CDL, but as soon as you hook a trailer to it and put a bobcat or mini EX , or whatever that bumps the triler or 10,001 LBS, gotta have a class A. Yep, Its BS in my opinion.
 
OM ..FREAKN G!!!!! Soooo wtf....does this mean I cant legally drive any of my over 10k and under 26k trucks without a class A cdl and/or a medical card?? My freakn pick-up weighs 11k for Gods sake. I hope I am overeacting. I tend to do that.

Yea thats what it is sounding like, they will start enforcing in 2012.

Ya just gotta stay off highways and major roads to avoid getting pulled over and inspected:laugh:
 
.....but as soon as you hook a trailer to it and put a bobcat or mini EX , or whatever that bumps the triler or 10,001 LBS, gotta have a class A. Yep, Its BS in my opinion.
Depends on what your trailer is rated, not what you have in it (I think).

I was at a training put on by Motor Carrier Enforcement guys. They said they know people find a trailer they like rated for over 10,001, and ask the manufacture to put a sticker on it that says 9,999. They are now legal without CDL.

I asked "but would they be in trouble if the GVW of that trailer went over 10,000". He said No. (I think]/i] that is because they (Motor Carrier Enforcement) don't have authority to enforce weight rules for vehicles/drivers not subject to the CDL??? I'm not saying I "get it", I am not saying it is bad or good, just telling you of the conversation I had with the Motor Carrier Enforcement guy.
 
:agree2:

Yep. That's the way it works.

State laws (so far as I am aware) cannot hold you to GCWR, because that allows the vehicle manufacturers to declare what is overweight or not. Clearly, that would not be in the states best interests. So...There are 5 traditional ways to get an overweight ticket:

1. Exceed licensed weight.
2. Exceed gross vehicle weight, typically 80,000lbs
3. Exceed "per axle" weight, typically 12k for single tire & steer tires, 18k for dual tire axles. Keep in mind that you CANNOT put more weight on an axle than its "rated" capacity, no matter what the GCWR says. If your truck has a 9k rated front axle (per the door sticker), then you had better not go over it.
4. Exceed "per tire" weight. Each tire has a label as to how much weight you can carry.
5. Exceed the infamous "bridge law", which no truck driver is able to calculate. Basically, it means putting too much weight on too short a truck. The idea is to prevent too much weight on small spans of a bridge.
 
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wow & I thought PA was bad!

here if you have a pickup truck hauling a trailer >10,000lbs you need a class A & must be registered as a Combo

My big truck is 25,000lbs with airbrakes (gross) from what I read...in PA anyway, you could keep a class C but now it would be "commercial" & have the Airbrake endorsement & you are legal???

My future Bro in law has a class C- cdl, he hauls oxygen to the elderly....he needed the hazmat endorsement but not the weight part (A,B) etc...

how confusing to truckers this must be?? Im thinking this is for the lawn/landscaper biz that have been pushing the limits on legal for along time!! pretty soon you`ll need a CDL to drive a 3/4 ton pick up!


LXT.............
 
.... pretty soon you`ll need a CDL to drive a 3/4 ton pick up!

Browsing through the link provided by littlenick, it sounds January 1, 2012.

I have an F250 with a GVW of 8800. 1202 GVW trailer (not much of a trailer) pushes total GVW over 10,001. So technically won't need CDL, but just all of the headaches that go with it.

Keep making it more difficult for businesses and you'll keep seeing more and more going under the table.
 
I don't believe that you need to add the GVWR of a combination.

The GVWR of a truck is supposed to include the trailer that it is towing. So...you are exceeding your GVWR if you take a 17k truck that weighs 9k, and then load it with 10k trailer.

I believe that this is a factor in why the DOT does not consider GVWR as any part of an overweight ticket.
 
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...

I have an F250 with a GVW of 8800. 1202 GVW trailer (not much of a trailer) pushes total GVW over 10,001. So technically won't need CDL, but just all of the headaches that go with it.
...

Be careful with your terminology.

The licensing and medical card issues all use GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight RATING) as the sole criterion. GVW, or Gross Vehicle Weight, is only used to evaluate how big your overweight ticket is going to be. GVWR is theoretical, GVW is what they read off the scale when they weigh your vehicle.
 
I recently brought a utility truck out of CA going to KS. The truck was 26000 lb. GVWR, with hydraulic brakes. Scale weight was 21000 lbs. We had just purchased the truck so it didn't have our DOT numbers on it, and I had the bill of sale and title with me to prove the situation. I went through CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK with no problems- stopped at all the weigh stations, provided my paperwork, and bought my one-trip permit. Then I entered KS. At the first weigh station, they held me for two hours and hit me with 4 violations- to include: improperly or not displayed DOT #, failure to pay the unic (unified interstate carriers fee) for KS, and no record of driver status (no log book). It cost me $300 and a 10 hour out-service-period (which I took under police supervision at a local motel, after being escorted by the Highway Patrol from the weigh station). After talking with our local state troopers, they assured me the violations were not applicable and did not pertain to the situation. They said under the circumstances, I was basically driving my personal vehicle from point A to B (only in transit) because it had not been made a "commercial" vehicle through registration and lettering. Hmmmmmm, we'll see. We are quickly becoming a Police State. If you don't believe it, get in one of these situations and overly defend yourself about your "position" and see where you spend the night!
 
Right. I feel your pain. The people who enforce these laws are for the most part functionaries. They claim it's all done in the interest of safety but for the most part it's $$$$$$$$$$. I was a regular at the Kenosha, WI scale house in the 70s and 80s because Wisconsin had some kind of reciprocity problem with Ohio. "Pull around back of the scale and bring in all your paperwork" times XX ?? It all gets old real fast.
Phil
 
I called PUCO today and left more confused than before I started. I got 2 different answers from 2 different people then when person 3 transferred me back to person 2 I got another one :rolleyes:

So I did more reading. Reading through this publication on page 11 and 12 a truck trailer with GVWR over 10,001 (under 26,001)falls under PUCO safety regulations. However, I couldn't find anything else that pertained to vehicles in that range so it is unclear what that means.

However, thanks for the link to better news Small Wood, I'll be making a call tomorrow!
 
Interesting thread. My employee and I just got our CDL together.

I felt the whole process gave a huge amount of beneficial knowledge. I have been driving commercial rated trucks in NJ and Oh for 40 years but just bought a 25 ton truck crane and felt it was time.

We picked up a truck load of information going thru the material and road test and inspection stuff, and now no worries about being legal. Learned to drive a 10 speed Eaton in the process (not from them).
 
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