Tuesday, October 02, 2012

I Seen It!


At the motel in Faith, SD - guarding the ice machine. When they don't want you to take more than your fair share, they get serious 'round hyar!


This is a decidedly different style pump jack. An enclosed vertical roller system raises and lowers that wide flat belt seen at the top, with the drill stem hooked to it. It's supposed to be a more efficient design, I guess. I can't remember what it's called, either. To the left is a conventional pump jack - some up here are a modified form of that style with a scissors action.


This is where bee barf comes from.


I know I've got a better view of the bugs on the windshield than that truck ahead, but there are several serious safety violations going on there. Try to see what they are, answers under the fold.





Well, for one thing, it's more than likely a farmer's rig for hauling hay, and they are actually allowed to violate some of the laws that I have to follow when hauling oversize.
1) No oversize signs
2) No flags marking the wide parts of the load
3) No headache rack on the tractor - this is required to keep cargo from shifting under heavy braking and killing the driver.
And most importantly,
4) The load is NOT strapped down. That's right, those worn out heavy equipment tires are just laying on that  flatbed. Not a strap in sight.

Farmers are given a LOT of leeway when it comes to hauling farm machinery and commodities such as hay when the load is oversized. Depending on the state, the requirements for signs and flags (plus strobe, blinking or rotating amber beams) might be relaxed.

I do not see how he can get away with no headache rack, but for Chrissake - running around without strapping those tires down? That's agin the law no matter what your occupation is. If this guy has an unfortunate incident and a busload of nuns and orphans were to be crushed by one or more of those tires coming off the trailer, Ol MacDonald wouldn't have to worry about the farm bill no mo, since he'd be coughing up the homestead for damages.

You can probably imagine, especially with the tone I've taken here, that those of us who do obey the oversize laws have a very low regard for those who are exempt, and especially those who are too f(*&^ing lazy to follow the minimal laws they're supposed to. This was just plain outrageous, and had I a signal, I'd have called his ass in.

5 comments:

Road Pig said...

Hater. I missed the headache rack.

KurtP said...

I was looking for those
"Oversize" warnings, and even saw that I couldn't see any straps.

As far as headache rack, when did that become law?
I was driving for Arrow untill they were no more and never had a headache rack on a trailor.
(we were taught how to chain down a load)

Jeffro said...

I don't know when, but here is one reg: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=393.86

drjim said...

Well, I got 3 out of 4!

Never thought about the headache rack, but then I'm not a trucker.

Anonymous said...

Hey, he didn't have time... insert emoticon of eyes rolling....