posted by admin on Jun 5
The five-year driver said he’ll challenge the interpretation of the federal law: “I’ll fight it until every cop car in the country doesn’t have a laptop in it”ARZ,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -June 2, 2008: -- Gerald Cook watched the Arizona DOT officer open his handbook to a dog-eared page toward the back. The words “television receiver” and an entire paragraph of text were highlighted... Minutes earlier on Sunday, May 25, Cook had pulled into Arizona’s Sam Simon Port of Entry scale house while traveling westbound on Interstate 10. The Arizona Department of Transportation officer questioned Cook about the laptop computer mounted in the front of his cab... Surely the officer wasn’t busting Cook for the computer that hundreds of inspection officers had seen before, mounted near his driver’s seat in his 2005 Peterbilt 379... The computer allows Cook to check e-mail messages from dispatchers and home and, more importantly, allows him to quickly and accurately enter hours-of-service data into his logbook software... After a few minutes, the officer told Cook he was being cited for violating a federal safety regulation that prohibits trucks from having “television” screens within the view of drivers... The officer told him the ticket could cost $450... Cook, who said his laptop was closed and in sleep mode, was stunned... Arizona officials are interpreting that laptop computers are covered by a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation that was originally designed to prevent television viewing by commercial drivers, said Cydney De Modica, an Arizona DOT spokeswoman... Cook said the relatively new interpretation of an old regulation serves one purpose: “It’s a money grab,” Cook said... The five-year driver said he’ll challenge the interpretation of the federal law... “I’ll fight it until every cop car in the country doesn’t have a laptop in it,” Cook said. “My laptop is staying right where it is.”...
Tags: safety, software, transportation, trucks
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