NHRA Racers Beware, NC DOT is giving tickets

All NHRA racers that are planning on attending the race at the new z-max track in NC should know that the NC DOT is giving tickets, some for nearly 1000.00 dollarsto racers. Tickets include ANY "motorhome" and trailer over 65feet total lenght, ANYONE driving ANY vech. over 26000lbs without a CDL (including trailers) and dullies pulling trailers over 48 ft long. Basically, unless you are towing with a truck that is tagged as a commerical vech. and have your CDL's you will get a ticket if stopped and the officer feels like it. Any racer that tow's with a "motorhome" and tag trailer is screwed since you can't tag a motorhome as a commerical vech. Toters, like my Freightliner and the truck based motorhomes { Volvo, Freightliner, Pete etc.) have the option fo a commerical tag but then you will be subject to all of the commerical trucking regs ( IFTA, log books, scales, federal annual inspections etc.). Hopefully if you guys can get behind this it can be changed prior to the two NC fall races, otherwise get ready to spend some extra money in N.C. Jody Stroud IHRA TD 9325

 

jody - there was a meeting at RCR this past tuesday regarding this issue. i was out of town thus unable to attend. it would be helpful if anyone who attended this meeting to past on the results. i was informed that both NHRA and Zmax where aware of the NC DOT problem and the meeting was scheduled to "help" the situtation. there was supposed to be a NC permit for the overlengths but nowhere is there a solution for their ideas/inforcement on the CDLs. i do know that in SC they do not want motorhomes in their scales because it would completely stop their enforcement of tractor trailers due to the sheer additional new volume. andy b.

 

Yeah, S.C. could care less how long you are as long as it's less than 75ft. The last thing we need is to have to tag all motorhomes, toterhomes, and dullies as commerical vech.'s. To go to N.C. without a apporitioned tag costs appox 150 bucks in temp. trip,fuel and tax permits. Or you can tag for N.C. for the yearly cost of over 1000.00. This sucks!!!!! Plus as a commerical vech. you have to run driver logs, etc. CALL YOUR CONGRESSMEN!!!!

 

jody - figure this one out. i took my m/h and trailer to the sc drivers license place to get my cdl. i was instructed by the sc highway patrol that a cdl was not needed nor would the driver testers let me take the test. now another state (nc) says i need a cdl to drive my m/h and trailer even if the m/h is over 25,000 lbs. i sure hope nc is prepared to check every m/h in the state for cdls cause i smell a good law suit coming after them by some lawyer who owns a prevost.

 

The DOT has a motorsports exemption on overall length for commercial vehicles in motorsports. There is no length limit. The only limitation is king pin to rear axle.

My rig is 81 feet and my trailer is 52'. I measured one of Jeg's and it was at least 84 feet.

The key is, it has to be registered commercial and you must have a CDL. I keep a folder in the truck with all this printed off the DOT website just in case I get pulled over for length so I am in a position to educate a LEO if necessary so I can go on my way.

Here's the link:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/exemptions/motorsports.html

By the way, I got my CDL in California and did the driving test with a crew cab and Chapparral trailer about 20 years ago. I've since had the air brake and auto tranny restrictions removed. If you explain to the testing center that you have been told by the LEO's that you must have a CDL to operate the vehicle I think they have set the standard and you should be able to test in that vehicle. Just make sure you have a CDL driver drive it in for the test, or you'll get booted.

RG

 

Jody, you must have forgot who it was that started all this CDL crap in the first place, about 15 or 20 years ago a guy was driving a 10 wheel dump truck, he lost his breaks and hit a car and killed the driver, gess who's son the driver of the car was, you got it, a congress man/ person, the rest is history, pretty soon you will need a permit to take a s#it.

 

Just some input here. On another note for DOT hitting you. We are in Texas and went to a race in Oklahoma. On the way back across the Texas border a lot of racers weere pulled over by Texas DPS. They were handing out tickets for what you have going on trailers and rigs as well as what you might be hauling. One big one was any fuel. Your allowed fuel in your fuel tanks ( truck and race car ) and I believe less than 5 gallons in any jug or drum. Any extra fuel would get you a ticket. Then theres all the other stuff they get you for. I think they dug out some books to find all the violations they could give out.

My buddy that runs TD pulls with a truck and has a tag trailer so he isnt that long at all. He had a total of 27 violations. Lucky for him it was a cool officer and they were only warnings. Others werent so lucky though.

I'ts no wonder entries are down at these races. We not only have to figure out and worry about the total cost of a race weekend, but then we need to account for a possible hassle by the law enforcement with a bunch of rediculous fines that we arent planning on. It could cost 10,000.00 if you got stopped a few times each way for a race thats across the country lilke the pro's have to make. It's just stupid. This makes for an expensive trip and I'm not crossing borders right now.

 

You are allowed to carry a certain amount of fuel.

Arguing with the LEO's on the side of the road is a waste of time, but educating them with paperwork in most cases is not. I carry the MSDS forms which can be printed off any fuel supplier's web site and I also carry one from Valvoline for the oil. All of this is in my folder. Commercial carriers are required to have these along with a sheet that states the maximum amount of these items you would carry. You never want to be caught exceeding your stated amounts on the sheets. Also required is an emergency contact number which in my case is my cell phone number.

This whole thing is about generating revenue. BS.

 

randy - i have enjoyed your input on this issue in the past. you have a wealth of knowledge on this topic. i have always worried that this issue would come to the east coast but i never thought it would appear in my "back yard". all racers should be concerned and become invovled to proactively help fight to protect their rights. my biggest concern is hazardous materials issue you bring up. the other issues are somewhat clear once you become knowledgeable but the hazardous materials are not. for example - a can of wd-40 is considered a hazardous material due to both it's compressed gas and flamability. just wait until the DOT folks start looking inside your race trailers for "hazardous materials". do you think that the DOT will "look" inside your motorhome for hazardous materials when it is over 25,000 pounds and requires you to have a CDL drivers license? just look around to what you have inside your motorhome and envision this scenario - whiteout is considered a hazardous material - you need to have a MSDS for your whiteout. the list of "hazardous materials" goes on and on with more items being added daily. the paperwork to keep up with this proceedure is mindlless and is open to too much interpretation. if you think the CDL driver's license and it's associated paperwork is tough to naviagate you are wrong - when the "hazardous materials" police get involved you now bring in the EPA for spills and their judge and jury policing. a. burnet

 

You are allowed a certain amount of product considered appropriate for personal use. A pallet full of White-out or WD40 is not a personal use quantity, but a can or 3 is.

I think the racing/hobbiest/horse owners/etc., as well as toterhome manufacturers need to get busy and lobby for an in-between set of rules for movement of our equipment. Yea, maybe a passenger car license is a laughable when considering some of our rigs we drive, but we don't log 20,000miles per month and for the most part we don't earn a living moving our stuff. Making us comply with rules set up for over the road haulers like Werner, Yellow Freight, Covenant Transport, etc., is just plain wrong.

Several years ago California set up check-point-charlie and busted all the NASCAR rigs just inside the border as they came in to race the then Food City 500 at Sonoma. Overlength, KPRA, and illegal drom's were the biggest money making tickets. After that happened, the NASCAR gang got together to change the laws so their rigs woud be 50 state legal as is. That's why we have a motorsports exemption on length as long as you are going to and from a venue. So laws can be changed but they need to be on the Federal level making all 50 states the same so you don't end up stuck in the scales crossing lines somewhere.

I'm very surprised Renegade, NRC, Optima, etc., haven't gone to bat on this. They better get their head out, or people will just quit buying their stuff because having one (and using it once a month) isn't worth the hassle of IFTA, permits, fuel permits, quarterly BIT inspections, sky high commercial carrier insurance, haz-mat and everything else that goes along with trying to do the right thing and have a safe rig.

RG

 

randy - i worked for over 30 years for a major transportation company and the limited quantities you speak do not apply. you get the same basic fine for shipping 1 can of wd-40 or whiteout not declared as a pallet full. once you get into the airline side of shipping this stuff the fines get real heavy. i know of a certain overseas car manufacturer who now will not ship touch up paint to customers because they were "caught" shipping single little bottles of touch up paint to customers who bought their cars. their fine was in excess of $800,000.00. my point is that once the DOT gets inside your M/H or trailer it like giving the IRS more information than they ask for - you are doomed/screwed. i argree with you on the conversion manufacturers helping themselves out with a proactive action. you are correct - who is going to buy a conversion when it is politically doomed? again you are correct in the need for a 50 state set of enforceable laws + guidelines for the problem. now there are several states who are taking the law into their own interpretation who are making it unlivable for us all. by the way i have a CDL license and if i present it to the DOT they now assume it was required by my licensing state - which it is not. my CDL is for the "real" requirements but i am screwed by presenting it when my license is asked for and the officer then preceeds to ask for the physical card, DVIR, IFTA stickers, weighted tag, fuel permits, hazardous materials placards, MSDS, insurance documentation, tire weight codes, logging information, etc. i live in the heart of NASCAR country and am well aware of their problems - but - the california solution is just that - a state with their answer - the other 49 states take their own interpretation of their state laws and apply it when you are in their territory reguardless to where you are domiciled. andy b.

 

It is best to be legal. I would suggest calling a permit agency to see what is and isn't legal for the states you will traveling in. One thing you will be told is, no decals or advertising on either the trailer or the hauler. Any of this, including "not for hire", makes you subject to the commercial rules of the DOT. If you are racing for money, you are commercial. If you have decals on your car for contingency awards, you are commercial. Ca. is the only state that I know of that has an exemption for motor sports carriers, but they are still subject to DOT regs, like log books,IFTA, single state registration and IRP plates. I used Comdata when I was a working man, but there are many out there. You cannot use the DOT-FHWA rules for length, etc, and still be a non commercial vehicle. Local laws are in effect, unless you are a commercial carrier.

 

While leaving the Autolite Nats in Sonoma, driving a toter/trailer
existing the track on sunday, with all the cones out the gate to the main road, there were several CHP out directing traffic etc,..well while waiting at the light a Chp came up to my door and said " you are too long for a registerd Rv, the max length w/trailer is 65 feet, for California you need to register it commercial",..and to reply he said, " dont come back to Cali without it registered Commercial",...Of course I said OK,..Lol..GOTTA GO,.....

 

Not A lawyer, but I own a Prevost!! a few years back when California decided you could not operate a vehicle mainly a Motor Coach over 40 ft, they were sued in a class action lawsuit, basically for entrapment as they not only still allowed the sale of coaches over 40 ft in length but they eagerly accepted the registration fees and taxes on them. Renegade, Haulmark, United etc. better get involved with this issue on a national level or they are going to find themselves divinely equipped for a market that no longer exist and possibly in a liability situation for knowingly selling something to a unknowing buyer that can not be legally operated. Also if you are ticketed in the state you are registered you might find yourself with the upper hand if you disclosed the vehicle specs at the time of registration and paid the fees required by your state to be “legally” registered. 14 million unregistered illegal’s not paying taxes in this country most driving without insurance and law enforcement is worried about a couple thousand hard working mostly self funded racers?!?!? Nothing like having your priorities in order!!
Thanks For the space,
Kent Goss