In the other thread regarding dot numbers, cdl stuff I got to thinking.

In a regular car, if stopped by hwp they ask if they can search your vehicle? If your not commercial, pulling a enclosed trailer and stopped for some purpose, how or what gives them the right to search your trailer? Like Im helpinga friend move, its not my stuff, and Im being paid with dinner? Not exactly for hire......

But if you are legally licensed, etc....can you not submit to search with out cause? I understand if the drug sniffing dog etc....but I ve seen "shows" that dismissed serious crimes due to inlegal search, like finding a dead person in the trunk sort of thing.

 

Its my understanding that if your stopped and the officer see something illegal in plain sight you can be arrested....if its a felony stop they can search everything by removing you from the vehicle placing you under arrest then searching the vehicle

 

This is what I have seen. The driver is arrested. The vehicle is then impounded/towed. Regulations require that everything in the vehicle is inventoried before towing/impounding to release liability for anything missing. This gives statutory consent to search the vehicle before it is moved. The key is that you have to be properly arrested for a specific crime/infraction before they can search the vehicle without your explicit consent.

This is for private vehicles. I believe that DOT can inspect commercial loads based on bill of lading and manifests to be sure compliance is made for hazardous materials and actual load vs. written claim. It is my understanding that the public safety and carrier compliance outweighs the private property angle with regards to commercial loads.

I do not haul commercially (yet ) and have my information from riding with Sheriff Deputies in Iowa and Missouri. I find it interesting/sad that a trucker can be cited for driving without a properly made bunk, unless someone can tell me how a set of sheets/blankets can affect my safety on the highway.

 

The other thing I know from bein stopped on my motorcycles is you must state that you do not want your vehicle searched and you must ask if your free to leave.....the police do not volunteer this info to you.....if your not free to leave then ask why your under arrest ??

Local police have been given training about skirting along the grey line about whats legal during a stop......they don't need to tell you your rights until they arrest you

DOT for commercial drivers are a different set of rules and laws.....because your not a private vehicle they have the right to search for safety of the public and compliance of DOT regulations