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01/12/2004 Archived Entry: "DOT Check"

Friday I experienced my first DOT check. I had a company tour to Atlantic City, NJ for the day, and parked at Hansen's just outside Atlantic City, as usual. I was relatively early, arriving around 10:30 AM, and there were fewer buses than I've ever seen parked there -- hardly any, in fact. I soon figured out why, but not until after I had already parked!

I finished updating my log and paperwork as soon as I had parked, which turned out to be a good move. I was parked less than 10 minutes when there was a loud knock at my door, and then noticed the white NJ DOT van that had just pulled up next to my coach. The nice gentleman at the door asked if I'd be there a little while, and when I said yes, asked me to please pull my coach to the back of the parking area, where the NJ DOT had set up an inspection unit. This was my lucky day!

I wasn't too worried about it, despite all the stories I've heard about DOT checks since I started driving. I knew my paperwork was up to date and complete, and I wasn't even close to being over hours anytime. Plus -- I had our company's newest coach (about 10 months old, less than 50,000 miles on it), and I had done my usual thorough pre-trip before I left the garage that morning, finding the coach in perfect shape. Still, I was a little nervous, this being my first time for a DOT inspection.

Three inspectors pored over the coach for a full 30 minutes. They checked everything that can be checked, I think: my driver's license, my log, the vehicle inspection log, registration and insurance cards, all the lights, the emergency exits (I had to open every window on both sides of the coach), brakes and air pressure (had to pump down the brakes and rebuild pressure), defroster, emergency equipment, they put the front wheels and then the back wheels up on blocks and crawled under the coach on a creeper to check and measure the brakes, opened the battery door and doors at the back of the coach, plus more that I'm sure I didn't catch.

The good news -- they found no violations, gave me a perfect report, and the head inspector complimented me on the fine shape and maintenance of the coach. Whew. I knew before that our company does an excellent job at maintaining our vehicles, but today I was especially thankful for that.

I also know now why that other (unnamed company) coach that had raced ahead of me out of Atlantic City suddenly pulled off the road within sight of Hansen's parking area (you could see the DOT unit from the road if you knew enough to look!) and then drove on past without going in.