# DOT # in Michigan



## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

One of my workers was driving back from a mowing job with one of my trucks. He was stopped by Michigan State Police because there was not a business name or a DOT number on it. We had just painted it and were waiting on the business name, phone, web page, etc stickers to be made.

He got a ticket for not having the proper signage and not having a medical certificate. We have 10 days to fix both. This morning I went on line and signed up for the DOT # and he will be taking a physical later in the week. We also got the stickers for the side of the truck and put them on.

He also got a piece of paper for the cop and it says.
"EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
All Intrastate carriers and operator of commercial motor vehicles must obtain a usdot number. There is no cost to obtain a USDOT number. This is a free service."

It also says that they will be enforcing the vehicle marking requirements January 1, 2009. At that time carriers/owners must meet the requirements listed above.

My truck has a 24,000 gross vehicle plate so it is obvious that I needed a DOT # to the cop. My guess is that anyone with a plow on the front of their truck will also be obvious to the cops that they need one.

Also, my driver has diabites that he treats with insulin. This will make him ineligible to get the required medical permit. Which means he can't drive my vehicles anymore.

If you live in Michigan and use a truck with a gross vehicle rating of 10,001 pounds or more, you need a DOT #.


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## scotty2222 (Nov 24, 2001)

Let me help you add more info, that from what I got told from the Livingston County sheriff I was told that if you use your truck for a business and pull a trailer you need all of the proper paper work that you had posted in your post. Now I was also told that my truck(F-350 2006 Crewcab Diesel 4X4 short box) has GVRW of 11400 lbs that means I need US DOT #'s and that's with out the trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Now If you pull a trailer with your vehicle you will usually go over the GVRW. Because the truck has a 11400 lbs and the trailer can hold 7000lbs that puts me at 18400lbs towing.

The reason I got pulled over was a blown fuse to my trailer lights. Now this what the cop told me

Need to have

1. US DOT #s
2. Medical card for driver
3. Vehicle inspection card
4. Fire Extinguishers
5. Flares or Triangles
6. Proper registration and Insurance


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Make sure you have a separate insurance card for your trailers. Also watch out using Maine plates on the trailer.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

This is the basic.


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

yep. like that in maine. although i dont see it readily enforced.
one time i was stopped driving a box truck. i hadnt filled out my log book. it was a lease that ryder hadnt finished reregistering and i didnt notice but IT DIDNT EVEN HAVE ANY PLATES. and i was overweight, speeding, on a no truck route, without having the medical card in my posession at the time.

they called my boss and woke him up (2 a.m.) and told him to get his ass over there because the truck wasnt going anywhere except being towed until he showed up. being the kind of guy he was he said no. he will call them back tomorrow. and went back to sleep. the cop and dot issued me no tickets because he really wanted to have a talk with the company owner, but told me not to move the truck ANYWHERE. the last cop leaving asked me if he could drop me off at a hotel for the night but i told him i had to stay with the truck because of the expense of the merchandise inside. now what do you think i did when that final one left the scene before a tow rig showed up? i was only twenty three at the time so i obviously didnt wait just like most young men wouldnt.

funny part of this is. i had driven the truck to and from canada all the way down to new york and then back toward maine. customs at the border even opened the box and checked the goods and i went through the broker there to cross. no one ever noticed the truck had no plates. they asked me for the plate number through the window. i told them what it was last i knew. they never even looked. leave it to a small town cop to notice and call the state police dot. i suppose though the way i was driving at the time of night i was driving and where i was driving i made it obvious and stood out a bit. i company got hate mail from the town police i was pulled over by and numerous phone calls for the next few months. they sent me a letter stating the incident and asking me to respond along with the company. i obviously didnt respond. what do you say? i dont believe anything ever came out of it. i have no idea why. maybe the truck was there evidence and it was because the stop was in a different state than the business. i also really wasnt trying to be a *****. i was just so tired of being out i just wanted to get home and was pissed the company owner was home in bed while i was stuck on the side of the road in deep ****..


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## jcesar (Sep 14, 2006)

so what you are saying, is if my vehicle GVWR is 10,001 or more, and i use it for work, be it plowing, hauling, or other, I have to have all that ****?


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

yes!!!!!!!!


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## jcesar (Sep 14, 2006)

well....
that just sucks!
Another way for that greedy thing to get more of my money!


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

maine is 26000 lbs. if truck has three or more axles for in state transport. all crossing out of state commercial must have dot number. out of state not required to to actually put on dot number. its only over the ten thousan mark here for annual commercial vehicle inspection.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

This is from the Michigan State Police web site. FAQ page

Q I operate a truck with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds. Do I need a Medical Examiner's Certificate? 
A Yes. A driver of a vehicle with an actual gross weight, gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or Gross combination weight rating (GCWR) of 10,001 or more pounds; a vehicle designed to transport 9 or more passengers, including the driver, for compensation or a vehicle designed to transport 15 or more passengers, including the driver, not for compensation; or a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials requiring placarding; used in intrastate or interstate commerce, must pass a medical examination and carry a medical examiner's certificate.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

It took some searching, but I found the web site for the requirements for a Michigan US DOT number

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Intrastate_USDOT_FAQs_189910_7.pdf

If you have a vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 10,001 lbs. or more, whichever is greater (i.e. pickup and a trailer that are over 10,001 lbs combined)

*Question:* Who is included in the term commercial motor vehicle in commerce?
*Answer:* Anyone who operates one of the above mentioned vehicles. Examples include, but are not limited to: private and for-hire companies, farmers, construction companies, plumbers, *landscapers*, church buses, and limousines. Recreational and personal use vehicles are excluded.

You have to have a number by January 1, 2008 and it must be on your vehicle by January 1, 2009.


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

the government likes to have it hand into everything. and its other hand. and its foot, and so and so until it can put just about every govermental body part in the mix to put up roadblocks for citizens to either jump across, pay the toll to get through, or find the loop hole around. ive written to my local congressman, and emailed, and called and yelled numerous times over the years about new brilliant laws they enact but they dont seem to listen. at least not to me. maine put in a mandatory insurance law. doesnt effect me i thought to myself until i got a letter in the mail saying the registration on two of my cars was being cancelled by the state for not having insurance. reason they werent insured is because instead of insuring all three all the time i saved money by taking insurance off one or two depending on what i was driving that season. doesnt mean i wanted to cancel the registrations. i called and basically told them it was none of there business if my car was insured or not if it was sitting in my backyard and not on the road. not like it did any good. im sure i was one of thousands.
you hire someone and put them office and all the laws are already written, all the regulations already written. they have little to do unless catastrophe strikes. so what do they do? sit around and think up more laws and regulations. and re write the ones they already have. try to justify their paycheck by coming up with more dumb ideas to make people do. then they have to hire more people to do all the dumb ideas. then they have to raise taxes to pay all the people doing the dumb ideas and for a thousand reams of paper to print the dumb ideas and pass them around to the dumb idea enforcers. every so often a REALLY dumb idea will make it through and a citizens veto might send it to the circular file. most though even though they are dumb ideas, people just comply with because its easier than fighting the dumb idea makers. that didnt sound to negative did it? instead of just reading the law you guys should be on the phone and sending emails giving them hell. probably wont do any good. but you never know. at least find out whos idea it was and call them stupid and say you wont vote for them. they understand that kind of thing.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

FWIW, at one of our vendors this spring, there was a motor carrier officer that did a mock inspection. The issue of the USDOT numbers came up. What he said was, that any vehicle--even a car--that carries anything for a company is required to have a USDOT #. He then said that they would never attempt to enforce it, but I'm sure they will start with the larger trucks.

Do you want to know why this law\regulation was enacted?


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## bribrius (May 5, 2007)

so technically since im self employed doing mortgage loans if i have paperwork and my laptop in my car driving down the highway my car should have a dot #? that doesnt make a lot of sense.

sure. why was it enacted. ill play.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Yup, that's what he said. I am sure that is open to various and a multitude of interpretations from every lawyer, judge and enforcement officer depending on the type of day they are having. 

This regulation is in effect to monitor and 'prevent' terrorists from transporting hazardous materials and causing mayhem with this hazardous materials. Never mind that they can enter a border as porous as it is wide, they are not deported immediately when they are caught, they can overstay their visas whenever and however long they want, and on top of that:

by definition, they're criminals that are breaking the law so does anyone really think they're going to take the time to abide by one stupid law that says they have to have a USDOT # on the side of their truck to transport their bomb-making materials? 

So what it comes down to, it's easier to enact more rules on citizens and keep us in line, cost us more money, make us go through more BS than it is to keep the freakin' illegals and terrorists out of our country in the first place. 

God bless America, we need it based on what our stupid leaders are doing to us. 

Time to get some BP medicine now.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Hey BB,
If your using you car for work I think you need commercial auto insurance because your using it for work. Your car has personal insurance only so check on it.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

From the MI State Police FAQ web site http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ms...s_189910_7.pdf

*16. Question:* Is this a new law?
*Answer:* No, this law was adopted by Michigan in 1990; however the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) did not have the technology to process Intrastate US DOT numbers. The technology is now in place to assist companies with the process and the law will now be applied.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Link doesn't work. However, that's very interesting. I was not at the meeting so maybe the message got mixed up. Or maybe the technology was developed in order to 'remedy' the huge problem we are having with hazmat haulers all over not having their USDOT #'s on their vehicles. 

IIRC, and also from what Quad posted, this means that this is going into effect nation-wide, not just in MI.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

The link in my post, #11, works to the FAQ's

I don't think it it nation wide, but I did see a map of the states that have adopted it. I just tried to go find it, but I've been to so many sites trying to figure this out, that I lost it.

Getting the number is easy. Go to http://www.dot.gov/ and follow the links for "getting a number". Once there just list your business as private, intrAstate, non-hazardest. It is one number for all of your vehicles.

So for some crazy reason *bribrius* is stoped in his car with his lap top and business paper work, all he would have to do is supply the cop with the number if he asked for it. If it was not on your car, than you can talk your way out of that after January 1, 2009.

It is the medical card that will cost you money if your insurance doesn't cover it, like mine.

I am also not sure about vehicle inspections. That concerns me the most. My trucks are safe for me to drive, because I know their faults. But DOT might not think they are safe and have me fix every thing.

I have not been able to find out any information about inspections.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Vehicle inspections are easy. Anything with a GVW over 10,001 requires an annual DOT inspection. Supposedly by a licensed or certified shop\mechanic. However the shop that does mine has not been able to get a straight answer on how you become licensed or certified. So they just do it, fill out the form, slap on the sticker. They are licensed by the state in HD truck, Auto repair, etc and I am very confident in their abilities. 

The reason I say nationwide, is that it is a Federal regulation, just like CDL's.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

I have been un-able to find it online, but have seen it posted for different states. Do we have to have triangles, fire extenguisher, and flares in the truck for MI? I assume yes, because it is a Federal number.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

It will cost you less to have them. If' the fines are the same in both states it's 250.00 for each violation if they write you up ,so 750.00 or 50.00 at the store..


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

Good point!!! Plus it is just safer to have the stuff.


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

You need triangles or flares but do not need both, fire extenguisher needs to be permantly mounted.


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## RYDER (Sep 19, 2005)

Do I need DOT number for a F150 with plow and Iallso pull a dump trailer?


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

If your over 10,001 lbs.total weight


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

I'm just a little bit pissed off today. My employee got 2 letters from the court yesterday saying that the bill was $106 for the "defective equipment" and $131 for "No Medical Certificate"

The ***** of it is that the actually fine is only $15 for the equipment and $65 for the medical card. The rest is "Costs" due to the fact that they never recieved my letter telling them that I had fixed all of the stuff the next day and my employee had an exam the following tuesday.

We drove down there. 40 miles round trip (12mpg x $2.99 gal= more pissed off) Just to have the lady tell me that they never got the letter and if I wanted to get the vehicle inspected and mail a $20 late fee payement, maybe the majistrate would wave it. And there was nothing to do about the medical card. 

Paying my employee to ride with me for 2 hours (Labor rate x 2= even more pissed off) Not being able to do the job we had to do today because of this and having to do it tomorrow, plus tomorrows stuff = Extremly pissed off.


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