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US traffic law question


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We all play LCPDFR in different ways. I like to have a genuine reason for making a traffic stop if there isn't something like speeding, jumping red light, a light not working etc. I also like pulling over lorrys/ heavy goods just for routine stops and check license etc.

Ok, I can always use the "routine check" reason for pulling someone over but for a good part of my working life I drove lorrys and in the UK we have tachographs for lorrys over a certain weight. This records how many hours the driver has been at the wheel to make sure he / she is taking breaks as required by law, and not exceeding the maxium amount of hours in a 24 hour period. It also records speed.

Reason for this is to prevent lorry drivers who drive machines that can cause huge damage falling asleep at the wheel because of comercial presures to keep on driving when it's not safe to do so because of driver fatigue.

In UK a driver of a lorry with a tacho fitted must at all times have in the lorry the last 7 days worth of tachographs to be inspected by traffic police at any time.

So just wondering does the US have anything similar as it makes for a good genuine reason to do a traffic stop on a lorry and then check licesne etc.

Of course it's a game and I don't need a reason, but to quote someone who makes a lot of LCPDFR vids "in my head" it makes sense.

Also any other US laws that might not be obvious to me that can be used to pull someone over. And I don't just mean reasonable suspicion.

While I'm at it. any laws that only apply to buses or taxis etc such as buses being restricted to a lower speed or anything like that ?

But main question is do US have tachographs on lorrys ?

Sorry for wall of text. I never use just one word when 10 will do. :p

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Guest bnutter183

Molten,

As far as I know the Department of Transportation does not have any kind of device that they use to enforce the laws for truck drivers falling asleep at the wheel. It is illegal for them to drive a certain amount of time without sleep or break, but usually that is on the trucking company and not DOT. I think the UK is on the right track for helping prevent those types of accidents!

Here in the US, law enforcement have alllllll kinds of reasons that they pull someone over. Here they have what is called a pre-tectual stop, and that means that the Law Enforcement Officer is going to make up a reason to pull you over, just to pull you over. Yes it is illegal, but they do it anyway. Some examples of things LEO's use to pull peoples over is: (Headlight, Tailight out, turn signals not used)

The DOT has its own set of LEO's that patrol our highways and do routine stops on Trucks, Delivery Vans, ETC.

Also, as far as buses go, the DOT has different laws to govern the individual states needs and uses of buses. Its really going to depend on what

I hope this helped!

Edited by bnutter183
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This varies from states to states, just like from provinces to provinces in Canada.

Right now, it is not required by law to have an electronic device that records the time spent driving on-board lorries, but the driver is required to keep a log of his driving times and rest times.

Again this varies from states to states as how many hours of rest is required, some states may say you need 10 hrs and can be split in two different periods in the 24hrs cycle and some may require that that 2 hours may be split in an 1 hr blocks (for food) but the rest of the required 10 hrs of rest (8 hrs remaining) is to be taken as on time-block, as it is in Quebec (A province of Canada). The driver must have at least a 14 days record of his activities and may not drive more than 12 days out of the 14 (driving his car is excluded from the equation in all of the above, since it is recreational, so to speak).

Some states may relegate the duty to an independent agency (DoT) or be the jurisdiction of the police departments, mostly state depts. For example, in Quebec, it is the Dot itself that patrols and inspects the lorries and drivers' logs, whereas in Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) can do the same, along with the DoT.

Hope this can help you out with simulating this in a North American fashion.

Edited by Exakt785
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Cheers both of you. That does help a lot.

As for stuff relating to just USA, well I'm not looking for 100% accuracy. Liberty allthough based on New York is still a fictional city after all. But I do like to keep the stuff I do at some level of realism.

As I am the chief of police, and the Mayor of Liberty city and also the Govenor of New Liberty ("in my head") what I say goes :) And from what you have both said I don't think it's unreasonable for me to introduce such a system for heavy goods in my Liberty City.

Looks like such a system may end up in practice anyway in the long term. In certain states anyway.

Cheers for feedback.

Edited by Molten
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