New Texas trailer rules

[PoorMansCat]

Yeah, it's alot easier to just ticket some poor smuck who had to use his 'farm trailer' to move his kids furniture from the dorm room at A&M back to the house because he can't afford the rent anymore .

Absolutely.. Wow... Are you talking about me? Do I know you? hahahaha..
I cannot tell you how many trips I have made to and from A&M with my farm plated trailer to move my two daughters....

 

[whodat526]

if it is a new law about texas farm plates like that it has not come into affect yet cause got stopped in jefferson texas wensday night headed to a tractor auction for a headlight out with a borrowed trailer with texas farm plates and he didn't say nothing about it just gave me a warning for the headlight out then helped fix it

 

[Bird]

I think its completely retarded that we have local officers hanging around writing tickets for such stuff.
My point is, aren't there more important issues to deal with?

It would make no difference what issues the officer deals with, there'll always be some violators who will call him stupid or retarded because he enforced a law that particular idiot disagrees with. And the officer didn't make that law. And in some cases there are departmental policies on enforcement. The officer didn't make those policies either, but he did take an oath to uphold the existing laws.

 

[chopped]

I agree that texting is dangerous. But instead of thinking the officer was stupid for writing a ticket for an unsafe trailer, maybe you'd have a different opinion if you'd seen someone killed by a trailer that came loose, as I have. You might want to stop and think a minute before you call someone stupid.

In the original words I think he meant that the writing of the ticket was 'stupid' not that the officer him/herself was stupid.Either way I would think the main thing would be to educate the person about the crossing. I learned that on here, never gave it much thought myself..:thumbsup:

 

[Ken45101]

I am not arguing the value of safety chains. However, I will point out that where they are attached isn't failsafe.

A friend borrowed my car hauler to haul a car. We found him about a mile down the road, the trailer tongue on the ground...still attached to the hitch!

The frame had rusted and failed and the whole receiver dropped down. Fortunately he was going slow and on a slight downhill grade. In another mile, he would have been going up a steep hill. If the hitch and receiver had broken loose going uphill, and of course the safety chains are attached to the receiver.... the safety chains would not have done much good!

The other scary thing is that he often hauled a horse trailer with the same truck.

Ken

 

[QRTRHRS]

I am not arguing the value of safety chains. However, I will point out that where they are attached isn't failsafe.

A friend borrowed my car hauler to haul a car. We found him about a mile down the road, the trailer tongue on the ground...still attached to the hitch!

The frame had rusted and failed and the whole receiver dropped down. Fortunately he was going slow and on a slight downhill grade. In another mile, he would have been going up a steep hill. If the hitch and receiver had broken loose going uphill, and of course the safety chains are attached to the receiver.... the safety chains would not have done much good!

The other scary thing is that he often hauled a horse trailer with the same truck.

Ken

Umm, sounds like your friend got a lesson on the value of preventive maintenance or is that the lack of?

 

[wsp617]

Time to stir the pot again. This is coming from a State Trooper so it has a different perspective. The way it is described, the TX farm plate law for trailers sounds like the same as WI. Farm trailers cost a fraction of regular trailer plates and are called "restricted use". Farm truck plates can be used for personal use but farm trailer plates are farm use only.

As far as the safety chains issue, I have never even considered citing someone for not having the chains crossed. Nor have I ever stopped someone for not having them crossed. I will advise people that I have stopped on what is required and why. I get more worried about the guys that don't have adequate safety chains or worse yet, the ones with NO CHAINS. Those are the guys that get tickets. For the most part, farmers do a pretty job getting chains hooked up and having good equipment. Scrap haulers (at least in my area) are a different story. I've stopped plenty of rigs going to the scrap yard where the whole **** rig, truck, trailer and load should be left at the scrap yard.

I had a co-worker of mine was badly injured by a ranaway trailer. He was operating laser in a crossover on the interstate when a bumper hitch cattle trailer broke loose. It t-boned his cruiser and he ended up with a broken vertebrae. So yes, things can happen.

Another two issues not yet discused here are trailer brakes and trailer lights. In WI, when a trailer and load exceeds 3000 LBS, the trailer has to have working brakes. That's another issue I find not only with scrap haulers but others that haul heavier loads. Many times the trailer will be equipped with brakes but the truck pulling it isn't set up for trailer brakes. The lights issue is just common sense. Trailers need to have working lights. I don't like it when I stop a rig and the trailer wiring harness isn't plugged in because there's no place to plug it in...you got some explaining to do.

 

[PoorMansCat]

At one time, lights weren't even required on a Texas trailer unless you had it on a public road at night. Not sure about anymore.
On t 18ft. the "Inspection" issue, when I bought my 18ft. trailer, the seller gave me a photo-copy of the page in the Texas law book discussing inspections of trailers. It stated that single axle trailers did NOT require inspection. Thats all it said on the subject. We had some "new guys" with the DPS that were translating that into 2 or more axles require an inspection. I got one of these tickets, when I took it to the local courthouse, it was thrown out along with three other peoples. The judge stated that a patrol officer is not allowed to assume or infer anything into law, only enforce it.
Thats crazy that anything over 3K requires brakes in Wi. I agree, it would be safer, but how do you enforce that law?
I agree, the scrap yard haulers and wood haulers are definitely dangerous!.
WSP617....Just curious, dragging a broken car down an interstate using a wal-mart chain is ok in Wi???

 

[PoorMansCat]

if it is a new law about texas farm plates like that it has not come into affect yet cause got stopped in jefferson texas wensday night headed to a tractor auction for a headlight out with a borrowed trailer with texas farm plates and he didn't say nothing about it just gave me a warning for the headlight out then helped fix it

hahaha... sorry for laughing, but EVERYBODY gets pulled over in Jefferson Texas...

Usually, they try and catch everybody out in that "flat" between the blinking light and the intersection @49. One other place is just north of 49 they like to sit in a wash bay at the self serve car wash!!!. Was it JPD or DPS?

 

[PoorMansCat]

It would make no difference what issues the officer deals with, there'll always be some violators who will call him stupid or retarded because he enforced a law that particular idiot disagrees with. And the officer didn't make that law. And in some cases there are departmental policies on enforcement. The officer didn't make those policies either, but he did take an oath to uphold the existing laws.

You are right, the officer did NOT make the law. It is at his discression to enforce the law though. I do lots of travelling on Texas highways every day and see MUCH worse going on than some safety chains not crossed.
How about slowing people down from running 80-100MPH weaving in and out of lanes on Intersate 20 from DFW area to the Louisania state line? Passing on the shoulder of the highway?
How about maybe enforcing a rule that is actually written down and has signs POSTED everywhere, "Slower traffic move right"???? People usually too busy playing with their phones to actually notice that they have slowed down to 58 mph in a 70 mph zone and have 2 miles of traffic backed up behind them!!. But hey, they got that important post put on their Facebook page about going to the grocery store!! How about staking out local bars on the weekends and doing random DWI checkpoints?
I cannot tell you how many times I see the various things. Its a weekly occurance anymore... Things that ARE costing lives.
Our law enforcement officers have a tough assignment and I give them the utmost respect.

 

[wsp617]

Just curious, dragging a broken car down an interstate using a wal-mart chain is ok in Wi???[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, there minimal restrictions on this issue. The only law we have is: (1) No person shall operate a vehicle towing or
drawing another vehicle or vehicles on a highway if the drawbar
or other connection between any 2 vehicles exceeds 12 feet in
length.

On the other hand, it's very rare to have people do this on the interstate.

 

[two_bit_score]

Time to stir the pot again. This is coming from a State Trooper so it has a different perspective. The way it is described, the TX farm plate law for trailers sounds like the same as WI. Farm trailers cost a fraction of regular trailer plates and are called "restricted use". Farm truck plates can be used for personal use but farm trailer plates are farm use only.

As far as the safety chains issue, I have never even considered citing someone for not having the chains crossed. Nor have I ever stopped someone for not having them crossed. I will advise people that I have stopped on what is required and why. I get more worried about the guys that don't have adequate safety chains or worse yet, the ones with NO CHAINS. Those are the guys that get tickets. For the most part, farmers do a pretty job getting chains hooked up and having good equipment. Scrap haulers (at least in my area) are a different story. I've stopped plenty of rigs going to the scrap yard where the whole **** rig, truck, trailer and load should be left at the scrap yard.

I had a co-worker of mine was badly injured by a ranaway trailer. He was operating laser in a crossover on the interstate when a bumper hitch cattle trailer broke loose. It t-boned his cruiser and he ended up with a broken vertebrae. So yes, things can happen.

Another two issues not yet discused here are trailer brakes and trailer lights. In WI, when a trailer and load exceeds 3000 LBS, the trailer has to have working brakes. That's another issue I find not only with scrap haulers but others that haul heavier loads. Many times the trailer will be equipped with brakes but the truck pulling it isn't set up for trailer brakes. The lights issue is just common sense. Trailers need to have working lights. I don't like it when I stop a rig and the trailer wiring harness isn't plugged in because there's no place to plug it in...you got some explaining to do.

Do you drive through parking lots looking for disconnected wiring harnesses?

 

[chopped]

You are right, the officer did NOT make the law. It is at his discression to enforce the law though. I do lots of travelling on Texas highways every day and see MUCH worse going on than some safety chains not crossed.
I always find this interesting that there is a descretion in enforcing a law. While I agree with thte concept, I believe that they are being negligent in their dutys, and possibly putting themselves in a situation where they could be accountable if there were injurys/Proving this would be tough to do. Nut if the "people' pass a law and they are paying the cops to do their job and enforce it then they should do the job.In a way this 'discretion' is no more than 'reading into' the law their opinion.
I agre that its not alwasy crystal clear, and that they make decisions everyday.And another if they decide to 'notice' it and not do their duty..

 

[tthopskin@yahoo.ca]

Sounds like the right thing for them to do
I'm sick of all the idiots on the road pulling trailers putting everyones life at risk, just now on the way home I passed a pickup pulling a trailer with a mini-ex just parked on the trailer....no tie downs at all. Unbelievebly I see that often:confused2:

a safety would still not help this now would it and how about all the campers tell me how many are safety d only when new how long has it been for you to have you car safety ed the dot can take a car new and find something to ticket you on YES NEW just getting sick of people trying to get others in sh.it things happen and every one is looking to blame some one else --they should have it marked or i don't know it's bull ----yes to the equipment not tied down not good he should get a ticket and a big one

 

[tthopskin@yahoo.ca]

Do you drive through parking lots looking for disconnected wiring harnesses?

your quote is not good the guy was just trying to help and you put this up

 

[triplemoutdoors]

They are getting harder on the ones who have farm tags and dont use them acordingly, like hauling 4wheelers to the mud fest. Im not gona sweat it.:thumbsup:

I use my 4 wheeler at the farm all of the time. If they pull me over for having it loaded on the trailer...

Safety chains must be crossed or my dad would slap me upside the head!:confused2:

 

[triplemoutdoors]

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/InternetForms/Forms/CVE-13.pdf

See page 18 for farm trailer registration and page 31 for safety chains.

 

[whodat526]

hahaha... sorry for laughing, but EVERYBODY gets pulled over in Jefferson Texas...

Usually, they try and catch everybody out in that "flat" between the blinking light and the intersection @49. One other place is just north of 49 they like to sit in a wash bay at the self serve car wash!!!. Was it JPD or DPS?

they stopped me right after i turned on 49 headed to dangerfield right past the rr tracks but he was very nice but it was a state trooper

 

[two_bit_score]

You are right, the officer did NOT make the law. It is at his discression to enforce the law though. I do lots of travelling on Texas highways every day and see MUCH worse going on than some safety chains not crossed.
I always find this interesting that there is a descretion in enforcing a law. While I agree with thte concept, I believe that they are being negligent in their dutys, and possibly putting themselves in a situation where they could be accountable if there were injurys/Proving this would be tough to do. Nut if the "people' pass a law and they are paying the cops to do their job and enforce it then they should do the job.In a way this 'discretion' is no more than 'reading into' the law their opinion.
I agre that its not alwasy crystal clear, and that they make decisions everyday.And another if they decide to 'notice' it and not do their duty..

There is a lot of descretion in law enforcement, as it should be. There is enforcement descretion by the peace officers and then there is prosecutorial descretion by prosecutors when they decline to prosecute various cases filed by the cops or when they offer plea deals.

Then there is the so called 'professional courtesy' where one cop is loathe to write a ticket to another cop. Happens a lot. When you would get a ticket someone else doesn't because of 'professional courtesy'.

 

[two_bit_score]

I use my 4 wheeler at the farm all of the time. If they pull me over for having it loaded on the trailer...

Safety chains must be crossed or my dad would slap me upside the head!:confused2:

A good argument could be made that 4 wheelers or gators, etc are farm 'equipment' in a lot of cases.